Public Health Careers and Further Study

Public health degrees lead to a wide range of jobs, and there is no single career path. This guide uses Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) pages for three occupations that public health graduates often consider, explains what the CHES and MCHES credentials are, and points to fellowship and doctoral options. It does not predict outcomes for any individual, and it does not cover every public health job.

How to read the numbers

BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook pages describe whole occupations, not degrees. A figure for "epidemiologists" says what people in that occupation were paid and how employment is projected to change; it does not say what a graduate of a particular program will earn. Wages vary by region, employer, experience and sector. Projections are estimates and can change when BLS revises them. All figures below come from the BLS pages as we accessed them on 2026-11-01. Open the pages for current numbers.

Three occupations, from BLS

Health education specialists.

• Typical entry-level education: a bachelor's degree; some positions require a master's or doctoral degree.
• Median pay: $64,070 per year in May 2025.
• Projected employment growth: 6 percent from 2025 to 2035, compared with 3 percent for all occupations. About 70,400 jobs in 2025.
• Where they work: hospitals, nonprofits, government agencies and other settings. Government is the largest employer category (outside state and local education and hospitals), at 24 percent of jobs.
• Certification: BLS says employers may require or prefer certification.

Epidemiologists.

• Typical entry-level education: a master's degree. BLS says many hold an MPH or a related field, and some hold a doctoral degree in epidemiology or medicine.
• Median pay: $87,220 per year in May 2025.
• Projected employment growth: 19 percent from 2025 to 2035. About 12,800 jobs in 2025.
• Where they work: state government (33 percent) and local government (22 percent) are the largest employers, followed by hospitals (10 percent).
• What they do: investigate patterns and causes of disease and injury, plan studies, collect and analyze data, communicate findings and sometimes manage programs and write grant proposals.

Medical and health services managers.

• Typical entry-level education: a bachelor's degree. A master's is generally needed to advance to top executive positions, and some employers prefer one.
• Median pay: $123,860 per year in May 2025.
• Projected employment growth: 24 percent from 2025 to 2035. Employment is projected to rise from 640,400 to 795,500.
• Licensure: some managers need a state license, and all states require licensure for nursing home administrators, with requirements that vary.

These three are examples. Public health graduates also work in other occupations that BLS describes separately, and we have not listed them. For the management side, see public health vs healthcare administration.

Degrees and credentials are different things

A public health degree is an academic qualification. It does not on its own license you to practice a clinical profession or to hold a state-licensed role such as nursing home administrator. If you want to practice in a licensed profession, find that profession's licensing board and read its requirements.

Some credentials in public health are professional credentials issued by separate bodies, not by the school. NCHEC's pages we read do not say whether any jurisdiction requires them by law. The best-known for health education is the National Commission for Health Education Credentialing (NCHEC), which offers:

• CHES (Certified Health Education Specialist). NCHEC's pages say a CHES has met required academic preparation qualifications, passed a competency-based examination and must meet continuing education requirements to maintain the credential. The exam page describes a 175-question multiple-choice test with 150 scored questions and 25 pilot questions, offered by computer-based testing or live remote proctoring, with three hours of testing time. Exam registration windows change, so check NCHEC for current dates.
• MCHES (Master Certified Health Education Specialist). NCHEC lists four characteristics: required academic qualifications, at least five years of work in the field, passing NCHEC's competency-based examination, and meeting continuing education requirements.

NCHEC's pages we read do not list the detailed academic requirements for either credential, so look at the eligibility pages and compare them with your coursework before you assume a degree qualifies. The BLS says employers may require or prefer certification for health education specialists, but whether a job you want asks for it is something to check in the posting. CEPH's criteria for bachelor's programs note that a program intending to prepare students for a specific credential, such as CHES, must also cover the areas of instruction required for that credential, so ask your program whether it has done that. Passing a certification exam can be one element of an MPH culminating experience, but the CEPH criteria say it is not sufficient on its own.

Fellowships and early-career programs

CDC's fellowship page describes categories of opportunities: short-term internships for students at CDC and other agencies, full-time fellowships lasting one to two years, work experience opportunities within CDC, and information on training. The page does not state eligibility requirements itself and links to separate pages for each category. Read those pages for degree, citizenship and timing rules, and look at other agencies' and organizations' programs through your school's career office. ASPPH also lists a public health jobs board among its student resources.

Fellowships are competitive and eligibility varies. Treat them as options to research rather than as a path every graduate follows.

Further study

Where a role calls for it, further study can be a second master's, a doctorate or a professional degree in another field.

• Doctoral study. ASPPH describes the DrPH as an applied research degree for senior leadership roles in public health practice, and the PhD as preparing students for teaching and research. See DrPH vs PhD in public health.
• Academic master's degrees. ASPPH describes the MS and MHS as academic degrees that typically lead to a doctoral degree afterward. See MPH vs MSPH.
• Other professional programs. If you intend to combine public health with medicine, nursing, law or another profession, ask whether the school offers a combined degree and how the admission process works. Each school sets its own rules.

You do not need a public health bachelor's degree to apply to a graduate public health program, according to ASPPH.

Matching a degree to a job

1. Identify two or three job titles you might want.
2. Read the BLS page for any that match, and read five real job postings for each, noting required degrees, certifications and years of experience.
3. Check whether the employer type (state or local government, hospital, nonprofit) is common for that role. BLS lists employer shares for some occupations.
4. Work backward to degree, concentration and practice experience. How to choose an MPH program describes how to compare programs. See also what can you study in public health.
5. Consider cost against the likely pay for the roles you chose; see public health tuition and funding.

About this directory

You can browse programs by state and by subject such as epidemiology, and view the MPH degree page. The directory does not claim complete coverage, and it does not report job placement or salary outcomes for individual programs; ask each school for its own outcomes data and treat it as that school's report. See the methodology page.

Short summary

• BLS figures describe occupations, not degrees or individual outcomes. Quote them with the year.
• Typical entry education differs: bachelor's for health education specialists and medical and health services managers, master's for epidemiologists.
• CHES and MCHES are separate credentials with their own exams and requirements, not automatic with a degree.
• A public health degree is not a clinical license.