Public Health Careers

Public health is an exciting field with a variety of career opportunities focused on preventing disease and promoting health and well-being. Public health professionals can be found in local and state health departments, state agencies, federal agencies, nonprofit organizations, academia, community health centers, hospitals, and more. No matter your interests in public health or your skill set, there is a public health job out there for you! 

What can you do with a degree in public health?

Because there is no one standard job title for people with public health degrees like there are for many other helping professions, the information on employment opportunities and trends can vary, but rest assured, the public health field is rife with opportunity. 

• Many of our undergraduate students will be well-prepared for careers as Health Education Specialists and Community Health Workers, for example. Employment for these professions is expected to grow by 12% between 2021-2031, much faster than the average growth rate for all occupations (5%).
• Some of our graduate students may be excited to start their careers as Epidemiologists, for example. Employment for epidemiologists is expected to grow by 26% from 2021-2031. Others might be looking forward to starting careers in health care management-related roles. 
• Employment for Medical and Health Services Managers, which includes careers in hospital administration and clinic management, is expected to grow by 28% from 2021-2031. 
• Despite being a relatively new field, careers related to Health Informatics are expected to continue to grow. Some projections show that this field could grow by 17% from 2021-2031. This is good news for students in our public health informatics and technology program. 

Whether you are interested in one of these careers or looking to do something else within public health, concerns over mental health and substance misuse, COVID-19 and other infectious diseases, climate change and environmental health, racial and gender equity, and other pressing public health issues have made the need for people with public health training clear.    

Where are UMass Lowell public health graduates working?

University data from 2020-2021 shows that 100% of our undergraduate public health students were either working or continuing their studies shortly after graduating from our program. These students are working in a variety of public health settings, including:

• Hospitals
• Community health centers
• Pharmaceutical companies
• Technology sector
• Academia

Where can you find public health jobs?

What are some examples of public health job titles?

There are many career opportunities available to people with public health training. The following are some common job titles to get you started in your search.

Community Health/Health Promotion

• Community engagement coordinator 
• Community health educator
• Community health specialist 
• Community health worker 
• Community project coordinator
• Health communication specialist 
• Health education specialist 
• Health educator 
• Health equity coordinator 
• Health equity strategist 
• Outreach coordinator 
• Outreach specialist 
• Population health assistant 
• Population health coordinator
• Prevention coordinator
• Program associate
• Program coordinator
• Program manager 
• Program specialist 
• Project associate
• Project coordinator

Health Care

Policy & Advocacy