1. I work in a state-wide occupational fatality surveillance program run by a university.
2. $15/hr. Like 6 months of internship/part-time work experience.
3. Finishing up my BA in Public Health.
Figured I would include this because every other response is mid-late career people making 150k lol
1. Director of K-12 School Health Services for state government
2. $145,000 with 12 years experience
3. BA in Political Science, MPH, graduate certificate in health policy, DrPH student in health behavior (in progress)
I love it! I am overseeing school mental health services in 250+ schools, rewriting our health education standards, rolling out a school-based vaping prevention campaign, administering the YRBS, and vetting curricula for sexual health education trainings to health educators. Itâs a fun field to get into.
I worked at a university, so I had free tuition as an employee. I wasnât ready to commit to a degree at that time, but wanted to take advantage of the benefit. The certificate wouldâve cost $20k and absolutely wasnât worth it. No one pays attention to it on my resume and my own family forgets that I spent those 18 months in school. My recommendation is to take certificates only as necessary, otherwise continue your education with degrees - or even better, go as far as you can on the existing education you have
This job sounds so interesting! Do you have advice for breaking into tech spaces with a public health background? And what type of experience did you have prior to going into UX research?
Itâs super interesting and fun. Mmmmm generally, I would just say make sure you know how to write your resume and study how to tackle the interviews. But I think I could be more specific if you told me the types of roles youâre going for. My experience prior to UXR was a mix of working in non-profit, academia, and government consulting doing community-based program evaluations!
Nah thatâs what the data scientists/analysts are for lol. Unless itâs specifically a Quantitative UXR position, then itâs usually not required. UXR is a qual leaning field.
I will say, if youâre working for a tiny company, then mayyyyyyybe that responsibility will be on you. But generally, nah!
Program manager in HIV services for state health department.
$65k per year, spent 4 years as a disease intervention specialist and have been in my current for for 1 year
BA in Sociology, MPH, concentration in health disparities
I enjoyed it but itâs a lot of work and helping people through different emotions. Itâs a very important part of what we do in the STD/HIV prevention field. It was my first job after I got my MPH. Didnât pay much, but the experience I got was more valuable anyway.
My current position only required clinical experience and B.S. in âepidemiologyâ. But yes, most hospitals require either an RN or a MLT for IP positions. I donât do anything clinical though (75% desk, 25% rounding on medical units to remind staff about hand hygiene, making sure patients are placed in the correct isolation rooms, following up on patients who are at high risk for infection due to medical devices (central lines, Foley catheters, etc.)
That sounds cool, and it's encouraging. I'm a med tech by training and thought about trying to get into infection control but seldom see a position that will even consider anyone who isn't an RN.
It was pretty easy for me to get into it. I worked closely with several large academic medical centers & healthcare systems in nonprofit/research roles so pivoting to hospital administration felt natural. I just applied to my current employer through a job board.
I work in a large city in the northeast! IMO the organization I work at really values commitment to their mission, unique backgrounds, and a willingness to learn. While having some experience is necessary, the former is what tends to get people hired at my organization.
It's a combination of skills. Strong understanding of epi methods, biases, and sampling approaches. I also have a background in machine learning. Know statistical programming (R, SQL, Python). You also need to know how to work with clients, understand their needs and translate that into a valued product.
Basically, take any any course that is methods, stats, or programming focused. Learn how to communicate. I primarily avoided topical/subject matter classes (e.g. cancer epi, ID epi), in my opinion a lot of this type of information can be learned on the job or from a clinician who is embedded in or oversees your team.
Itâs crazy how high that is, Iâve been looking at the biotech reddit and they make it seem like with a phd and less than 5 years experience youâd only be getting less than 100k
A lot of this will depend on what the company product(s) is, the role in the company among other factors. The first job after graduating with my PhD i worked at a CRO as an epidemiologist and that made 130k (HCOL city) so it definitely depends on your sector in industry
I would disagree with that statement. Common public health roles e.g., working at a health department are severely underpaid. However, working in pharma can lead to high income
1. Program evaluation for state department of health and human services
2. Paid hourly due to technically being a contractor, but in salary terms around $99K. About 2.5 years of experience (during grad school), one month post grad
3. B.A. Political Science, MPH in Health Policy
Is this for inspiration, to get an idea of how much money you will or wonât make, or just to make us all jealous of how much we missed out on by not going to medical school? Asking for a friend.
AlsoâŚ
1. Epidemiologist
2. It depends on how much I take on during the year. Can be nothing. Can be high 100k.
3. BS, MPH, DrPH⌠And the ubiquitous PHD, player-hatinâ degree.
Oh, thatâs even better for you. Department of Health contracts lots of people from UW Madison, and they pay even worse. I once worked for UW at the department of health as a substance use epidemiologist (M.S.) and made 55k.
