CAREERS IN HEALTH
Careers in Public Health and Health Professions
Careers in public health work with populations to prevent disease and promote health. More specifically, public health practitioners work to prevent epidemics and the spread of disease, protect against environmental hazards, prevent injury, promote and encourage healthy behaviors, respond to disasters and assist communities in recovery, and assure the quality and accessibility of health services. Below are some common career specialties in public health.
- Applied Health Research
- Biostatistics and Data Management
- Community Health
- Preparedness and Emergency Management
- Environmental Health
- Epidemiology and Disease Control
- Family and Child Health
- Global Health
- Health Education/Promotion
- Health Communications
- Health Informatics
- Health Policy and Management
- Health Services Administration
- Nutrition/Dietetics
- Occupational Safety
- Public Health Laboratory Practice
- Sexual and Reproductive Health
- For more information, visit publichealthonline.org or publichealthdegrees.org
Careers in the health professions work with individuals to diagnose and treat disease. Below are some common career specialties in the health professions.
- Audiology
- Biomedical Research
- Dentistry
- Forensic Science
- Medicine
- Nursing
- Occupational Therapy
- Optometry
- Pharmacy
- Physical Therapy
- Physician Assistant
- Speech Language Pathology
- Veterinary Medicine
- For more information, visit: explorehealthcareers.org
Work Settings in Public Health and Health Professions1,2
Careers in both public health and health professions exist in many work settings such as communities, schools, hospitals, laboratories, and corporations. All work settings may be separated into three employment sectors: Public, Nonprofit, and Private. Below are descriptions of those employment sectors. For more information, click here.
- Public sector careers include employment with federal, state, county or city government agencies or organizations. Careers in the public sector serve the public good and are funded (fully or partly) through public monies (taxes). Example agencies or organizations include Coastal Carolina University, S.C. Department of Education, S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and U.S. National Institutes of Health.
- Nonprofit sector careers include employment with organizations that provide services for public good to supplement or support public sector agencies. Nonprofit organizations are classified as 501(c) by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and operate using various funding mechanisms such as monies from government grants, donations, or services delivered to consumers. Example organizations include the American Cancer Society, American Red Cross, American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) and United Way.
- Private sector careers include employment with corporations, companies, or other organizations that operate by private individuals or groups to make a profit (money) for its owners, shareholders, or the company. Private organizations range from a mom-and-pop company to a global Fortune 500 corporation. Example organizations include Carolinas HealthCare System, Johnson & Johnson, Cardinal Health, GlaxoSmithKline and Walmart.
Online Resources for Career Opportunities in Health
Resources with Various Career Opportunities In Health
- Job Search Listserv
- American Public Health Association Career Mart
- Disability Scoop Jobs
- Health Promotion Career Network
- Medworking Database
- National Commission for Health Education Credentialing, Inc.
- National Network of Public Health Institutes
- Partners in Information Access for the Public Health Workforce
- Public Health Jobs
- South Carolina Healthcare Jobs
Resources with Public Sector Careers
- Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (Database)
- EduMed.org - Connecting People to Rewarding Degrees and Careers in Healthcare
- National Association of County and City Health Officials (Database)
- USAJOBS, the U. S. Federal Government's Official Employment Database
- U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
- U.S. Air Force Civilian Health Promotion Opportunities - Apply online at Spectrum Healthcare Resources
- U.S. Department of Food and Drug Administration
- U.S. Department of Health Resources and Services Administration
- U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
- U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Global Health
- U.S. Department of State
- U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
- U.S. National Institutes of Health
- U.S. National Library of Medicine
Resources with Nonprofit Sector Careers
- American Association of Retired Persons
- American Cancer Society
- American Red Cross
- Chronicle of Philanthropy (Database)
- Cyber Security Guide
- Doctors Without Borders
- Foundation Center (Database of Foundations)
- Idealist (Database)
- Medical Library Association
- Nonprofit Jobs (Database)
- OpportunityKnocks (Database)
- Partners in Health
- Public Health Foundation
- South Carolina Association of Nonprofit Organizations (Database)
- United Nations
- United Nations Global Opportunities
- World Health Organization (Click here for additional information)
- Work For a Good Cause (Database)
Resources with Private Sector Careers
- Aetna
- BlueCross BlueShield
- Cardinal Health
- Carolinas HealthCare System
- Conway Medical Center
- GlaxoSmithKline
- Johnson & Johnson
- McLeod Health/Hospital
- Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Resources with Education Careers
- Academic Keys (Database)
- American Education Research Association
- American School Health Association (Career Center)
- Chronicle of Higher Education Career Network
- Coastal Carolina University Human Resources
- Diverse Issues in Higher Education Jobs
- HigherEd Jobs
- National Education Association
- University of South Carolina Division of Human Resources
- Teachers (Database)
Resources with Nutrition Careers
- Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
- American Botanical Council
- Center for Science in Public Interest
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration
- U.S. National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine
- U.S. Pharmacopeia
Resources with Generic Career Search Engines
Resources with Other Health Career Resources
- Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (Sustainability-Focused Graduate Degree Programs)
- Association of Schools of Public Health (Graduate Schools of Public Health)
- Career Key (Career Advice)
- Dental Assisting Guide
- Discover Health Admin
- Enroll Education - Library Science Graduate Degree
- Explore Health Careers.org
- Internship and Career Center – UC Davis
- Learn How To Become (Career Advice)
- Mapping Your Future (Career Advice)
- Public Health Online (Career Advice)
- Questions to Expect in Your Registered Nurse (RN) Job Interview
- Masters in Social Work Online
- Social Work Career Center
- Nurse Practitioner Education Resource
- The 10 Highest Paid Nursing Jobs With an MSN Degree
- Volunteering in Public Service: How to Gain Experience Through Giving Back
- Student's Guide to Volunteering in College
- Premier Nursing Academy (Volunteer Opportunity)
- The Top 5 Healthcare Administration Careers
- ZipRecruiter.com
- ZipRecruiter Jobs - Public Health
References:
1. Karl, K. A., & Sutton, C. L. (1998). Job values in today's workforce: A comparison of public and private sector employees. Public Personnel Management, 27(4), 515-527.
2. University of California Davis Internship and Career Center. (2013). Differences among the nonprofit, for-profit, and public sectors. Retrieved from http://icc.ucdavis.edu/