r/publichealth • u/SadBreath PhD/MPH • Aug 28 '19

ADVICE School and Jobs Advice Megathread Part III

All job and school-related advice should be asked in here. Below is the r/publichealth MPH guide which may answer general questions.

See the below guides for more information:

  1. MPH Guide
  2. Job Guide
  3. Choosing a public health field
  4. Choosing a public health concentration
  5. Choosing a public health industry

Past Threads:

  1. Megathread Part I
  2. Megathread Part II
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u/Randym5 Oct 30 '19

MPH for Cardiovascular Disease?

Hello! I’m asking around to see if this could potentially be my future calling. Right now, I’m an exercise physiologist working in a department as well as in the cardiac rehab program at a small hospital. My Bachelors degree is in Clinical Exercise Science.

With cardiovascular disease being as prevalent as it is, would a MPH be something to look into?

I love helping people, but I’m starting to veer away from enjoying a clinical setting every day. Ideally, I would enjoy moving towards helping a population rather than a single patient. A degree in public health seems like a no-brainer to accomplish that, but I don’t know if there’s really a job market for it.

I’m asking for any ideas of job titles/organizations I should look into surrounding this concept. Epidemiology seems interesting but I’m lacking any sort of background in statistics. If someone here has followed a similar route, I would love to hear about it.

Tldr; 22 Y/o kid with a Bachelors in Clinical Exercise Science is interested in a Public Health masters program but doesn’t know if a job market exists.

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u/darthpocaiter Nov 01 '19

First thing that came to mind reading this - you should check out the dual MPH/MS at Northeastern University. It’s an MS in exercise physio and MPH in urban health. Seems pretty in line with your experience and interests! Depending on where you live/want to live, there are definitely clinical research jobs in cardiology and public health. That MS/MPH would at least advance your salary in clinical exercise physiology jobs, or segue into heart disease prevention programming jobs. If you want to see what types of jobs are available for that field, look around at different organizations that you would like to work at—research institutions, hospitals, pharma/biotech companies, local/state/federal government, etc. GOOD LUCK! You will find a good fit!