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A public health professional assesses the health of populations rather than focusing on the health of one person at a time.

As you work toward becoming a public health professional, you'll study core disciplines, one or more of which could be essential to your career:

• Behavioral and social sciences. Influencing behavior to encourage healthier habits.
• Biostatistics. Designing studies and examining health data.
• Epidemiology. Determining populations at risk for specific conditions or illnesses.
• Health policy and administration. Formulating and writing the policies that impact the health industry.

By becoming a public health professional, you can help alter the direction of health – for current generations and the generations to come.

Roles in the public health field may include:

• Community planners
• Epidemiologists
• First responders
• Health educators
• Occupational health and safety professionals
• Public health nurses
• Public policymakers
• Restaurant inspectors
• Scientists and researchers

You may also find yourself in positions where you are:

• Serving as a program assistant with an international health organization
• Carrying out health-related assessments at construction sites
• Working as a research assistant with a nonprofit organization
• Doing consulting work related to disease prevention
• Working at a company that does health communication and health marketing
• Conducting air quality sampling and surveying
• Responding to calls at a West Nile virus hotline

Some public health professionals take advantage of government programs to gain more experience, such as:

• Serving in the Peace Corps or AmeriCorps
• Participating in a CDC training fellowship

Some of these career paths may require additional education or licensing beyond a BS in Public Health – to both enter the field and advance in it. SNHU is one university that offers a master's in public health online program.

Absolutely. In fact, if you're passionate about the work, a job in the public health field could be an incredibly impactful and rewarding one.

Because public health is such a broad topic, there are many places you can effect change. This also adds to job security and the opportunity for growth. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment in the health field is expected to grow much faster than average through 2032, adding about 2 million new jobs each year.¹

A bachelor's degree in public health can offer a perfect entryway into a field that is so increasingly vital – not just in the United States but around the world.

Dr. Sarah McCool, adjunct faculty at SNHU, adds that, for a field as dynamic as public health, it's critical that graduates are as prepared as possible to hit the ground running.

Public health is particularly useful for those interested in finding solutions to a population's overall health problems. Rather than respond to individual patients with health concerns, this field values a more proactive than reactive approach to keeping communities safe.

"We want to get involved and prevent something from happening rather than fix something once it has happened," said McCool.

Bachelor’s degrees are traditionally known as 4-year programs. But the amount of time your program takes to finish depends on a few factors.

Take, for example, your full-time or part-time status. At SNHU, full-time students take 2 courses per term while part-time students take 1 course per term. With 6 terms per year, full-time students who start with no credits can finish in 3.5 years if they don't take a term off.

Most of our students, though, transfer in credits when they begin their degree. Bringing credits into your online public health degree program can help you get to the finish line faster.

That was the case for Erin Kehl '22. "When I was researching online degree programs, SNHU met all the criteria I was looking for," she said. "I was able to transfer in most of my undergraduate general education (courses)."

It all adds up to less time and tuition, and a much faster pathway to reaching your goals.

Depending on the role you're aiming for, you could position yourself for some significant earning potential.

For example, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that medical and health services managers received median annual wages of $110,680 in 2023 – much higher than the median annual wage for all U.S. workers.¹ 

You may also choose to become a health educator, a role whose median annual wages were $62,860 in 2023.¹

In short, public health is concerned with protecting entire populations – from local communities to an entire country. Community health is a subset of public health that focuses on promoting and improving the health of those in the community.

Public health initiatives can be seen everywhere, from diabetic awareness and seatbelt safety to needle exchange programs and COVID-19 testing. These officials try to get ahead of the work of doctors and nurses so that individuals won't need to be treated for sickness or injury.²

Public health officials promote healthcare equity and quality, advocating for all members of the population to have access to the care they need. They also take science into consideration when creating solutions to problems the population is facing.

Community health is similar, but focuses on specific needs and resources available within the community.

Think weight-loss programs, breast and cervical cancer screenings, food pantries, reduced-rate fitness center memberships, free and reduced lunch programs, nutrition education or asthma management. These are often held at hospitals, schools or workplaces, to meet people where they are.