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/doggyvoodoo Feb 22 '20

Definitely been there. I’d say if you love public health you’ll eventually want the mph. I held off for a while because I wasn’t sure if it was what I really wanted. In my position now (ID epi) I’m surrounded by really intelligent and passionate colleagues who all have an mph, msph, msc, PhD, md etc. A great option is in non profit work (I did americorps for a few months and they offer an education grant after your service. The timing works out well because you can start a masters after your year is up and it looks great on applications) It can be difficult to get your foot in the door if you’re going for government jobs. Keep at it, though! It’s worth the struggle imo

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u/DCYSJ20 CHES Feb 22 '20

Thanks. I actually just got an interview for a part time position that’s in my interests. Hopefully this gets the ball rolling.

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u/doggyvoodoo Feb 22 '20

Good luck!! I’m time-limited since my position is funded by a cdc grant, but all of my coworkers started that way and got hired on full-time eventually! Sucks because public health is so underfunded, but it’s an incredibly rewarding field to be in once you finally find your place :)