Graduating MPH Student 2019

[Kaiser_1]

Hi Everyone!

Is anyone graduating this year from the MPH program? I'm interested to know what sort of career routes you guys plan on going to. Any positions or career moves you're looking to apply for? Any organizations?

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[71ubpmk]

I am! My concentration is epi. Career-wise I am starting medical school this year and am interested in infection prevention, antibiotic stewardship, and global health.

 

[wholeheartedly]

Hi Everyone!

Is anyone graduating this year from the MPH program? I'm interested to know what sort of career routes you guys plan on going to. Any positions or career moves you're looking to apply for? Any organizations?

Finishing Epi MPH where I focused on infectious diseases. Currently working as an infection preventionist, would like to be an ID doc but not sure how feasible that is at this point. After that my ideal job would be as an epidemiologist for a state health department.

 

[Kaiser_1]

Finishing Epi MPH where I focused on infectious diseases. Currently working as an infection preventionist, would like to be an ID doc but not sure how feasible that is at this point. After that my ideal job would be as an epidemiologist for a state health department.

Oh, that's awesome! Why don't you think it's feasible?
And that's what my friends have been doing thus far---looking for jobs in the health department.

 

[Kaiser_1]

I am! My concentration is epi. Career-wise I am starting medical school this year and am interested in infection prevention, antibiotic stewardship, and global health.

That's awesome! Was your undergrad biologogy or did you do a post bac to get into med school?

 

[wwmmkk]

I'm graduating this year too. Going straight to a PhD in social behavioral sciences. That wasn't the plan going in, but it turns out I really enjoy research. I'm going to try for an academic career.

 

[71ubpmk]

That's awesome! Was your undergrad biologogy or did you do a post bac to get into med school?

My undergrad was in bio!

 

[wholeheartedly]

Oh, that's awesome! Why don't you think it's feasible?
And that's what my friends have been doing thus far---looking for jobs in the health department.

Well not feasible as I’m getting a bit old for the MD pathway and my UG grades aren’t competitive as I wasn’t shooting for something like med school (to be honest I didn’t know what I was going for). So I could take some more hard science classes and show my stuff, but I just can’t justify the tuition at this point. We’ll see.

 

[Kaiser_1]

I'm graduating this year too. Going straight to a PhD in social behavioral sciences. That wasn't the plan going in, but it turns out I really enjoy research. I'm going to try for an academic career.

That's great!! So I am looking into PhD programs myself and how was the application process in general? Was it easy or does it really depend on the university?

 

[Kaiser_1]

Well not feasible as I’m getting a bit old for the MD pathway and my UG grades aren’t competitive as I wasn’t shooting for something like med school (to be honest I didn’t know what I was going for). So I could take some more hard science classes and show my stuff, but I just can’t justify the tuition at this point. We’ll see.

Yeah, I understand.
How long have you been a infection preventionist? Also, do you find the job market difficult for that kind of career?

 

[wholeheartedly]

Yeah, I understand.
How long have you been a infection preventionist? Also, do you find the job market difficult for that kind of career?

I’ve been an IP for just under a year. I have a background in Clinical Lab Science so that helped as it gave me prior healthcare experience. There’s high demand for IPs and some positions are open to newbies. Even if they aren’t listed as open to newbies it can still be worth inquiring about as I see a lot of positions open for long periods of time.

As a newbie I would recommend going somewhere where you’re not the lone IP and will have someone to train and mentor you. I’m flying solo here and it’s been a ton of working getting things up to speed.

I technically didn’t meet all the requirements for my current job but the position had been open for almost 2 years , so when I called to ask they got excited and told me to apply. Had an offer shortly after.

 

[wwmmkk]

That's great!! So I am looking into PhD programs myself and how was the application process in general? Was it easy or does it really depend on the university?

Honestly it's not much different from the MPH application process. A lot of schools use SOPHAS for PhD programs as well, and it's the same requirements basically: transcripts, GREs, SOP, 3 LORs, etc.

I'd say the waiting has been the most nerve-wracking part. There's a wait after applying to hear if you get interviews, then a wait after interviews to get a decision, and then a lot more waitlisting than for MPH programs after that. I sent all my applications mid-November and only have decisions from half of them now.

Also, obviously, it's much, much more selective than MPH programs. I've never seen or heard of anyone not getting into any of the MPH programs they applied to (except maybe people who only apply to Harvard or something), but I know multiple people with strong academic and public health backgrounds who have applied and re-applied to PhD programs for multiple years before getting in somewhere. I'm very thankful I haven't had that experience.

 

[ssy018]

Anyone applying to fellowships? I'm still waiting to hear back from CSTE fellowship...

 

[Kaiser_1]

Anyone applying to fellowships? I'm still waiting to hear back from CSTE fellowship...

Yeah. Applied to PHAP.
When do you hear back? I think you hear back from everyone in April which seems to be the deadline for most things?

 

[Kaiser_1]

Honestly it's not much different from the MPH application process. A lot of schools use SOPHAS for PhD programs as well, and it's the same requirements basically: transcripts, GREs, SOP, 3 LORs, etc.

I'd say the waiting has been the most nerve-wracking part. There's a wait after applying to hear if you get interviews, then a wait after interviews to get a decision, and then a lot more waitlisting than for MPH programs after that. I sent all my applications mid-November and only have decisions from half of them now.

Also, obviously, it's much, much more selective than MPH programs. I've never seen or heard of anyone not getting into any of the MPH programs they applied to (except maybe people who only apply to Harvard or something), but I know multiple people with strong academic and public health backgrounds who have applied and re-applied to PhD programs for multiple years before getting in somewhere. I'm very thankful I haven't had that experience.

Thank you so much for the information (and the delayed reply).
I'm considering PhD but I just want to make sure it's the right path before applying.

 

[noideawhatimdoing]

Anyone applying to fellowships? I'm still waiting to hear back from CSTE fellowship...

Hey--I just heard back on Friday for CSTE, and they said they were rolling out responses in the next week, so hopefully you hear soon! Best of luck!