How To Become A Peer Health Educator: What It Is and Career Path

What is a peer health educator and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted Experts

Sara Oswalt Ph.D.,

Steve Jackowicz Ph.D.

The average peer health educator salary is $34,923. The most common degree is a bachelor's degree degree with an psychology major. It usually takes 2-4 years of experience to become a peer health educator. Peer health educators with a Master Certified Health Education Specialist (MCHES) certification earn more money. Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 12% and produce 15,200 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a Peer Health Educator?

Sara Oswalt Ph.D.

Department Chair and Professor, University of Texas at San Antonio

Try to get as much experience as you can, even if it's volunteering. Experiencing different roles and settings provides a better understanding of what kind of organization you want to work for and what kind of job you want. This can be especially important if that first job isn't ideal. The reality is many folks take a first job just to get one, and this is okay because you need experience in the field. Continuing to volunteer allows you to learn more about yourself, your community and how you fit. It can also help make connections that allow you to learn about new opportunities when they do occur.

ScorePeer Health EducatorUS Average

Salary

2.7

Avg. Salary $34,923

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

7.7

Growth Rate 12%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

10.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.35%

Asian 6.21%

Black or African American 12.04%

Hispanic or Latino 21.69%

Unknown 6.42%

White 52.28%

Gender

female 73.07%

male 26.93%

Age - 42

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 42

Stress Level

7.7

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

8.6

Complexity Level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

9.1

Work Life balance is excellent

6.4 - fair

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Key steps to become a peer health educator

Explore peer health educator education requirements

Most common peer health educator degrees

Bachelor's

77.8 %

Associate

8.5 %

Master's

7.6 %

Start to develop specific peer health educator skills

Skills	Percentages
Health Topics	11.89%
Health Promotion	8.54%
Alcohol Awareness	5.65%
Sexual Health	5.38%
Outreach Program	4.86%

Complete relevant peer health educator training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New peer health educators learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a peer health educator based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real peer health educator resumes.

Research peer health educator duties and responsibilities

Engage with members' telephonically, using motivational interviewing techniques to assist members' in achieving their health goals.
Provide STI, relationship, and health counseling services to peer students.
Assist in coordinating presentations/tabling events on STI's, sex and communication, and contraceptives.
Utilize electronic population management tools to identify patients within a provider panel who meet agree upon risk criteria for follow-up.

Prepare your peer health educator resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your peer health educator resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a peer health educator resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Peer Health Educator Resume templates

Build a professional Peer Health Educator resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Peer Health Educator resume.

Apply for peer health educator jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a peer health educator job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do peer health educators rate their job?

-/5

5 Stars

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Peer Health Educator reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Oct 2019

Cons

Other people being negative to diabetics

A zippia user wrote a review on May 2019

Pros

Helping other people who can't help themself