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Public health is a fairly specific degree, though a number of the aspects of it could transfer to other careers, depending on your bachelor’s degree. The majority of those who get a degree in public health end up in either some sort of healthcare position or an administrative position dealing with community health.
The majority of these roles are in the public sector, meaning that they don’t tend to be as well paid. Public health officials typically end up in their roles because they feel that they can make a difference in their community.
Key Takeaways:
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A degree in public health opens up opportunities in public health positions, healthcare, social work, and administration.
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As the majority of these careers are in the public sector, they typically aren’t that well compensated. Public health’s not the major that’s recommended if you’re looking to make a lot of money.
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These jobs generally require a mix between soft skills and hard skills. You need knowledge of healthcare and numbers, but also the ability to communicate and gain people’s trust. Depending on your job, it may overlap – or not.
10 Best-Paying Jobs for People With a Master’s in Public Health
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Average Annual Salary: $62,000
As with most analyst jobs, public health analysts spend a lot of time pouring over data. In this case, they will study the effects of a policy, project, or event and determine the impact on public health, be it positive or negative. They are then expected to report their findings and make suggestions as needed.
Required Skills: Analytical abilities, communication skills, public speaking skills, and the ability to back up their suggestions with data.
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Average Annual Salary: $60,000
This would be a good choice if your bachelor’s degree was in nursing. Public health nurses are focused on the health of the public rather than that of individual patients. They usually work with a community in order to foster positive health outcomes. This is done through outreach, education, and talking to patients in clinics.
It does require having a license, which is why you’d likely need a medical degree in addition to your master’s in public health. This job is more centered on presentations and outreach than treating patients, so if you’re more interested in science than practice, it may be a good choice for you.
Required Skills: Strong communication skills, interpersonal skills, medical knowledge, and public speaking ability.
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Average Annual Salary: $59,000
This title has come into the public view a great deal more since the pandemic. Epidemiologists study disease and how it spreads. “Disease,” in this case, doesn’t need to be a bacterium or virus but can also be widespread injuries, pollution-caused health problems, or other widespread illnesses.
The majority of an epidemiologist’s time is spent in either a laboratory or a similar research setting. While some are medical doctors, it isn’t required, and 44% of them hold a master’s degree.
Required Skills: Analytical ability, excellent math skills, communication, and computer literacy.
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Average Annual Salary: $56,000
While you aren’t going to start out as director, it’s a good goal to aim for. In this job, you’ll run a social service program – often in a town or city. This is a good goal for those who enjoy working on a more macro level, as directors won’t have much time to work with clients anymore.
Required Skills: Leadership experience, strong communication skills, time management, budgeting, and being able to break down tasks into manageable pieces.
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Average Annual Salary: $68,000
While the general connotation of hygiene is cleanliness, its true definition is general health. Industrial hygienists focus on all aspects of health in an industrial environment. This includes cleanliness, sanitation, comfort, and trying to bolster mental health.
As a specialist in this area, they need not only to point out health issues; they need to create plans to deal with them. They are also expected to educate the workforce as needed.
Required Skills: Communication skills, instructional ability, and organizational skills.
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Average Annual Salary: $66,000
As the name implies, policy analysts analyze and study policies. This is open to many different majors, including law, sociology, and education, but public health is a major aspect of policy as well. Policy analysts study the effects of the policy – or effects a proposed policy might have, and make recommendations based on their analysis.
Required Skills: Analytical ability, strong mathematical skills, computer literacy, and public speaking skills.
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Environmental Health and Safety Specialist
Average Annual Salary: $51,000
Most often shortened to EHS specialists, those in this role look into health and safety hazards in the workplace. They can work for any sort of organization, be it a business, nonprofit, or government office. Their duties include investigating injuries and potential safety violations and correcting hazards to health and safety.
Required Skills: Communication skills, attention to detail, observational skills, and knowledge of labor laws and regulations.
Find Environmental Health and Safety Specialist jobs near me
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Average Annual Salary: $59,000
The duties of a public health administrator are a fusion between an admin job and a community outreach position. While they spend a lot of time doing administrative tasks in the office, they are also responsible for doing outreach work within their community.
They will educate people on healthy behaviors, as well as work with communities that are suffering from pollution or other health hazards. They will meet with community leaders as needed and give presentations and make recommendations. Additionally, they’re responsible for chasing down needed funding.
Required Skills: Organizational ability, interpersonal skills, communication skills, and administrative skills.
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Average Annual Salary: $91,000
Public relations is all about how the public will react to what an organization does. Depending on the company you work for, such as a chemical company, having a background in public health can be a major plus. Public relations managers run the PR team, making sure that the message is consistent, political, and relevant.
Required Skills: Communication skills are paramount, as well as being aware and in touch with the business customers’ needs and expectations.
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Average Annual Salary: $63,000
A clinical social worker is a rough cross between a counselor and a social worker. Unlike regular social workers, they can offer counseling and potentially diagnose psychological conditions alongside other counseling duties.
Unlike a counselor or a therapist, though, they’re able to offer help and services to their clients beyond just therapy – much like a social worker. If you’re not sure whether to be a social worker or a therapist, then this is the job for you.
Required Skills: Strong communication skills – especially listening skills – empathy, knowledge of social programs, and being able to keep information confidential.
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10 Entry-Level Jobs for People With a Master’s in Public Health
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Average Annual Salary: $37,000
Often shortened to CHW, those in this position provide basic healthcare to members of a community. Usually, they are selected from the community itself by either the community or an organization. Most of their duties are counseling, social support, rehabilitation, and preventative care.
Required Skills: Strong communication skills, interpersonal skills, empathy, patience, and the ability to build trust.
