How To Become A Public Health Specialist: What It Is and Career Path

What is a public health specialist and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted Experts

Dr. Amy Carroll-Scott Ph.D.,

Tracey Spinato

A public health specialist is a health professional who researches diseases and illnesses and assists medical professionals and epidemiologists in detecting and preventing infectious diseases. They also discover ways to decrease health threats and promote healthy lifestyles through education and training. Public health specialists focus their careers on promoting healthy lifestyles for the public through research and analysis and also seek to discover ways to decrease health disparities across communities and populations. They also conduct environmental health surveys, provide health education and training, and enforce state environmental health and safety laws.

Many public health specialists have a least a bachelor's degree in public health, and those who want to pursue management positions may obtain a master's degree in this area. These professionals should possess strong research, medicine, biological sciences, and strong communication, analytical and problem-solving skills.

According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average salary for public health specialists is about $53,000 per year. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the career field is expected to grow 18% over the next several years.

What general advice would you give to a Public Health Specialist?

Dr. Amy Carroll-Scott Ph.D.

Associate Professor, Drexel University Dornsife School of Public Health

I can't resist the opportunity to tell graduates that this is a critical time to join the public health workforce. While there are always jobs in medicine, and our medical systems are an important part of our public health infrastructure, research has shown for a long time that our health is 80% determined by these social determinants of health I mentioned above, and only 20% by genetics and health care. That means that to create sustainable improvements to the public's health, these issues will need to be addressed. This is always true, but never more true than in a global pandemic where living conditions and economic resources are such dramatic protective or risk factors. Public health is the field - both in research and in practice - that works across disciplines in a truly collaborative way.

People can't be healthy if they don't have stable housing or enough nutritious food to eat, and so the solutions require collaboration, curiosity, and creativity. And your colleagues will be passionate. My advice is to seek a public health major or minor in college to see what it's about, or think about a 5-year degree where you will graduate with a bachelor's and master's in public health. And if you've recently graduated, look for MPH programs or spend a year or two in one of the above kinds of public health settings to kick-start your public health career. We will be excited to have you! We know it will take all of our passionate public health workforce to manage the COVID response and longer-term recovery, and finally address the generations of racial and socioeconomic health inequities that a country like the United States has the capacity to solve.

ScorePublic Health SpecialistUS Average

Salary

4.0

Avg. Salary $50,999

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

7.9

Growth Rate 6%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.9

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.24%

Asian 5.77%

Black or African American 9.72%

Hispanic or Latino 14.77%

Unknown 6.21%

White 62.29%

Gender

female 68.83%

male 31.17%

Age - 45

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 - 45

Stress Level

7.9

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

8.3

Complexity Level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

3.6

Work Life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

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Key steps to become a public health specialist

Explore public health specialist education requirements

Most common public health specialist degrees

Bachelor's

58.4 %

Master's

27.8 %

Associate

7.2 %

Start to develop specific public health specialist skills

Skills	Percentages
Environmental Health	19.89%
Technical Assistance	6.79%
Community Health	6.43%
Health Services	5.77%
State Agencies	5.43%

Complete relevant public health specialist training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-2 years on post-employment, on-the-job training. New public health specialists 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 public health specialist based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real public health specialist resumes.

Research public health specialist duties and responsibilities

Manage busy immunization clinics overseeing the administration of thousands of immunizations per day.
Assist with hiring and training of new sanitarians.
Assist with HACCP food service program training classes and certifications.
Audit restaurants and food facilities in accordance with HACCP guidelines.

Prepare your public health specialist resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your public health specialist 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 public health specialist resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Public Health Specialist Resume templates

Build a professional Public Health Specialist 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 Public Health Specialist resume.

Apply for public health specialist jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a public health specialist 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