Public Health Career Outlook

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Increase Your Career Impact With an Online Master of Public Health

Become a more effective and influential advocate for public health with an online Master of Public Health from the Kent State University College of Public Health. Public health careers offer the satisfaction of making lasting contributions to the well-being of individuals and communities, and ultimately, contributing to a healthier and more equitable world.

The Kent State online Master of Public Health (MPH) can support you in doing more good for the communities you serve by developing the skills and confidence to succeed in your chosen area of public health. Tailor your degree to advance your career goals, whether you want to move from clinical practice into management, or want to work on research or health policy initiatives outside of clinical medicine.

Not only can your increased career impact give you more professional satisfaction, but your advanced degree will position you for leadership in a field that's expected to see unprecedented growth in the next several years.¹

A Master of Public Health Is an Investment in Your Career

The U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences has found that people with a master’s degree or above earn higher median salaries on average than those with a bachelor’s degree.

Advanced degree holders average 21% higher earnings.²

For example, the 2021 median earnings for those who had completed a master’s degree or above was $74,600, compared to $61,600 for those who had completed their bachelor’s.²

MPH Career Outcomes

A Master of Public Health degree prepares you for leadership roles in several health services and public health careers, where you can earn salaries like these:

$104,830

National average post-graduation salary for Medical and Health Services Managers³

$84,259

National average post-graduation salary for Epidemiologists⁴

$80,653

National average post-graduation salary
for Medical Writers⁵

$91,483

National average post-graduation salary for Hospital Administrators⁶

$92,793

National average post-graduation salary for Management Policy Advisors⁷

$265,162

National average post-graduation salary for Chief Medical Officers⁸

Kent State Outcomes by the Numbers

Recently surveyed KSU MPH alumni almost unanimously reported being able to apply their coursework to their careers. Most of them reported a salary increase and many saw a pay raise of more than 25%.⁹

76%

Got a Raise⁹

34%

Earn Over 25% More⁹

91%

Use What They Learned⁹

Top Employers for MPH Graduates^10-13

MPH graduates can be found in many employment sectors, with different industries and career roles based on their degree concentration. In general, the top employers for MPH graduates are:

Federal, state and local government
Life sciences research and development organizations
Hospitals: state, local and private
Healthcare organizations
- Individual and family services
- Nursing and residential care facilities

Customize Your Career Path with a Specialization

You have the choice of three specialization areas with your online MPH from the Kent State College of Public Health, so you can focus on what's important to you. This flexibility helps you create a rewarding career and make your best contributions to public health.

Follow these links to learn more about the skills and knowledge you’ll gain in each of the specializations. Stay on this page to explore career paths you can follow.

“My KSU CPH education really helped me begin to see and apply public health principles to my roles to discover new and innovative ways to grow them.”

Whitney R., MPH ’21

Bright Career Outlook for Master of Public Health Graduates

Master of public health careers are rewarding and MPH graduates will have many opportunities through 2032. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics expects the health care and social assistance sector to account for about 45% of all new jobs in this timeframe.¹⁴

2.1 Million

New Healthcare and Social
Assistance Jobs Through 2032¹⁴

Public Health Career Growth Rates

While the overall job growth rate is expected to be 0.3% per year through 2032, the healthcare and social assistance sector will grow significantly faster.

Health Care Support

15.4%¹⁴

Computer and Mathematical

15.2%¹⁴

Healthcare Practitioners and Technical

8%¹⁴

Community and Social Service

7.8%¹⁴

Life, Physical and Social Sciences

6.1%¹⁴

Three Routes to a High-Impact Public Health Career

Browse the sections below to review the rewarding career paths that Kent State’s three MPH specializations can equip you for.

HPM Career Paths

Online MPH graduates who have specialized in Health Policy and Management (HPM) have supported public health and health equity in roles that include:

Healthcare administrator
Social services director
Systems analyst
Development officer
Financial analyst

HPM Program Overview

Healthcare professional taking notes in a binder while speaking to doctor

Public Health Career Resources

As an MPH student, you have access to a variety of career development resources, including drop-in advising sessions that are right-sized for help with quick questions about career development topics including:

Resume and CV support
Accessing and navigating the online career community, Handshake
Improving networking skills
Interview tips

Talk with an admissions outreach advisor to find out more about the drop-in sessions and other ways that Kent State and the College of Public Health support you on your career journey.

Schedule a Call

More MPH Career Options to Consider

Check out this infographic for a closer look at six roles an MPH can prepare you for.

View the Infographic

Haris Ahmad, MPH ’22
Epidemiology Specialization

Recently accepted into the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) fellowship program at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, Haris Ahmad will be researching vaccine effectiveness to inform vaccine policy at the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and the Food and Drug Administration's Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee.

Shanice Cheatham, MPH ’21
Health Policy and Management Specialization

A Presidential Fellow at Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee, Shanice Cheatham is also an entrepreneur who founded a healthcare products company. Cheatham has an undergraduate degree in cellular and molecular biology and aspires to become a trauma surgeon. As a Presidential Fellow, Cheatham works on major projects for the Meharry Medical College.

Rebecca Jindra, MPH ’21
Epidemiology Specialization

Accepted into the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists Applied Epidemiology Fellowship program after earning her MPH, Rebecca Jindra is on the epidemiology team at the Santa Barbara County (California) Public Health Department, where she's working to understand the health of residents living in Santa Barbara County and implementing evidence-based strategies to help address community needs.