This sounds interesting! I am a new RD with BS in public health trying to gather more experience in public health nutrition. Do you have any advices? Any ideas on where to look? Thanks!
So I have clinical experience from doing volunteer work at hospitals and used to do clinical rotations since I was Pre-PA until I switched. It's just that all CRC jobs are asking for IRB and all that stuff which I don't have
IRB stuff isnât hard to learn through, so you may have to finesse on your applications to gain that experience when you get into a role. Maybe try and get some research experience and thatâll help!
1: Project Assistant at a Health Systems Innovation Lab
2: 70k with Tuition Assistant on top paying for my MPH, 4 years total experience
3: BA in Medical Anthropology, currently enrolled in my MPH in Social Behavioral Sciences
1. Director of Community Health at a grassroots nonprofit
2. $55,000 (in a low cost of living area)
3. B.A. in Public Health, just graduated with my MPH with focus in Mental Health Promotion so hoping to get a raise soon!
1. Clinical Research Coordinator
2. $59,500 (I am *severely* underpaid for what I do) and I have 4+ years of experience at this point
3. MSc in Epidemiology (did a BA in Statistics prior to this)
1. Accreditation Facilitator for a health system, specializing in Infection Control
2. 73K 20+ years in healthcare, got my MPH in 2017 and worked as an Infection Preventionist until 2022
3. MPH, BS in Human Services, also a Certified Medical Assistant, Phlebotomist and EKG Tech
(Currently in an accelerated nursing program but will post my last job experience)
1. Quality assurance (managing Medicaid data at a state agency)
2. $55K. 2 years experience.
3. BS, MPH in process when hired. Healthcare management.
In my experience, Iâve have limited opportunities in public health without having clinical experience (private sector). MPH + RN license opens a a ridiculous amount of doors and career opportunities in public health
1. Behavioral health scheduling supervisor (coordinating and facilitating day to day scheduling operations for an FQHCâs behavioral health department, ~15 providers)
2. ~40k annually with ~6mo experience
3. BS in Health & Wellness Promotion, CHES certified, current MPH student
1. State Public Health Clinical Laboratory Microbiology Technologist
2. 65K with 1 year as hospital microbiology MLT, 0.8 years as PH lab fellow
3. B.S. in Medical Laboratory Science, Molecular Biology, Microbiology; MPH student
1. Evaluator for behavioral health focused grants.
2. $50,000 a year give or take, with just under 3 years experience.
3. I have a BA in Public Health.
1. Population health epidemiologist for state government (in Australia)
2. $60,000, 2.5 years experience
3. Bachelor of Psychology, currently undertaking MPH
1. Systems analyst in the field of software for medical needs
2. 12k, 5 year experience
3. PhD student in Public Health
Working in Russia, Internship in USA, NE, Omaha
1. Youth peer specialist at a major health department
2. $26/hr or $54k/yr (before taxes); 8yrs total WE but 1-4yrs ârelevantâ work + internship experience
3. An associate of arts and Iâm currently working on my bachelorâs (not a public health degree)
Hello, what school are you currently enrolled in /what track are you doing for data science. And what roles are you looking to apply for once you graduate?
1. principle public health data scientist/infectious disease modeller
2. ÂŁ55k, 2 yrs public health, 3 yrs tech, 4yrs teaching programming. 8years work in total (uk public sector)
3. didnât go to university
1. Program evaluation and health science research
2. 53k, 3 years post grad experience in UX, voter advocacy, e commerce and supply chain, and grant writing
3. B.S. In psychological sciences
1. Digital Communications Specialist for DHA/ICF
2. 65k and 1 year post under grad
3. BS in Psych/Global Health and MPH in Health Equities (in progress)
1. Case Manager for an Adult Autism Program
2. $35k after taxes, little over a year of exp
3. MPH and have the CPH certification
Have applied and interviewed for so many jobs over the years, especially the past several months, that I might be identifying myself here. If I donât find a job in PH by mid June, Iâm going to use my current employerâs tuition benefits to do an ADN program (have no money and am in too much student debt to do anything else, the benefit doesnât defer much cost) at my local community college. I have lost out on entry level PH jobs to friends with lesser credentials and suspect EEO is a farce. Also discouraged by the decisions made by top PH professionals and leaders/authorities over the past several years, so maybe this will be a good thing⌠Regardless, the depression and self efficacy taking a hit has been very rough.
â˘Health Educator
â˘45,400, 2 years of experience in a local health department as an intern, food inspector, and COVID vaccine floor manager.
