The current pandemic is proof that the healthcare industry is one that has a lot of job security and a constant need for professionals in a very wide variety of positions for people who have all different career interests.
From mental health to physical health to sports science to surgery to many, many more, public health jobs are aplenty, and each helps people and provides a pretty solid income for you and your family.
Health education is another area that is drastically expanding, with some thanks to necessities brought on by the COVID pandemic.
Distance education is proving to be a valid way of educating healthcare professionals, which is great for both those currently deciding which career path to take, and those already in the industry who want to further their education to move up, or laterally, within their healthcare profession.
Here are a few other reasons that a public health career is a good one!
Advocacy
A career in public health and a graduate degree can launch you into a career helping to cause issues in public health like racial disparities and income challenges faced by certain communities.
This work can expand to a global level, too, and with great evolutions in remote technology, new health practices can be shared to the far corners of the globe, meaning your work can truly change the world.
Many jobs in public health advocacy also involve research, so if you like the science side of healthcare, this is a great field to look into.
Disease Control
A hot topic in 2020, no doubt, public health workers are the key elements in disease control.
If there is a silver lining to the coronavirus pandemic, it is the fact that we now have wonderful means of collecting data that can be used to prevent and react to the next public health issue.
Jobs will be aplenty in this field in the coming years, and with higher education, research opportunities will also be available in many different aspects of disease control.
Mental Health
Another trending issue is public involvement in mental health.
As many people protest for police defunding, a re-directing of public money to mental health initiatives is often mentioned in the same breath.
An area closely related to social work, public health workers who specialize in mental health are expected to be in high demand as focuses on de-escalation and recognition of individuals with mental health issues are becoming very regular around the United States.
Nursing Home Administration
With issues like ageism in healthcare causing similar disparities as those previously mentioned regarding race, elder care is expected to evolve and become more patient-centric in the coming years.
If you have an interest in helping the older generations, opportunities are expected to grow, as well as different types of work in this field.
Engineering
Public health engineers help solve problems both in the short-term, like those faced with COVID, and long-term, like disparities in treatment in certain parts of a given city, or ways to improve care on a large-scale, that could ultimately affect the entire scope of healthcare.
Takeaway
No matter the path you choose to take in public health, you can rest assured that your time and money invested in your education will be worth it, and well-protected.
Public health is a field that will simply never go away and jobs are always evolving, making it fun and desirable to stay in for many.
The money is very good, you help people, and you can travel a lot too – if that’s your thing!
