Today’s generation aspires to do all they can to contribute to society and create a better world around them. Luckily, there are various options available to embark on this endeavor instead of the traditional career paths. For instance, pursuing a career in medicine is easily one of the best ways of contributing to society.
Healthcare professionals can help create safer, stronger communities that are better equipped to facing life’s challenges and hurdles. However, healthcare isn’t just limited to becoming a doctor or a nurse.
Instead, there is a vast range of professions you can pursue. A public health degree prepares you to enter various prestigious domains and serve the public in myriad ways.
This degree is incredibly varied, and each career can be highly fulfilling and lucrative. If you’re having a hard time thinking of what career paths to take with a public health degree, keep reading below. We’ve listed some of the best career paths to take with a public health degree.
Public Health Educator
The public health educator’s role is easily one of the most important ones you can pursue. Without public health education, it would be impossible to spread awareness regarding contagious and non-contagious diseases.
It would be incredibly challenging to compel people to adopt safer practices and lead healthier lives if these professionals didn’t campaign for them. The current pandemic has done more than anything else to highlight the importance of public health education.
With a degree in public health, you are perfectly equipped to understand and address the unique health concerns of various communities. Fortunately, earning a public health degree is quite convenient given the flexible schedule and latest curricula of online platforms.
Through online MPH programs, you understand the various socio-economic factors that influence public health and educate communities to adopt healthier, safer practices. You can also identify groups at higher risk of health-related issues and devise elimination strategies to tackle the problems better.
Furthermore, your degree prepares you to handle sensitive issues like HIV/AIDS, mental health issues, and more.
Epidemiologist
When infectious diseases show the first signs of spreading, epidemiologists do their best to mitigate the damage before things get out of hand.
Epidemiologists are vital in controlling disease outbreaks, and they do much more than just identifying infectious diseases. They help identify how contagious a virus is, how it impacts people, which communities are more vulnerable, and how they can prevent such a situation from occurring again.
Epidemiologists often work with novel diseases and try to investigate how the problem emerged.
Epidemiologists have been vital in assessing the current Covid-19 situation and helping implement protective protocols. Their work has helped identify which people are most vulnerable to being strongly affected by the virus and which groups have a better chance of survival.
Furthermore, they have helped us understand how the disease spreads and how we can protect ourselves. With an infectious disease affecting our lives so profoundly, the need for epidemiologists is at an all-time high. Plus, the job outlook for epidemiologists will grow by 5%, faster than average for all professions.
Environmental Health Specialist
A common misconception is that the environment and external factors have a limited impact on our health. However, this statement couldn’t be further from the truth. In reality, the environment has a profound effect on our mental and physical well-being.
Living in an unhealthy environment can pose many health risks. Breathing in polluted air, drinking dirty water, and living in unsanitary conditions are some of the prominent environmental factors that adversely impact our health. However, various other factors affect our health too.
Living in a congested, industrial area can wreak havoc on your mental and physical health. Having little access to nature and open spaces has a similar effect, as does living in noisy localities.
Environmental health specialists analyze all these risks and help create better-designed communities that uplift public health. Furthermore, these health specialists also help develop better workspaces and help analyze which individuals are more at risk of being adversely impacted.
Biostatistician
If you want to work in a healthcare setting without assuming the role of a doctor or a nurse, working as a biostatistician is the next best thing.
These individuals are responsible for designing, analyzing, and implementing various target statistical research studies. These research studies aid in the expansion of medical knowledge and in enhancing public health work.
Much of their job revolves around carrying out public health research work at the community and global levels.
Undoubtedly, this pathway is best for those who can appropriately apply mathematics, statistics, and data to biology.
Conclusion
If you want to serve the public, there can be no better degree to pursue than one in public health.
It is an incredibly well-rounded program that gives you healthcare knowledge and allows you to understand the various socio-economic factors that influence healthcare.
You can thus work in multiple professions that enable you to promote healthier living within all communities and bring about long-lasting change.