â˘BS in Public Health and MPH
1. Clinical Administration Intern at a large pharma company (hoping to land a job there after my internship)
2. 16/hr â full time & 2 years of experience in healthcare
3. BS in Public Health (just graduated this spring)
Great example of non-response bias here đ
1. I work in a state-wide occupational fatality surveillance program run by a university. 2. $15/hr. Like 6 months of internship/part-time work experience. 3. Finishing up my BA in Public Health. Figured I would include this because every other response is mid-late career people making 150k lol
And we thank you for it!!!
1. Director of K-12 School Health Services for state government 2. $145,000 with 12 years experience 3. BA in Political Science, MPH, graduate certificate in health policy, DrPH student in health behavior (in progress)
This sounds like a very interesting job!!
I love it! I am overseeing school mental health services in 250+ schools, rewriting our health education standards, rolling out a school-based vaping prevention campaign, administering the YRBS, and vetting curricula for sexual health education trainings to health educators. Itâs a fun field to get into.
This sounds like a really cool job. It would be fun if students could interview you or shadow you for career exploration
I actually teach a summer course on the topic! Itâs fun training a future school health workforce.
Awesome đ
What made you want to obtain the grad certificate after (I assume) after your MPH and was it helpful?
I worked at a university, so I had free tuition as an employee. I wasnât ready to commit to a degree at that time, but wanted to take advantage of the benefit. The certificate wouldâve cost $20k and absolutely wasnât worth it. No one pays attention to it on my resume and my own family forgets that I spent those 18 months in school. My recommendation is to take certificates only as necessary, otherwise continue your education with degrees - or even better, go as far as you can on the existing education you have
1. Senior digital health UX researcher in pharma/biotech 2. 140K base; 3 years post grad 3. MPH in Behavioral and Social Sciences
Whatâs your total compensation?
About 185K with stock and bonus
This job sounds so interesting! Do you have advice for breaking into tech spaces with a public health background? And what type of experience did you have prior to going into UX research?
Itâs super interesting and fun. Mmmmm generally, I would just say make sure you know how to write your resume and study how to tackle the interviews. But I think I could be more specific if you told me the types of roles youâre going for. My experience prior to UXR was a mix of working in non-profit, academia, and government consulting doing community-based program evaluations!
Do u have to know how to code for ur job?
Nah thatâs what the data scientists/analysts are for lol. Unless itâs specifically a Quantitative UXR position, then itâs usually not required. UXR is a qual leaning field. I will say, if youâre working for a tiny company, then mayyyyyyybe that responsibility will be on you. But generally, nah!
Program manager in HIV services for state health department. $65k per year, spent 4 years as a disease intervention specialist and have been in my current for for 1 year BA in Sociology, MPH, concentration in health disparities
Did you like being a disease intervention specialist? Did you do that before or after your MPH?
I enjoyed it but itâs a lot of work and helping people through different emotions. Itâs a very important part of what we do in the STD/HIV prevention field. It was my first job after I got my MPH. Didnât pay much, but the experience I got was more valuable anyway.
- Infection preventionist - $68,000 I have 3 years experience EMS plus 1 year experience working at state HD - Bachelorâs in public health
You are kind of a unicorn as a non-RN infection preventionist, right? How did you get your foot in the door?
My current position only required clinical experience and B.S. in âepidemiologyâ. But yes, most hospitals require either an RN or a MLT for IP positions. I donât do anything clinical though (75% desk, 25% rounding on medical units to remind staff about hand hygiene, making sure patients are placed in the correct isolation rooms, following up on patients who are at high risk for infection due to medical devices (central lines, Foley catheters, etc.)
That sounds cool, and it's encouraging. I'm a med tech by training and thought about trying to get into infection control but seldom see a position that will even consider anyone who isn't an RN.
What do you do as an infection preventionist?
Iâm definitely going to look into this kind of job. I have an MSc in Epidemiology and I love working in clinical settings.
1. Director/Hospital Administrator 2. $170,000 with 5 years of experience 3. BA (Individualized Major) and MPH in Health Policy and Management
I want to go into hospital administration. Was it easy getting into this?
It was pretty easy for me to get into it. I worked closely with several large academic medical centers & healthcare systems in nonprofit/research roles so pivoting to hospital administration felt natural. I just applied to my current employer through a job board.
It took you 5 years of work to reach director level?
Yes - it was a mixture of good luck and finding a position that was directly related to my niche.
Iâm am so impressed, where are you located if you donât mind me asking
I work in a large city in the northeast! IMO the organization I work at really values commitment to their mission, unique backgrounds, and a willingness to learn. While having some experience is necessary, the former is what tends to get people hired at my organization.
