Considering Epidemiology?

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CaptainMako

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7+ Year Member
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Hello,


Forgive the brief background. I am one of those community college freshmen who never thought they'd change their major/educational goal. However, my intended occupation as a merchant mariner has varying instances of job satisfaction, and now I have my doubts and am weighing some options. I have always been curious about public health and epidemiology, but my knowledge of medicine is somewhat below that of a layman. As I understand, there's a significant degree of math involved with reaching a Master's. Math has always been the biggest obstacle in my education, and I'd like to know the rigor of classes I could be facing to obtain a Master's. For someone who passed high school geometry by a sliver, but is showing some small improvement, am I out of my league here?

I am also looking for honest and real input into making Epidemiology a career. I try not to harbor any false delusions, so I don't expect to hear any Dustin Hoffman Outbreak stories. Rather, where can a lot of epi. graduates find employment? What's the day-to-day like? How crippled are you by student debt? Most importantly, how satisfied are you? Some hesitation I have lies in a relative who's spent ~20 years as an orthopedic RN. Not to compare the two different branches by a long shot, but she is somewhat dissatisfied, to say the least.


Thank you for your time and any input you have to offer, and I apologize for my naiveté.