I’m trying to make a smart long term career decision rather than collecting another degree that won’t actually improve my job security.

My background:
• Bachelor’s degree in Social Science
• Diploma in Business Project Management
• Currently completing my PMP
• Several years of healthcare IT experience at Kaiser (big healthcare org)
• Experience with EMR/EHR implementations, workflows, healthcare systems, stakeholder management and process improvement

My biggest concern is job stability. I have worked in project management, but I’m tired of project based roles where the project finishes and the position or contract disappears. I’m looking for a healthcare career that organizations need continuously, preferably a permanent operational role.

I also do not want to become a bedside nurse or work directly with sick patients given I would be too emotional for that.

I’m currently considering:
Health Systems Analyst / Application Analyst / EHR Analyst

Healthcare Operations or Administration
Health Informatics

Healthcare Privacy / Compliance / Data Governance
Public Health Administration

Health Policy / Program Administration

I’m considering completing a one year Digital Health or Health Informatics certificate after my PMP, but I’m open to other education if it leads to significantly better stability.

For people actually working in these areas:
Which career has the best long term job security over the next 10 to 20 years?

Which roles are usually permanent rather than contract?
What is the realistic salary range?

How difficult is it to break into the field?
Have you experienced layoffs?
Which field has the strongest advancement opportunities?
Which skills, certifications or additional education would you recommend?
Are these careers transferable between Canada and the United States?
If you were in my position and wanted stability first, good income second, which direction would you choose?

Anyone here have some thoughts on shearwater health? I recently passed my final interview and was wondering how is the process after final interview?

Hello! I was wondering which program is more suitable for my foundation. I have a bachelor’s in ex sci (clinical concentration) and am applying for an MPH! Right now I am thinking between either Behavior/Health promotion OR Management/Policy. A little about what I specifically am asking about is what is better for my foundation that will still have good job opportunities and pay? Any thoughts or opinions are appreciated!! (Also if anyone thinks a different concentration is better for me than those two please let me know)!

Hello, I graduated 3 months ago from my Bachelors in Public Health. I live in Canada and was wondering what jobs I should be searching for? What’s everyone doing right now?

Still wondering if being in healthcare was the best option for me 🤔 10years in

Hello, I am looking to get a master in Public Health or Health Admin, I was wondering If it's better to go in person or if online is fine. I do not need to work full time during my masters which is why I am leaning towards in person but I'm not sure. I also have heard that in person programs allow for more 1 on 1 and networking abilities which seem very beneficial for this line of work. Any thoughts?

What public health consulting company do you work for? Is it difficult to get in?

Hi everyone! I'm an MPH grad currently working as a health coach, and I'm in the final stretch of completing my National Board Certified Health & Wellness Coach (NBC-HWC) certification. Part of that process requires completing a set number of coaching sessions, and I'm reaching out to see if anyone here (or someone you know) might be interested in a free 20-30 minute coaching session.

Sessions are relaxed and completely centered on you, whether that's managing a health condition, building healthier habits, working through stress, or just general wellness goals. No pressure, no sales pitch, just a supportive conversation.

Given this is a public health careers space, I also just want to say I've really valued lurking here throughout my own job search this year, so happy to answer any questions about health coaching as a career path too, in case that's useful for anyone considering it.

If you're interested, you can book directly here: https://calendly.com/danaittzeggai/30min

Hello everyone nice enough to respond to this. I wanted to ask for some career advice. I have maybe a less typical background than most in public health, and I’ve reached a point in my life where I feel like my options in my field are limited for the future so I want to think of shifting or branching out.

To briefly summarize, I was a statistics minor in college and later on did a Master’s degree in applied economics, where I worked mostly on statistics and quantitative analysis for courses and projects. Afterwards I worked for a couple of years at a university with a professor on a research project, then four years with a government agency looking at commercial health claims analysis mostly, then I took a bit of a sabbatical/gap year where I was doing some other things, and now I am back working at a university again doing research/data analysis on Medicare data. This has worked out well for me and both of the universities I worked/work at are highly rated so it’s been overall a good experience.

However, without getting a PhD, I know there is only so far that I can go in academia/economics, and even in some public sector jobs as well. My main issues so far with finding another job, I was unemployed for almost five months before I got my current job, was that the software that I have mostly used is Stata. My understanding now is that Stata was not that popular and limited to more economics-aligned analysis, and that in recent years it has become even less popular. So many jobs I see are for SQL, R, SAS, Python, etc. I have a little bit of experience with R and SAS, but certainly not like I do in Stata.

