What career paths can you do with an MPH

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.

SierraZ

New Member
10+ Year Member
Joined
Jul 15, 2012
Messages
10
Reaction score
0
Hey all, I'm very VERY new to learning about this degree. I'm currently studying Pre Clinical Health Sciences and graduating next year, and was looking into MOT schools. I stumbled upon Public Health degree while doing some research and was wondering if anyone could elaborate on what it is I could do if I decided to pursue an MPH? I know about Biostats and Epi, and have decided they are not for me (not keen on math). I'd be looking for a decent salary obviously, but otherwise I'm not picky.

Anyway, if anyone could explain the opportunities this degree leads to, I'd be more than grateful!
 
I've been there and done that, but thank you. I'm just trying to get a more detailed idea on it from people who obviously have more knowledge than I do on the subject. Forgive me, but I'm a nervous senior trying to figure out what they want from Graduate School, and Public Health seems so broad that even google hasn't been very clarifying.

I'd like to focus on Health Policy and Management, if that helps. Anyone out there with this concentration from an MPH care to share how job outlook is for you upon graduation?
 
That does help. As you said, the fields us broad so just asking about public health careers is very vague. However, that isn't my fields so I can't help very much. Check out career service pages at some of the schools and employment search websites.

Sent from my VS840 4G using Tapatalk 2
 
I've been there and done that, but thank you. I'm just trying to get a more detailed idea on it from people who obviously have more knowledge than I do on the subject. Forgive me, but I'm a nervous senior trying to figure out what they want from Graduate School, and Public Health seems so broad that even google hasn't been very clarifying.

I'd like to focus on Health Policy and Management, if that helps. Anyone out there with this concentration from an MPH care to share how job outlook is for you upon graduation?

I have friends that work as consultants in the health care field. They basically aggregate and data and help issue recommendations for a company based on that health care data (they mostly consult for large businesses). It's not your stereotypical "public health" job, but it pays well.
 
I notice you've already finished your MPH. Would you say that those who graduated with you with a focus on Policy & Management have any trouble finding a job? I've contacted a few schools and I've gotten mixed reviews. Some say an MPH is something many people get before they get their MD, and then some say getting it in only Biostats or Epi is a good idea. I'd really like to focus on Policy & Management, but since it's so hard to define what job one would get after they finish the degree, I'm a bit confused on what to do.

Thank you so much for your help though. It did help to hear a certain job/job description!
 
I guess I'm just wondering if an MPH is a degree worth pursuing if it's all you plan to do (no MD or pHD prgrams unless my job wants me to/pays for it). I've seen too many people say an MPH degree is something pre med students do before applying to Med School. I spoke to Columbia University and they certainly didn't feel the way many people who told me that do.
 
I've seen too many people say an MPH degree is something pre med students do before applying to Med School. I spoke to Columbia University and they certainly didn't feel the way many people who told me that do.

This is because Columbia, like every other program, doesn't want to be perceived as a stepping stone to medical school. I personally did not get my MPH in policy/management, but my classmates who did went onto fellowships (which seems to me like an internship on steroids where they get to see/be a part of a team that runs hospitals), consulting, or jobs with insurance companies.
 
As with anything else in public health, it depends on what your focus is. Here at Columbia, Deloitte has already been on campus for their recruitment session for the summer 2013 practicum.

I am in the HPM department and while I have major issues with the new core (lots of issues to work out), HPM is really working with us to get those higher paying jobs, we take a entire separate course where we are learning interview skills, presentation skills, etc that make us more attractive to corporate America I suppose you can say.

For example, a health policy analyst's average salary is 80-90k in Washington DC which is not too shabby. Columbia released their employment figures to us, most graduates on average are making 50-60k post graduation. There was also a large portion falling into 70k+ and some outliers at 100k+. HPM though did not have salary information for their specific department, we asked and they only provided us with a list where every 2012 graduate is now employed (HPM at Columbia is only 16 months so they graduated in Feb 2012)

I would say us HPM people are in a different situation because many of us are not looking for traditional public healthy jobs, many that I spoke to here want to go into consulting or policy analysis.
 
