International MPH grads: finding work in the U.S. after getting degree?

[parapluie]

Hey guys,

I'm wondering how easy it would be for international students (I'm from Canada) to find internships/work in the U.S. after getting your MPH from an American school? Does anybody have an idea? I know I'll need to get work visas, but are there obvious restrictions for working in governmental organizations such as the CDC or local public health agencies? (for example, most positions in Canadian gov't require that applicants are Canadian citizens, and I was just wondering if similar restrictions are in place in the U.S. as well)

Thanks in advance! Any input is appreciated!

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[mandyL]

Hey guys,

I'm wondering how easy it would be for international students (I'm from Canada) to find internships/work in the U.S. after getting your MPH from an American school? Does anybody have an idea? I know I'll need to get work visas, but are there obvious restrictions for working in governmental organizations such as the CDC or local public health agencies? (for example, most positions in Canadian gov't require that applicants are Canadian citizens, and I was just wondering if similar restrictions are in place in the U.S. as well)

Thanks in advance! Any input is appreciated!

Not easy.(hearsay😳) They do have restrictions for working in governmental organizations such as CDC. But not all public health related jobs require a green card.

 

[RAJINDIA]

Which field in MPH has better job prospects? EPIDEMIOLOGY OR ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH?
A friend(International student)of mine completed his MPH EPI and working in USA for past 5years.He graduated from BU.He initially joined MPH GH later changed to EPI.He told me that EPI has wide scope for jobs.I have been admitted to few schools and considering Tulane for MPH EPI or Emory MPH Env health.Im really confused now as Emory is a great school but could not get in to EPI Prog on the other hand i have Tulane with EPI concentration.All im worried is about the job prospects with MPH EH from Emory.

 

[parapluie]

Not easy.(hearsay😳) They do have restrictions for working in governmental organizations such as CDC. But not all public health related jobs require a green card.

Mandy, if you don't mind me asking, where are you from?

(feel free to PM me! 🙂)

 

[mandyL]

Mandy, if you don't mind me asking, where are you from?

(feel free to PM me! 🙂)

China.🙂

 

[mezmerized7]

It's difficult but can be done. As a Canadian, your chances are somewhat better than MPH graduates from other countries who studied in the US. CDC has these restrictions but some local public health agencies do not. You would have to do the research on where you would like to work to see if they hire persons on a visa. But as I said, being Canadian somewhat increases your chances of this happening. I think the CDC has some internships, which might be international friendly, these are on the website, but I think you need to have a health-care professional degree along with the MPH and/or a doctoral degree.

Hey guys,

I'm wondering how easy it would be for international students (I'm from Canada) to find internships/work in the U.S. after getting your MPH from an American school? Does anybody have an idea? I know I'll need to get work visas, but are there obvious restrictions for working in governmental organizations such as the CDC or local public health agencies? (for example, most positions in Canadian gov't require that applicants are Canadian citizens, and I was just wondering if similar restrictions are in place in the U.S. as well)

Thanks in advance! Any input is appreciated!

 

[vikram1984]

What about job prospects in other areas like Pharma or academia? What are the chances of finding a job after MPH?
Thanks!

 

[vikram1984]

Anybody please??

 

[erikw]

Anybody please??

Finding public health related work in the US after graduating isn't too, too hard (the normal amount of heart burn associated with searching for that first gig is to be expected) but getting potential employers (NGOs for example) to sponsor a visa is very difficult. However, if your job offer falls under one of the NAFTA categories, you can apply for a 3 year TN visa (renewable) at the border. It's a relatively easy process since the company/institution hiring you won't have to sponsor. However, the border patrol folks are very strict about what job offer qualifies for a TN visa.

You can find the list of eligible professions here:

http://www.consular.canada.usembassy.gov/nafta_professions.asp

Good luck!

 

[nietzsche754]

I agree with mezmerized and would go even farther to suggest many Americans do not really see Canadians as "international" at all. That perception will greatly help you especially finding non governmental jobs. Whatever the official policies are even in government there are always ways around them if people really want to hire you.

 

[MolBio]

Which field in MPH has better job prospects? EPIDEMIOLOGY OR ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH?
A friend(International student)of mine completed his MPH EPI and working in USA for past 5years.He graduated from BU.He initially joined MPH GH later changed to EPI.He told me that EPI has wide scope for jobs.I have been admitted to few schools and considering Tulane for MPH EPI or Emory MPH Env health.Im really confused now as Emory is a great school but could not get in to EPI Prog on the other hand i have Tulane with EPI concentration.All im worried is about the job prospects with MPH EH from Emory.

In my opinion, you should base your decision on what you are truly interested in doing, not which field you believe will have more jobs, because the job market can always change (e.g. with changes to the federal budget etc). Public health is not really a field you go into to make money, so at the end of the day your happiness and enjoyment from the job matters a lot.

In general you could say that epidemiology is a basic science of public health and therefore, most disciplines have the need to hire people with epi skills, including environmental, infectious disease, chronic disease, social/behavioral, etc. But in my opinion, if your interest is specifically for example in maternal child health, it is better to specialize in maternal child health and then do courses/research that will demonstrate your proficiency in epidemiology competencies.

 

[imitoses]

Hey guys,

I'm wondering how easy it would be for international students (I'm from Canada) to find internships/work in the U.S. after getting your MPH from an American school? Does anybody have an idea? I know I'll need to get work visas, but are there obvious restrictions for working in governmental organizations such as the CDC or local public health agencies? (for example, most positions in Canadian gov't require that applicants are Canadian citizens, and I was just wondering if similar restrictions are in place in the U.S. as well)

Thanks in advance! Any input is appreciated!

Strictly speaking, you cannot get a permanent position at the CDC as a Canadian without a green card. I know this because I am also Canadian and was accepted to Emory for their MPH program starting in fall 2011 and spoke with a friend's aunt who works at the CDC (she is American) about job prospects. Still, there a number of ways to go around that - for example, while permanent positions are not possible for international newly graduates, you can definitely apply for internships and fellowship programs at the CDC.

The other thing to be careful about though is how much time you have after you graduate to look for a job. I looked this stuff up briefly a while ago, so I might be off, but I think the student visa is set up such that you have to find work pretty soon to take full advantage of the one-year-after-you-graduate work visa. (Something like 30 days??). Once you do find work though you sort of are just any applicant - you will have, after all, graduated from an American school and they might not ask you for your residence status. Once again, I'm sure this varies from job to job. In any case, I would highly recommend looking up the nitty gritty details on the U.S. immigration page, though from what I recall the prospects for work are there but there's a bit more pressure time-wise.

I'm still a bit on the fence as to whether or not I am going to accept this offer, not only of job prospects but also because of finances (yikes)

 

[parapluie]

Thanks everyone for your input so far!

@imitosis: I just looked up OPT on Columbia's website and it says "60 days". So I guess 2 months for securing something.

http://www.columbia.edu/cu/isso/visa/F-1/F-1_PT_post_completion.html