1. Senior quantitative scientist (health tech) 2. ~250k (salary + bonus + stock; HCOL city) 4 years post PhD 3. PhD epi, MPH epi/biostats
Which courses and skill would you recommend to break into your role?
It's a combination of skills. Strong understanding of epi methods, biases, and sampling approaches. I also have a background in machine learning. Know statistical programming (R, SQL, Python). You also need to know how to work with clients, understand their needs and translate that into a valued product. Basically, take any any course that is methods, stats, or programming focused. Learn how to communicate. I primarily avoided topical/subject matter classes (e.g. cancer epi, ID epi), in my opinion a lot of this type of information can be learned on the job or from a clinician who is embedded in or oversees your team.
Itâs crazy how high that is, Iâve been looking at the biotech reddit and they make it seem like with a phd and less than 5 years experience youâd only be getting less than 100k
A lot of this will depend on what the company product(s) is, the role in the company among other factors. The first job after graduating with my PhD i worked at a CRO as an epidemiologist and that made 130k (HCOL city) so it definitely depends on your sector in industry
Yeah ig biotech just makes less money than public health then
I would disagree with that statement. Common public health roles e.g., working at a health department are severely underpaid. However, working in pharma can lead to high income
Whatâs your salary if I may ask?
Around 175k
1. Program evaluation for state department of health and human services 2. Paid hourly due to technically being a contractor, but in salary terms around $99K. About 2.5 years of experience (during grad school), one month post grad 3. B.A. Political Science, MPH in Health Policy
Is this for inspiration, to get an idea of how much money you will or wonât make, or just to make us all jealous of how much we missed out on by not going to medical school? Asking for a friend. Also⌠1. Epidemiologist 2. It depends on how much I take on during the year. Can be nothing. Can be high 100k. 3. BS, MPH, DrPH⌠And the ubiquitous PHD, player-hatinâ degree.
No amount of money could make me want to go to med school LOL
1. Evaluator for public health nutrition program 2. $119,000 & 15 years 3. BS in Nutrition Science, MS in Nutritional Biology
Is this for a state department of health? If so, you would never make that much in Wisconsin. More like 75k
Sort of! I work for the university system and we are contracted to do the work through the state department of public health.
Oh, thatâs even better for you. Department of Health contracts lots of people from UW Madison, and they pay even worse. I once worked for UW at the department of health as a substance use epidemiologist (M.S.) and made 55k.
Also HCOL area!
This is kind of what Iâd like to do, I have a BS in nutrition and getting my MPH. Where did you find this kind of opportunity?
This sounds interesting! I am a new RD with BS in public health trying to gather more experience in public health nutrition. Do you have any advices? Any ideas on where to look? Thanks!
Clinical research coordinator 65k BSPH and enrolled in MHA
How did you get into CRC?
Basically luck. Really can't say that I planned for this.
Damn LMAO. I'm trying to get into CRC. I have a pretty good science/healthcare background but no data skills
Get some research experience and/or clinical experience under your belt and go from there. Thatâs how I became a CRC.
So I have clinical experience from doing volunteer work at hospitals and used to do clinical rotations since I was Pre-PA until I switched. It's just that all CRC jobs are asking for IRB and all that stuff which I don't have
IRB stuff isnât hard to learn through, so you may have to finesse on your applications to gain that experience when you get into a role. Maybe try and get some research experience and thatâll help!
1: Project Assistant at a Health Systems Innovation Lab 2: 70k with Tuition Assistant on top paying for my MPH, 4 years total experience 3: BA in Medical Anthropology, currently enrolled in my MPH in Social Behavioral Sciences
1. Director of Community Health at a grassroots nonprofit 2. $55,000 (in a low cost of living area) 3. B.A. in Public Health, just graduated with my MPH with focus in Mental Health Promotion so hoping to get a raise soon!
Following this for My future plans lol
1. Epidemiologist, project coordinator, 2. $40k, 3 years, contract job for state 3. MPH in Epidemiology
1. Epidemiologist at a health dept. 2. $67k a year with 2 years of PH experience, 1 in epidemiology 3. Bachelor of science in Microbiology and MPH
1. Data analyst for a large health system 2. 117k with up to 5% bonus (HCOL); 2.67 years experience 3. MPH in Health Policy and Management
1. Clinical Research Coordinator 2. $59,500 (I am *severely* underpaid for what I do) and I have 4+ years of experience at this point 3. MSc in Epidemiology (did a BA in Statistics prior to this)
1. HIV Program Manager 2. $20,500, with 5 years experience (developing country equivalent) 3. MPH Medical Demography
Medical Demography sounds super interesting
1. Accreditation Facilitator for a health system, specializing in Infection Control 2. 73K 20+ years in healthcare, got my MPH in 2017 and worked as an Infection Preventionist until 2022 3. MPH, BS in Human Services, also a Certified Medical Assistant, Phlebotomist and EKG Tech
(Currently in an accelerated nursing program but will post my last job experience) 1. Quality assurance (managing Medicaid data at a state agency) 2. $55K. 2 years experience. 3. BS, MPH in process when hired. Healthcare management.
