<p>Is an MPH and a career in Public Health advisable for a career change? I already have a Masters (Operations Management) and no medical/science background but I am very interested in Public Health/Policy especially as it pertains to homeless and veteran populations.</p>
<p>As a mid-career change, can I expect to earn decent money soon after graduating? I will be retired from the military by the time I commit to a program (in 5 or 6 years) so I won't require a huge salary but the potential to make $60K+ not too long after school would be nice. Is this realistic? I would not targer elite schools, but decent programs like Drexel, Temple, and others an the Philly/NJ area. And finally, is an execuive MPH applicable to somebody in my situation?</p>
<p>I’m going to say…sort of. It depends on what you mean by ‘advisable,’ and it also depends on what you want to do. Is it a very rewarding field? Yes. I love what I study, I love my research, and I’m passionate about the health of the public. If you are too, you’ll like the field.</p>
<p>However, it’s been my observation that the debt often does not match up to salary opportunities after graduation, although that depends a lot on what field you major in. There are tons of opportunities in epidemiology and biostatistics, and those MPH majors can expect to make $60K+ out of the box. If I could go back in time, I would’ve done my PhD in epidemiology instead. Health policy and management majors also have an easier time finding positions; for those with little to no work experience, the starting salary is probably a little lower (maybe around $40-50K depending on where you live). But given that you already have a master’s degree and some experience, your salary will be higher.</p>
<p>The discrepancy is with the cost of these programs at the top schools. My SPH costs about $40K per year in tuition, and since a lot of students can’t work full-time during the program they also borrow living costs, which adds at least another $20K onto their debt per year. After 2 years, you’re looking at $120K in debt. And MPH programs are considered professional master’s, so funding for them is limited. I don’t think one can expect to make $120K unless they manage to rise to be the CEO of a health firm or a top administrator in government. However, if you can use your GI Bill benefits you may not have to worry about this so much.</p>
<p>You don’t need a medical or science background for HPM or for biostats, although for biostats you need the math. For epi you also need the math, but some epi programs will also want you to have a basic science background (others don’t).</p>
<p>juillet,
Wow, tuition at your institution is high. I have been looking into the MPH program at the University of North Texas-Health Science Center and for Texas residents the entire two year program is about 11k.</p>
<p>Do you have any information on the environmental and occupational health field?</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice. Is the MPH HPM a viable option to work with NGO/Nonprofit? I’d like to be involved in service to the homeless (specifically vets). Also is the MPH the best route to this goal? Is a MPP or MPAore appropriate? I already have a MS in Operations mgt.</p>