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Average Annual Salary: $40,000
Laboratory technicians help with laboratory work. Their main duties involve collecting samples and running tests. They’re also responsible for properly storing and labeling samples. The majority of their time is spent in a laboratory categorizing samples and running tests.
Required Skills: Organizational skills, analytical ability, attention to detail, and not being squeamish.
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Average Annual Salary: $44,000
As the name implies, public health advisors will offer advice and assistance in matters involving public health. The majority of them work for the local government. Their main duties are to look for and deal with potential health hazards, as well as promote activities that improve public health as a whole.
Required Skills: Communication skills, organizational ability, attention to detail, and interpersonal skills.
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Average Annual Salary: $50,000
Social workers help others. There are many types of social workers, from those working in foster care to addiction treatment to those working with at-risk youth.
You will need to get to know your clients, gain their trust, and do your best to get them the assistance they need, whether it’s new housing, additional financial support, or navigating legal pitfalls.
Required Skills: Strong communication skills, empathy, patience, and knowledge of local laws and relevant programs.
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Average Annual Salary: $34,000
Medical assistants take care of most of the everyday administrative and clinical tasks in a medical facility, be it a doctor’s office, hospital, or clinic. Their duties can vary widely from organizing medical records, preparing medical samples, and scheduling appointments to helping with medical exams.
Required Skills: Strong communication skills, organizational ability, time management, and ability to multitask.
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Average Annual Salary: $42,000
The title of a health educator is very descriptive. A health educator’s primary duties are educating organizations and communities on healthcare. In order to understand gaps in healthcare education, they will do assessments and surveys. It will require working with other health specialists and with members of the community.
Required Skills: Public speaking skills, communication skills, interpersonal skills, and computer literacy.
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Average Annual Salary: $43,000
Most community health counselors provide health assistance to underprivileged communities. They will work with families and individuals to help provide them with healthcare and aid in their well-being. This requires gaining the trust of the members of the community and getting them what they need.
Community health counselors will often work with schools or other community centers in order to provide their services. In addition to healthcare assistance, they are meant to look out for signs of addiction, abuse, and emergencies.
Required Skills: Communication skills, interpersonal skills, patience, and empathy.
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Average Annual Salary: $38,000
Safety technicians’ main duties involve regularly inspecting workplaces. They are the ones who make sure that businesses and other workplaces are meeting the legal safety standards. They’re also expected to prevent potential damage to equipment or property. While most get by with a bachelor’s, some hiring managers will want you to be certified.
Required Skills: Observational ability, knowledge of labor laws and regulations, and communication skills.
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Average Annual Salary: $38,000
As an administrative specialist, you’ll take care of administrative tasks for a business. This will include answering calls, responding to questions, and keeping the office stocked and organized; most administrative specialists are also in charge of scheduling appointments and meetings and booking travel.
Required Skills: Strong organizational skills, good communication ability, customer service skills, and being able to multitask.
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Average Annual Salary: $42,000
Research is a complex and broad field. In this case, you’d assist with public health research. This will require filling out reports, organizing data, and doing basic analysis. Some will also handle correspondence, especially if the study is done via survey and other administrative tasks.
Required Skills: organizational skills, attention to detail, strong reading and writing ability, and analytical skills.
Public Health Master’s Degree Options
Public health is, in many ways, a fairly specific major. However, it isn’t directly a medical degree, which makes it more administrative than most healthcare positions. If you’re interested in public health but haven’t decided on the major yet, or want to find a complimentary master’s for your bachelor’s in public health, here are some suggestions to look at.
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Nursing. This is a much more direct medical degree. Many people get a master’s on top of a bachelor’s in nursing, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Nursing teaches caring for patients and healthcare guidelines.
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Health Science. This is a broader degree that can cover different specialists. You can focus on environmental health, the admin side, or more directly on the health side. Nutrition, alternative medicine, and other healthcare-related fields are under this umbrella.
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Healthcare Administration. This is for those who are more interested in the administrative side of healthcare than in dealing with patients. Hospitals, clinics, and even doctor’s offices all need to be run by administrative staff.
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Human Services. This is in many ways similar to social services. It focuses on how to help people and interact with those from various different walks of life.
Master’s in Public Health Jobs FAQ
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What can you do with a master’s degree in public health?
A master’s in public health will open up job opportunities in healthcare, administration, and the public health and safety sector. The majority of these jobs are going to be in the public sector, but there are ones that you can get from private organizations.
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What skills do you need for public health jobs?
Public health requires a mix of both soft and hard skills. This is of course, dependent on your job, but as a rule, you need both to be both scientifically inclined and have good people skills. If you’re an analyst, for instance, you will spend most of your time with numbers but will have to convince others of your ideas.
If you work in a more public-facing job, like a health advisor, then it’s focused a great deal more on soft skills. However, you do need medical knowledge and a grasp of numbers in order to understand how behaviors affect risk.
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Do employees with a master’s in public health get paid more?
Yes, employees with a master’s in public health get paid more. However, while having a master’s will likely get you more pay than just a bachelor’s and open up a few more job opportunities, like epidemiologist, public health isn’t a well-paid major. It’s unlikely the difference in pay will recoup your costs.
As it’s public-focused and generally in the public sector, public health careers aren’t highly compensated as a rule. There are other benefits of working in the public sector, such as generally having comprehensive benefits, but it’s not a major to pursue if the size of your paycheck is a major motivator for you.
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Di has been a writer for more than half her life. Most of her writing so far has been fiction, and she’s gotten short stories published in online magazines Kzine and Silver Blade, as well as a flash fiction piece in the Bookends review. Di graduated from Mary Baldwin College (now University) with a degree in Psychology and Sociology.
