Provision of adequate health is one of the ever chasing goals of the world. From simply educating about essential cleanliness to attain medical procedures in case of a disease, countless matters need to address. The world is changing at an immense speed. Such speed is unprecedented, primarily due to technology’s influence. Almost every industry is either transforming or getting disrupted. Healthcare is no different than other sectors in this regard. It has also seen immense growth and advancement in better cure disciplines through better drugs and complex medical procedures and surgeries.
And especially after the outbreak of Covid-19, the world won’t be the same. Similarly, our approach and perspective towards health practices, diseases, viruses, and pandemics can stay at the pre-Covid understanding. Currently, almost everything is secondary in front of the healthcare sector. Healthcare in terms of mitigating the diseases and providing cure to the ill, but the scope is even broader now from prolonging life to making organized choices towards promoting a better lifestyle, safe environments, and healthy wellbeing. Therefore, in addition to medical sciences, public health attracts massive attention and consideration.
Public health has a broader scope than a typical understanding of a commoner. Public health professionals have careers ranging from advocacy to policy-making to epidemiologists to water quality investigators. These work areas can be research, social work, fieldwork, or event management with the ever-increasing demand for professionals.
Now in the post-covid world, public health professionals are in high order. Such request relies on the areas of interest, specific niches, work experience, academic qualification, etc. In some fields, professionals get better work challenges and high salaries, with even Bachelor’s degrees. In some disciplines, professionals must earn degrees like masters in public health online or any other related certifications and upskill their capacities. Now let’s take a look at some of the public health jobs with excellent growth potential.
Table of Contents
Best Public Health Jobs
Epidemiologist
An epidemiologist is a curious health professional who digs deep into the causes and reasons behind diseases and other related public health issues. The idea is to identify the matters to keep them spreading and increasing. Then, these matters get reported to public health officials and the general public for awareness and education.
These professionals usually work in offices, laboratories, health departments, and universities. According to US BLS salary data and job growth data in May 2019, an epidemiologist’s median salary is $70,900 per annum, with a job growth rate of 5% over the next ten years.
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Health Educators
Health educators are primarily responsible for teaching and aware people of multiple aspects of health and wellbeing. Their job description includes developing programs that prompt people to make informed and better health decisions. Typically, health educators are likely to assess their community and the people’s health-related needs and requirements.
Based on their assessment, they must create education programs, produce and distribute learning materials, and help people find required health services. According to the data reported by US BLS in May 2019, there is an 11% growth expected in the coming ten years. Similarly, the median salary for a health educator is $46,910 per annum.
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Community Health Workers
Community health workers juggle multiple roles, perform many jobs and wear different hats in different instances. But the ultimate objective of all is to improve the quality of life and wellbeing of the people. One of their primary responsibilities is to educate their community about specific health issues and risks associated with them and provide healthy solutions to mitigate and eliminate them.
Community health workers help their communities with almost every health-related problem. It can range from drug addiction, alcohol abuse, poor diet, etc. They are likely to be more than just medical professionals. Still, They advocate promoting a healthy lifestyle and performing their duties as a frontline force to tackle issues and elevate their communities. The job market growth is likely to be 11% in the next ten years, as per US BLS data related to Community Health Workers in May 2019.
Occupational Health and Safety Experts
One of these health and safety experts’ primary duties is to educate, train and regulate the health, safety, and environmental practices of authorities in public and private operations. They are the regulators to ensure water, food, and air in a particular given area.
They have either a bachelor’s degree in environmental health or a master’s degree in environmental health sciences or public health. Since it’s a specialized field with limited need, their growth rate is likely to be 6% in the following years up to May 2028, with a median salary of $70,480 per year.
Read: Occupational Health
Hospital Administrator
A hospital administrator’s role itself is not health-related work. Still, it helps other health professionals perform their duties well. They plan, coordinate, and direct healthcare services in a hospital. They can be managers of a whole hospital facility, a particular clinical area, or a practice within the hospital. Their prime responsibility is to improve efficiency in healthcare.
Similarly, hospital administrators are responsible for ensuring every health and public law in the hospital. And lastly, they are required to manage the hospital’s finances while ensuring financial sustainability. Hospital Administrators earn a considerable amount of money as they have a “corporate” role of managing the hospital and healthcare units. According to US BLS data related to health and services managers, a hospital administrator’s median salary is $100,980. However, the job growth rate is higher, i.e., 18% in the next ten years leading to 2028.
Conclusion
The profession of public health offers a great variety and scope of fields and roles to explore and opt for. It is crucial to understand personal strengths, weaknesses, and career aspirations before getting into the available choices. Similarly, a clear understanding of in-demand careers and choices should also consider, as it will be a significant portion of life while working in the field.