Public health careers are often confused with health care jobs. It can be confusing at times because people will sometimes assume that they are one and the same. The truth is, though, that their fields are opposite in their approaches towards health care.
The CDC defines public health workers as those people that use science to protect and improve the health of the people, and the community.
There are basically three different tiers of career paths available, and within those paths, there are numerous alternatives. The three main tiers are local, state, and federal jobs.
Each has its own requirements and needs. Below you will find a few of the choices that you have within the public health sector, but there are many more options available to you, so do your research and find the best fit for you.
Information – Specialists in this area work hard to analyze data and interpret everything that passes in front of them. They collect the data and decide how it can best positively affect the public. They are known for doing clinical trials for various diseases or afflictions, to gain knowledge within specific areas.
Finding out if a certain area of the country is affected differently than others is one of their focuses. This information is required to figure out why the area is affected differently, and how they can help eliminate the specific cause. Jobs within this area include Medical Managers and Health Service Managers.
Community Health – This is another area within public health that centers around helping the disadvantaged people within their communities. They will analyze data and apply the findings to better allocate the funds of the organization when it comes to people that normally cannot get coverage for health issues. They spend time educating the people on how to live healthier lives, which will decrease the amount of medical attention that they will need.
They also form wellness programs for the community, which include educational seminars and marketing plans to reach the maximum amount of people that they can. The jobs available in this sector are Community Health Workers and people wanting to follow the medical administrative track, which includes managers and their assistants.
Epidemiology – This is an area of public health that may not be as popular as some of the others. People that choose this path will focus on monitoring the spread of disease and work on finding a way to prevent it. These are the people that work with viruses and diseases, handling them very carefully to study them.
Others, on the other hand, are traveling in the public and going into areas where the contagions are, so they can study and monitor the progression of the ailment. Jobs within this sector would include Epidemiologists and Field Investigators.
Global Health- Over the past two years, popularity in this sector of the field has had an increase in the number of jobs being posted. This sector will use data that is collected to help the people of the world cope with health problems. They are known as the people that fight for the rights of a country to have up-to-date medical care.
They also find ways to offer medical devices and medicines to people in all areas, including the underprivileged and poor. Jobs found in this area of public health include Refugee Coordinators and Project Managers.
The public health offers a diverse set of career paths. You can simply find a field to work in that will hire you, or you can analyze where your interests are and go for a specific sector.
