Hello! I am trying to decide what I should do in terms of a major. I am a current freshman who needs to start getting ideas. One of the ideas that I have is Public Health. My question is, what can I do with a Public Health Degree? Thank you!
Public health is the interdisciplinary study of how to promote the health and prevent disease in entire populations. The kind of work that you can get with a public health BA is pretty similar to the kind of work you could get with any other social science or natural science BA, depending on how your public health major is constructed. Do note that if your interest is specifically in entering public health as a field, the entry-level qualification for most public health jobs is the master’s of public health (MPH). So most public health jobs with a BA are going to be pretty low-level and not well-paid. You might teach community health programs in clinics, schools, or other community locations; maybe you could assist with public health research at any of these locations or at a hospital or university; you could work for a think tank, NGO, or nonprofit helping to put together policy or strategies surrounding public health. You could also work for government in determining public health plans or policies. However, most positions like this are going to be filled with people who have an MPH.