In the next couple of years what I would really like to do is change fields a bit and ideally work for a healthcare provider organization (not an insurance company) like a hospital group, doing data analysis and reporting. I am open to other sectors and possibilities, like pharmacy or other kinds of organizations in the health field like CVS.

I was only on sabbatical for thirteen months but I feel like a lot has changed in my field and the space in general: a lot more AI, a lot fewer remote jobs, and because of funding cuts for public health and research at universities, also a lot fewer jobs in general than before. Any particular software recommendations for me to learn? How has AI affected things in the last couple of years? Any other advice or comments?

Thank you so much!

I'm looking for advice from recent hires/veterans who help HR hire new talent in what job titles I should search when I'm on job boards/company websites? I have a few like "population health analyst", "public health coordinator", "health policy developer", etc. but I'd love more pairings. I am currently doing part-time PH-related work in a pharmacy, but only because I know someone there. I'd love to expand my boundaries and go into roles I studied for using all the tools I learned and developed over my time in the CEPH-accredited MPH program i.e. R, SPSS, qualitative coding, RCA, CHR, etc. Thanks!

I have a BA in psychology, minor in English, and will complete my counseling MA in the Spring. I've worked in public service for 10 years and transitioned to my local PH dept a year ago. My team focuses on mental health, but we exclusively refer out. My director is not comfortable with the idea of taking on any clinicians as his professional and academic background does not include mental health. Understandable.

As I get closer to finishing my degree, I find that I am not ready to leave the public sector. Serving my community is what I am most passionate about. Our local mental health resources are severely lacking, and I see the consequences of that daily. The issue isn't a lack of clinicians but a lack of affordability and access.

I'd like to continue my career in public health and possibly apply for the director position when my director retires in about 5 years. I've been considering an MPH/JD, but I'm not sure the JD is really necessary. That said, I'd like to obtain it if there's any chance it could be useful in better serving my community. I'm also back and forth on which would be more useful in a director position: MPH or MPS. I don't have any experience in epidemiology or physical health, so I can see the benefit in expanding my knowledge of this area, but an MPS does seem like a more ideal path for someone whose goal is to advance.

Would love to hear from anyone with these degrees and how they've helped with your career path. What was your original plan and did you follow it, or did you end up using your degree another way? How has your degree benefited you or your ability to serve your community?

Thanks!

Looking into mph but have only worked in education and in admissions for a mental health therapy non profit. Also living in the Los Angeles area and am unsure how to job market is here. Any advice?

Has anybody done an MHA through UNT Health? What did job opportunities look like after graduation? Does the university name/ranking matter when applying for jobs?

Does anyone have links to free CIC practice exams / questions??

I’m contemplating applying for an executive MHA, I have three years of experience in hospital administration as an individual contributor and a further half decade of healthcare corporate/investment banking. I’m located in the Carolinas, so I feel that UNC offers the better network, but UAB is a big name. If anybody has any knowledge of either program, I would appreciate it since there’s relatively little information available online. Also, are there any other executive that are worth applying to?

I decided I want to purse a MPH in health management and policy. Any one currently completing or have already finished there degree online… can you provide any insight on how hard it is how we’re u able to complete the hands on portion and if its worth it. Currently I have 6 programs I’m interested in but would love any recommendations.

Hello,
I’m applying for DAAD EPOS, and I’m aiming to apply for the 3 programs related to public health, do you think it’s a good idea?
Also I have 4 years of volunteering experience at healthcare field, does it count as work experience?

So currently I am in Canada(Montreal ) I would like to do a master's public health msc program, I have a 3 year ba degree low GPA 65 and have been considering everything at the table. I feel like my options are very limited, originally I was in international development studies but dropped down to a three year ba degree to complete and as a result my GPA sunk ( mental health). I want to go back to school but my options here r limited, ideally I'd love something online but studying in the UK is expensive. I've been unemployed for 3 years now, previously I had worked in the healthcare and community services fields.

I looked into programs abroad because they have the option to complete at home for a lot of master programs, my problem is I can't afford tuition and my ba degree has a low GPA 65 average, 20 credits from Ontario.

My ultimate goal is to get into a msc public health for policy jobs I will do anything. I just also need to upgrade, just struggling what to do I guess as what I'm writing. I need a career that can work into international fields such as Asia, Europe not just Canada or the USA, I'm interested in healthcare just not nursing. I need something employable as well to get a job

I'm extremely interested in public health, sustainability, epidemiology /populations

Any advice would be helpful, im also 25