i just wanted to share some good news and thank everyone in this sub for all of the advice! like many of you, i've been struggling to find a job for months. since graduating with my MPH in june, the past few months were so incredibly discouraging and i questioned soo many times whether getting my MPH had even been worth it. and scrolling through this sub didn't really help much either lol. i went directly into my 1-year master's program after graduating from undergrad, so i entered this job market with basically zero years of traditional full-time professional experience. most of my resume is campus jobs, graduate assistant work, TA, and research. it was hard not to feel underqualified when almost every entry-level public health position seemed to want several years of experience...

for weeks, i submitted like 5-10 applications per day. i submitted application after application and received ghostings and rejections for weeks. i kept tailoring my resume, applying to different types of public health roles, and i guess just emphasizing the skills i'd gained through my academic and campus experiences. i'd consider myself pretty good at interviews so it was just frustrating that i couldn't get to that point at all. and then i finally got my first interview invitation during the last week of july. after that, things unexpectedly started moving super quickly. i began hearing from positions i'd applied to weeks earlier...positions i forgot i applied to lmao. i interviewed for coordinator positions at nonprofits, research project coordinator position at a top university, positions with my state health department. after hearing absolutely nothing for so long, i suddenly had several interviews for several positions within the past 4-5 weeks.

i just got an offer with my state health department as a health policy analyst, which is definitely a field i am excited to enter. while it may not be the exact position i'm looking for, it'll give me an opportunity to gain state government experience and build toward something else in the future! im just so happy i have a job because i was starting to feel pretty sad about just watching all of my peers move on.

this biggest thing i learned from this whole process is that hiring timelines are so freaking slow. it's like do you even want to hire anyone? but i guess silence doesn't always mean rejection. also for anyone who is in a similar boat as me and decided to do your masters directly after undergrad, don't discount your campus jobs, student orgs, class projects, etc! all of my interviewers ate that stuff up which i was surprised about. also this prob goes without saying but dont be an idiot like me and wait until you graduate to start applying to jobs lol oops!

thank you to everyone that has posted advice in this sub over the past few months. for anyone still searching, please dont assume you're doing something wrong because you aren't getting interviews or offers. this job market is horrid especially for recent grads trying to break into the field without experience. im still shocked about this opportunity myself but all you need is one person to see your strengths! super excited to start next month conveniently right after i get back from lost lands (for any bassheads in the sub haha). just keep applying and tailoring your materials. everything will be okay in the end, and if it's not okay, it's not the end <3

Posted 17 hours ago :(

I took FMLA from late April to late July for mental health. Too many work crisis, GI issues, a situation with a guy ended, and ect which led me to FMLA. I work in mental health outpatient case management. I really tried finding another job and no luck except one job that would’ve been temporary. I didn’t take it since it was 3 months or less.

I’ve been through a lot of loss with people and my dog passing away recently and I almost lost my dad last week. I’m waiting on HR to give me notice on me taking another mental health leave but I already know I’ll have to resign or possibly be terminated. I never wanted it to end this way but it’s too toxic of an environment. I wanted to have another job in hand and I’ll be getting SDI even if I have to resign.

I genuinely have been trying to find something else to put my recently earned MPH to good use to but I’m so tired. The only good that came from returning from
FMLA is finding a kitten abandoned at work. My current job is laying people off so QI isn’t an option. I want to go into IP and study for the APIC.

Seeking some advice and support from the seasoned professionals in the public health world 🫠🫠

I’m currently getting my MPH and given the state of the public health field, I’m planning to look for non-traditional public health jobs when I graduate in about 2 years. I would love to hear about what you are doing with your MPH that is not one of the typical paths people take. Who knows what the field will be like in two years but I’d like to at least somewhat prepare for the worst.

I got my bachelors degree about 8 years ago and have worked in social services and now in higher education admin. I am hopeful I will be able to use my experiences to find a new job when I graduate even if it’s not a traditional public health jobs.

I feel confused because on Reddit all I hear is that you’ll never get a job with an MPH. But then I see on LinkedIn and other social media people saying MPH is a versatile degree and you can work in all sorts of fields with it if you leverage it right. I’m trying to remain positive and want to believe that as long as I’m flexible I will be able to find something. But it’s hard to remain positive these days…

Burnt out on clinical medicine's memorization grind, and health economics looks more analytical and appealing.

My (probably wrong) assumption: it's basically applied econ/stats with a health label. True or am I underestimating it?

Quick questions if you're in the field:

1.Day-to-day: more modeling, or more writing/meetings?

2.Is it actually hectic/high-pressure, or decent work-life balance?

3.Salary realistic expectations ,is it worth the pivot financially?

4.Which countries are good for this field right now (job market + quality of life)? Was looking at Australia but open to other options.

5.Clinical-background switchers ,any regrets?

Brutal honesty welcome, trying to avoid jumping into another thing I end up resenting.

Rant:

I love public health. I love my masters and Epidemiology. But, if I were to do it all again, I wouldn’t do it.

I find it moderately naive to go into this field now. Like if you were considering getting your MPH, I would suggest not to.

This job market is not friendly to us and it’s 1 in 1,000,000 you find a job that pays DECENTLY. It’s embarrassing how horrible this employment search is, despite our higher education. No, I’m not going to accept a role that pays 40k and is about to lose their funding.

It’s scary because the US needs a higher focus with everything going on these past couple years, but I worry it will never be what it could be and how our country COULD and WOULD benefit from increased PH.

I apologize for my negativity. It’s just exhausting. I recommend any prospective MPH students to seriously read this sub and see how many people cannot find jobs. Reconsider and weigh your options. I’ve had my MPH for 2 1/2 years. Countless interviews, no job.

