With a public health degree, you could pursue any number of career options in the public health field. For example, you might decide to apply to roles as a health education specialist, medical and health services manager, environmental health specialist or community health worker. These types of professionals play a vital role in protecting and promoting the well-being of communities.

If you’re a current or rising undergrad student and you’d like to work in healthcare but aren’t sure you’d like to become a nurse, earning a public health degree could be a viable alternative. Not all public health workers are nurses, but some are. If you are currently a nurse, you might consider going back to school to earn a specialized degree in public health that could allow you to give your career greater focus. 

Certain public health jobs may have additional eligibility criteria, for example, so you should spend some time researching the career pathway for the options that interest you.

A public health degree is designed to prepare students to improve human health by promoting preventive health practices, preventing disease, reducing exposure to harm and educating the public about healthy lifestyle choices. Public health is the branch of healthcare that is involved with the health of entire communities of people — including communities as small as towns to as large as a country. Public health workers may engage with individuals in the population, work with groups of people and advocate for policy improvements on a legislative level.

A public health major explores key competencies in public health, such as the structure of the U.S. health system, factors that impact health disparities and public health data systems. Students will explore both theory and the application of theory in practical contexts with an eye toward improving the health outcomes of communities.

Other core concepts and competencies covered in this degree program at GCU include:

• Principles of human health and disease, health education, health behaviors and cultural contexts for health promotion
• Elements of workplace health and safety, the effects of organizational policies on human health and the fundamentals of emergency preparedness
• Frameworks and process for community health assessments and strategic approaches to planning public health programming
• Research methods in epidemiology
• Public health policies and advocacy

In addition, GCU’s public health major emphasizes the importance of professional ethics and servant leadership in the field. The curriculum is designed to prepare students to tackle modern challenges in the public health field — from pandemics to public health policy and financing problems.

There are many different public health roles you might consider pursuing, and a few of them are showing positive job growth projections. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the job growth rate for health education specialists is expected to be 7% from 2023 to 2033, faster than average, indicating that employers expect to hire about 4,300 new health education specialists during this time period.^{(See disclaimer 1)}

The positive job growth rate for health education specialists is fueled in part by the need to improve both health outcomes and quality of care, and to prioritize preventive healthcare for the purpose of reducing healthcare costs.^{(See disclaimer 1)}

The BLS predicts a 29% job growth rate for medical and health services managers. This job growth rate is much faster than average and indicates that employers expect to hire about 160,600 new managers during this time. One reason for the job growth is that the aging U.S. population is creating an increased need for healthcare. In particular, health services managers with technological competencies are expected to be needed.^{(See disclaimer 2)}

As you sort through your career options, consider factors such as your strengths, interests and career requirements. Some public health careers you may wish to explore include:

Health Education Specialist

A health education specialist typically engages with individuals and small groups, helping them learn about healthy lifestyle choices and the proper management of chronic diseases. A health education specialist may evaluate current public health programs in a community, identify any gaps and analyze their effectiveness before planning and implementing needed public health programming.

These professionals may spend their time:

• Advocating for public policies and resources that benefit the community’s health
• Delivering training programs for community health workers
• Supervising the staff responsible for implementing public health programs
• Collecting and analyzing public health data
• Assisting members of the public with accessing health resources

According to the BLS, health education specialists made a median annual salary of $62,860 as of May 2023.^{(See disclaimer 3)}

Environmental Health Specialist

An environmental health specialist is a public health professional who focuses on environmental concerns and their impact on human health. They provide consulting and community education and work on environmental regulation enforcement. An environmental health specialist can choose to specialize in a particular area, such as air pollution, institutional sanitation, food protection or health, sanitation and safety in migrant labor camps.

Some specific tasks they may do, include:

• Collecting and analyzing environmental samples to identify potential hazards
• Supervising the treatment and disposal of hazardous waste
• Identifying pollution issues and obtaining stop-action orders
• Developing environmental health programs
• Educating communities

According to the BLS, community health workers made a median annual salary of $48,200 as of May 2023.^{(See disclaimer 4)}

Medical Health and Services Managers

Medical and health services managers are responsible for planning and directing health services delivered in a particular unit, clinic or hospital. The healthcare landscape is continually evolving in response to current needs, new research, emerging technologies and changing regulatory requirements. As such, managers need to stay on top of these changes and ensure their unit or facility adapts accordingly. 

Some of the daily tasks of a health services manager can include:

• Recruiting, training and supervising healthcare staff
• Ensuring regulatory compliance
• Developing and tracking budgets and managing finances
• Organizing and updating facility records
• Representing the department or facility at meetings
• Developing policies and objectives

According to the BLS, medical and health services managers made a median annual salary of $110,680 as of May 2023.^{(See disclaimer 5)}

GCU encourages students interested in promoting the health and well-being of others to consider applying to the Bachelor of Science in Public Health program or another online public health degree. This degree offers a well-rounded curriculum designed to support the pursuit of several different public health careers, with a focus on professional ethics and servant leadership. If you’re currently a nurse interested in specializing in public health, consider applying to the Master of Science in Nursing with an Emphasis in Public Health Nursing program.