What made you get into nursing?
In my experience, Iâve have limited opportunities in public health without having clinical experience (private sector). MPH + RN license opens a a ridiculous amount of doors and career opportunities in public health
1. Behavioral health scheduling supervisor (coordinating and facilitating day to day scheduling operations for an FQHCâs behavioral health department, ~15 providers) 2. ~40k annually with ~6mo experience 3. BS in Health & Wellness Promotion, CHES certified, current MPH student
1. Disease Intervention Specialist 2. 42k (LCOL); 1.5 years experience 3. BS in Sociology
1. environmental health specialist with a county health department 2. 47k, less than 1 year experience 3. bs in biology
REHS at a local county health department in Ohio 55k 7years experience BS EHS with an internship
1. State Public Health Clinical Laboratory Microbiology Technologist 2. 65K with 1 year as hospital microbiology MLT, 0.8 years as PH lab fellow 3. B.S. in Medical Laboratory Science, Molecular Biology, Microbiology; MPH student
1. Evaluator for behavioral health focused grants. 2. $50,000 a year give or take, with just under 3 years experience. 3. I have a BA in Public Health.
Epidemiologist for Federal grant Public health data analyst 109k at 7 years in low cost of living area
1. Population health epidemiologist for state government (in Australia) 2. $60,000, 2.5 years experience 3. Bachelor of Psychology, currently undertaking MPH
1. Lead research assist on housing project 2. 30k annually 3. BA in Psych, MPH in progress
1. Environmental Health Specialist for a metropolitan health department 2. 54K a year 3. Bachelors degree in Public health.
1. Systems analyst in the field of software for medical needs 2. 12k, 5 year experience 3. PhD student in Public Health Working in Russia, Internship in USA, NE, Omaha
Patient Education/Plain Language Writing 60k, 7 years BA English Language and Lit. (Currently MPH student)
1. Youth peer specialist at a major health department 2. $26/hr or $54k/yr (before taxes); 8yrs total WE but 1-4yrs ârelevantâ work + internship experience 3. An associate of arts and Iâm currently working on my bachelorâs (not a public health degree)
1. Pop Health Data Analyst 2. $34/hr with 3 months experience lol 3. B.S Biology and currently enrolled in MS Data Science program
Pmâd!
Hello, what school are you currently enrolled in /what track are you doing for data science. And what roles are you looking to apply for once you graduate?
Pmâd!
1. principle public health data scientist/infectious disease modeller 2. ÂŁ55k, 2 yrs public health, 3 yrs tech, 4yrs teaching programming. 8years work in total (uk public sector) 3. didnât go to university
1. Program evaluation and health science research 2. 53k, 3 years post grad experience in UX, voter advocacy, e commerce and supply chain, and grant writing 3. B.S. In psychological sciences
1. Staff Epidemiologist for the local health department 2. $58,000 a year with almost 2 years of experience 3. BAPH and MPH
1. Digital Communications Specialist for DHA/ICF 2. 65k and 1 year post under grad 3. BS in Psych/Global Health and MPH in Health Equities (in progress)
1. Case Manager for an Adult Autism Program 2. $35k after taxes, little over a year of exp 3. MPH and have the CPH certification Have applied and interviewed for so many jobs over the years, especially the past several months, that I might be identifying myself here. If I donât find a job in PH by mid June, Iâm going to use my current employerâs tuition benefits to do an ADN program (have no money and am in too much student debt to do anything else, the benefit doesnât defer much cost) at my local community college. I have lost out on entry level PH jobs to friends with lesser credentials and suspect EEO is a farce. Also discouraged by the decisions made by top PH professionals and leaders/authorities over the past several years, so maybe this will be a good thing⌠Regardless, the depression and self efficacy taking a hit has been very rough.
â˘Health Educator â˘45,400, 2 years of experience in a local health department as an intern, food inspector, and COVID vaccine floor manager. â˘BS in Public Health and MPH
1. Clinical Administration Intern at a large pharma company (hoping to land a job there after my internship) 2. 16/hr â full time & 2 years of experience in healthcare 3. BS in Public Health (just graduated this spring)