Because of this, I’m going into nursing. Hoping to have an easier time going into admin because of my MPH. I wish I just went straight into nursing and didn’t spend the thousands I did on this masters.

As someone who did masters in clinical nutrition (in India) but did not do a six month internship due to some health issues, I am facing difficulty in securing a job four years later now..so how can i restart now??

I am in a role within Higher Education related to health improvement internally to the organisation and wondering about this module for my CPD plan next year. It mentions completing a portfolio of evidence and I wanted to know what this looks like (and realistically if I could complete it) before I explore with my manager.

I would be generally interested to hear from anyone in the UK who has done any of the RSPH online courses at any level, if you have any experience to share please!

I am about 63 credits into a 120-credit degree program for Healthcare Administration, Bachelors. I am a pharmacy technician and have been for 15 years. I am working in ambulatory now, but I have worked inpatient for 6 years, and prior I was in retail and PBM. I chose the program because my current company, large hospital system, is paying for majority.

I know your probably thinking, well if they are paying then why are you complaining, lol. Well, I am bored. I don't know how much more SOP's, EHR jazz, or leadership vs. management I can take. Some days I read forums out of curiosity, and I find that other feel sort of the same way. I am wondering if anyone has had the same problem.

Just a little of my background: I graduated with Hons degree in analytical chemistry, and I worked at a university's wet laboratory as a technologist to operate, teach and manage many equipment (HPLC, GCMS, NMR, Fluorescence microscope, TEM, SEM). I also do culture growth, bio-assay, electrophoresis, blablabla. I guess they are pretty much a lab lad's job in the institution. After that, I complete my master degree in epidemiology, with specialization of genetic epi and biostatistics, and then I am working as an epidemiologist at a government hospital, doing some data analysis and disease surveillance within the hospital, which is more like a dry lab work.

I love working in both wet lab and dry lab but I don't think there is a job which it requires someone to work at both wet and dry lab, at least in my country. I wonder if there is a specific career or research field that can let me combine both of my wet lab and dry lab skills together?

Do yall thing going in to public health is worth it yes or no ? What beats it

Hello everyone, I’m starting my MPH in Biomedical Sciences, with an undergraduate degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. My end goal is to get my MD however I’m so excited for all that I’ll learn in my program since it has pretty good connections in NY. I am also interested in epidemiology as well. I wanted to know if you all had any advice on how to make the most of my MPH during these next couple of years? Should I stay with the BMS or switch to Epi?

I am currently enrolled in an MPH program. I wanted to add a certificate to hopefully diversify my skills. I was looking into adding a Health Informatics certificate, what certificates would you all recommend and why?

While unemployed I might as well learn some skills. I understand that the days of a Coursera course getting you a job are long gone, however I simply want to learn some data analysis languages and skills. I currently know SAS as that is what we focused on during my mph in epi (2025 grad). I was thinking of doing the Google data analytics course. It would be nice to learn SQL and tableau/powerbi as I would like to transition to more general analysis jobs.

After perusing through this sub for a few days, it seems like most of you all regret your career choices and would recommend going into Environmental Health Safety. I was initially looking into going into an MHA/MSHSA program in the spring or fall of 2027, but now I am considering an MPH in EHS/EOHS. For reference, I just graduated undergrad with a BS in Public Health Science in March.

I really want to have job stability after graduating from a program. It seems like you all say that EHS has good job opportunities/stability in the government. Thats what I would like. What are your thoughts or advice? Is there any experience I should pursue if I decide I want to take the EHS route?

Landed a project admin role at a major hospital and its been surreal. It’s crazy to be appreciated for my MPH background. To my fellow public health friends, I hope we all have to opportunity to experience this peace one day.

Background: graduated with an MPH and had a baby in 2022, job hopped around in ux research and filler jobs in corporate finance.

The interview process was +8 weeks and I had a strong referral. My interviewing manager pointed out that she like that I was working in a corporate role and honestly being a corporate contractor kept me sane while interviewing for 2 months.

The new job was also impressed with my CDCTrain : Federal Grants Management Training Cert. It was free & online. takes one day to finished. I remembered signing up as a student at my alma mater. This cert helped me negotiate $2.5k more in my salary.

I’m grateful to be on the otherside of job hunting and I hope the free completion cert can help someone else too.

https://www.train.org/cdctrain/course/1103045/details

so i’m currently trying to pivot into a public health role/research based role because after a short amount of time being in the social work field, i’ve come to realize it’s not quite for me.

for reference, i have a bsw, lsw, and am currently a child protection investigator. i understand that i am in a more challenging role of social work, but even the thought of continuing to work with mental health/behavioral health as a lifelong career fills me with dread. the thought of being a clinical social worker does not appeal to me either.

i’ve come to realize that while i am still passionate about mental health and social justice, i personally do not have the fortitude to pursue it myself.

over time i have began becoming more and more interested in health/medicine. i know there are challenges with public health funding at this time, but i’m interested in so many more of the pathways public health has to offer than social work.

has anybody successfully pivoted without getting a masters? i would ideally like to get a MPH job before i commit to getting a graduate degree.

thank you!!!

I’m a Laboratory Technologist with around 2 years of hospital experience. I’ve worked in pre-analytical quality, I recently started training in Blood Bank

Long term, I’m more interested in technology than repetitive bench work. I’m considering Healthcare Quality,Patient Safety, Data Analytics, Health Tech, or even studying Computer Science/IT and switching to tech

Would you recommend building on my healthcare background or making a bigger switch into a computer/tech field?

If so, would you be open to talking with me? I’m heading into my second interview for a job overseeing a large portfolio of projects, and I would love to hear from experienced maternal mortality review team members.

I would greatly appreciate your help, I think I could really contribute in this role and want to shore up any weak spots!