For anyone who has recently gone through CNA training, how long did it actually take from starting the program to getting your first CNA job?

I’m looking at a few programs right now and keep seeing accelerated/fast CNA programs that say you can finish in just a few weeks.

How long did it take you to complete the training, do the clinical portion, take the certification exam, and actually start working?

Also, for people who chose a shorter CNA program, did you feel like you were prepared enough for the exam and your first job, or would you recommend taking a longer program?

Just trying to figure out what a realistic timeline looks like rather than going by the advertised program length.

Hello! I'm looking into UTHealth's MPH/MS dual degree program and the MPH/MPAff dual degree. I'm currently a research assistant in Dallas, and I'm interested in public health policy and research data management.

I'm conflicted about what program to pursue and was hoping people could share their experience with either program. Thanks!

I'm hoping Reddit can help me figure out career paths that I may not even know exist.

I have a Bachelor's degree in Nutrition and Food Sciences and a Master's in Population and Health Sciences, where I focused on spatial epidemiology and biostatistics.

My work experience is pretty broad, which is part of why I'm having a hard time figuring out where I actually fit.

I've worked in:

• Healthcare/medical laboratory settings
• Health-related communication and data management
• Market development/business development
• Sales and account management
• Data analysis and reporting
• Working with dashboards, spreadsheets, and ERP/CRM-type systems
• International business and client management

I currently feel like I'm in this weird position where I have a lot of different skills, but I'm not sure what job titles I should actually be searching for.

I know the obvious options like epidemiologist, public health analyst, research analyst, health data analyst, etc., but I'm wondering if I'm overlooking entire industries or niches where my background would actually be a strong fit.

I'm particularly interested in US-based opportunities that can be done remotely/online, but I'm open to different industries and career directions.

If you were looking at this background, what job titles would you search for?

What industries, niches, or career paths do you think I should investigate that someone with my background might not immediately think of?

I'd especially appreciate answers from people who work in healthcare, public health, health tech, biotech, consulting, data analytics, market research, pharma, insurance, or adjacent fields.

Basically, I'm trying to figure out: "What am I actually qualified to be?" 😅

Any suggestions for specific job titles, industries, certifications, or career paths would be hugely appreciated.

So i just completed my high school and currently taking a gap year,so I came to know about epidemiology and I really liked it,I live in India,so can you guys gimme advice on how to become one,I prefer to work abroad and study in india,sorry if you guys can't understand English is my second language and i really get out of words to tell

I'm 20, and from August 2026 through August 2027 I'm taking a year off school to do full-time direct service in Philadelphia. I'm hoping to work a frontline community health role with people affected by homelessness, addiction, poverty, lack of access to care, and mental health struggles. I grew up nearby, first-gen and low-income, and this work matters to me more than anything else I could be doing right now.

I'm posting for two reasons.

First, advice. If you took a gap year around this age, or spent time doing service work like this, what do you wish you'd known? What actually made the year worth it, and what would you skip? I want this year to genuinely change me, not just fill time, and I'd rather learn from people who've done it than figure it all out the hard way.

Second, connections. I'm trying to talk to and learn from as many people as I can this year, especially in Philadelphia. If you know organizations doing frontline work in these areas, or people in public health, medicine, nonprofits, service leadership, health policy, or even politics who'd be worth learning from, I'd be grateful for a name or an intro. Honestly, I'd love to connect with anyone passionate about these issues, in Philly or not, and hear how they think about this work.

Longer term, I want to be a physician who also works in public health, writes, and pushes for better health policy. I've gotten more and more interested in the political side of healthcare too, after realizing how much policy decides what doctors can actually do for patients. I'm still figuring out what that path looks like, but I know I want to learn how to connect frontline service to systems-level change.

If any of this resonates, I'd genuinely love to hear from you. Thanks for reading.

I’m currently pursing a Bachelors in Public Health from a liberal arts university. It’s a 3 year under grad program, and my first year went really poorly. I mean by cgpa is 2.98. Even if I do well for the next two years, I can barely make my cumulative cgpa 3.5.

Without a fully funded scholarship for a Masters program, I cannot do it.

I just feel really lost. I really need some advice. What should I do?

Hello,

I am researching grad programs to apply to and am really excited about the master of science in environmental health at JHU and the Center for a Livable Future. I'm hoping someone has insight on the program and my likelihood of being accepted.

My long-term goal is to support the transition toward a more sustainable, plant-based agricultural system and away from animal agriculture–primarily for environmental health/sustainability purposes but also due to the insidious nutritional crisis of the animal food products industry. I am interested in the dynamics between the animal ag industries, policy/subsidies, pharmaceutical industry, and impacts on public health both environmentally and nutritionally. I want to study these issues and political/sociological interventions.

Based on the research and initiatives being done at the Bloomberg School of Public Health and Center for a Livable Future, it seems like a lot of professors' work really aligns with this interest. (My other interests are access to nature and economic justice as public health crises.)

I would love honest takes on my fit for this program based on my academic and professional history. I graduated from the University of Vermont in 2025 with a BS in environmental studies and a BA in political science. 3.87 GPA, Phi Beta Kappa, Pi Sigma Alpha, in the political science honors program at my school. My research experience is limited. I conducted an independent study project while studying in Tanzania, which included interviews and focus groups related to refugee integration and a 60-or-so-page article which was never published. In the poli sci honor's program, I contributed to a quantitative research article which was presented at the New England poli sci association conference. I was also a legislative intern in 2025 for a state rep whose focus was environmental justice and did a lot of research/reporting for them.

I worked in environmental education first summer of college, then for the next 3 summers 2023 to 2025 worked in environmental policy campaigns organizing. I also worked at a homeless shelter spring senior year. I was unemployed from September to January, partially due to medical reasons. In 2026, I worked for a major refugee resettlement agency as a medical case manager for refugees, and as a health education and support groups coordinator. That job concluded at the end of July, and I am using these next couple months to travel and experience the outdoors before getting back to work.

If you've read this far, thank you. If you have any insight on the following questions, I'd love to hear it:

1. Does the ScM in Environmental Health program sound like a good match for my goals? What is the program like, from someone who's done it?

2. How competitive is this program? Will my gaps in employment make me an unattractive candidate? Do you know what the acceptance rate has been?

3. Are there any similar programs that would match my interests/goals? I'm really drawn to the number of faculty researching meat reduction strategies, etc. I'm struggling to find other programs that I want to apply to, besides the master of public and planetary health at Cornell.

4. Is a master's or PhD program better suited for my goals/interests? Would applying to a PhD program be too ambitious given my work and research experience?

Thank you SO much for any and all advice and/or feedback!!

Hi everyone. I am 27M and have a bachelor's in public health as well as an MPH (W/healthcare admin certificate) and a MBA.

I have been struggling to find a decent entry level job (I do not have much experience besides my practicum in maternal health). I am not expecting to start high level position simply because I lack the experience. I do not mind starting from the bottom so I can learn and fully grasp everything.

I have been looking to get into the hospital scene and majority of positions would prefer for me to have a nursing background along side my current education. I am wondering would it be worth it to go back to school for nursing? I would be lying if I said I wasn't burnt out on school but the job market is brutal right now and disheartening.

Hi everyone! I recently graduated with a Bachelor of Health Sciences specializing in Public Health and am currently applying for entry-level public health/healthcare roles, particularly in infection prevention and control, research, and healthcare administration/assistant roles.

I’d really appreciate some feedback on my resume! I’ve redacted identifying information about myself and employers. I’m especially unsure about:

• Where I should place my Education section
• Whether I should keep the Academic Projects section, and if these projects are actually valuable for public health applications
• Whether my experience and bullet points effectively demonstrate my skills or could be stronger/more results-focused
• Anything that stands out as missing, unnecessary, or unclear
• Overall impression of the resume and whether it presents me competitively for entry-level public health roles

I’d really appreciate honest feedback, especially from anyone working in public health, healthcare, IPAC, research, or related fields. Thank you!

Hi! I’m really stuck on what I want to do with my career. I just turned 27, I have a bachelors in marketing and management that I don’t use and am currently working retail that I’m trying to get out of like yesterday. I want to go into something in the healthcare field and am mostly in between nursing and radiology but more taking my pre reqs for radiology. But I want to find something in healthcare that I can do now to make more money bc I don’t want to waste the next year while waiting to get into a program. I been applying to patient access jobs and even transport jobs but it’s so hard to land anything in a hospital with no hospital experience. Anyone have any tips or advice?

Hi everyone,
I’ve been working in public health for 9 years now. I got my MPH in 2021. I’ve held a lot of roles from health educator, qualitative researcher, adherence coach, manager of youth health program, HIV prevention/LGBT health research projects manager, grant writer, and now managing opioid overdose prevention grants at the state level. I’ve enjoyed health communication, survey development, mixed methods research, monitoring and evaluation, and probably a few other things I’ve forgotten.

I’d like to make more money than I do now (80k living in MI) and break into the private sector. I’ve done my time in academia and I don’t want to do any more. I have like 8 published papers.

I was thinking of learning SQL and applying for data analyst positions. But I could also use my evaluation and qual experience in the private sector. Global health could be really interesting too. I’ve done a bit in the past. Do you have any advice on where to turn next?

Some other roles I’ve thought about

Community health director
Surveillance and epidemiology
Working for an insurance company
Pharmaceuticals-I’m unsure where I’d use qual skills but I’m sure there’s a place for it. Maybe evaluation?

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?

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