I notice you've already finished your MPH. Would you say that those who graduated with you with a focus on Policy & Management have any trouble finding a job? I've contacted a few schools and I've gotten mixed reviews. Some say an MPH is something many people get before they get their MD, and then some say getting it in only Biostats or Epi is a good idea. I'd really like to focus on Policy & Management, but since it's so hard to define what job one would get after they finish the degree, I'm a bit confused on what to do.

Thank you so much for your help though. It did help to hear a certain job/job description!

All my HPM MPH friends had no trouble finding (high) paying jobs. They all make more money than I do in research (with a PhD), too. Of course, I work in a research/academic setting whereas they work in corporate/business settings, so that's to be expected.
 
there are many many many jobs you can do with a mph. many people work for insurance companies, medical care providers, pharma, and etc. i am in industrial hygiene, which is under environmental health sciences. our primary focus is safety, which can be applied to many areas, particularly in manufacturing, construction, and academia. there are some math required, but not much. we use a lot of instruments to measure noise level, air quality, and of course, safety training, and protocol designs. it pays pretty well, too.
 
As with anything else in public health, it depends on what your focus is. Here at Columbia, Deloitte has already been on campus for their recruitment session for the summer 2013 practicum.

I am in the HPM department and while I have major issues with the new core (lots of issues to work out), HPM is really working with us to get those higher paying jobs, we take a entire separate course where we are learning interview skills, presentation skills, etc that make us more attractive to corporate America I suppose you can say.

For example, a health policy analyst's average salary is 80-90k in Washington DC which is not too shabby. Columbia released their employment figures to us, most graduates on average are making 50-60k post graduation. There was also a large portion falling into 70k+ and some outliers at 100k+. HPM though did not have salary information for their specific department, we asked and they only provided us with a list where every 2012 graduate is now employed (HPM at Columbia is only 16 months so they graduated in Feb 2012)

I would say us HPM people are in a different situation because many of us are not looking for traditional public healthy jobs, many that I spoke to here want to go into consulting or policy analysis.

I am applying to the HPM at Mailman (Global Health Certificate). Can you please elaborate on what you meant by "major issues with the new core"? I know the school made a recent and significant shift in the curriculum. I wonder if the challenges or concerns you talk about are the byproduct of this shift or if they are above and beyond that.

Feel free to private message me. I thought I would bring this here in case others are applying to the department, as well.
 
With an MD, MPH could one work in hospital administration, or would you need to go down the route of MHA, MMM, or MBA?
 
I am applying to the HPM at Mailman (Global Health Certificate). Can you please elaborate on what you meant by "major issues with the new core"? I know the school made a recent and significant shift in the curriculum. I wonder if the challenges or concerns you talk about are the byproduct of this shift or if they are above and beyond that.

Feel free to private message me. I thought I would bring this here in case others are applying to the department, as well.

HPM is run quite well as a department, the chair, Michael Sparer is a health policy god, the amount of knowledge he has about US history is amazing and I learned so much from him. It's quite easy to just sit in awe of him during lectures.

In terms of the core, the Health Systems "studio" is by far the best organized, has the clearest focus and has met its objectives set out in the syllabus. Also, the professors I absolutely loved this semester, primarily came from the HPM department (health econ, History of US Health Care and Comparative Systems).

In terms of the problems with the new core, I won't publicly state my opinions, if you have specific questions, can PM me.
 
Last edited:
HPM is run quite well as a department, the chair, Michael Sparer is a health policy god, the amount of knowledge he has about US history is amazing and I learned so much from him. It's quite easy to just sit in awe of him during lectures.

In terms of the core, the Health Systems "studio" is by far the best organized, has the clearest focus and has met its objectives set out in the syllabus. Also, the professors I absolutely loved this semester, primarily came from the HPM department (health econ, History of US Health Care and Comparative Systems).

In terms of the problems with the new core, I won't publicly state my opinions, if you have specific questions, can PM me.

Thank you, I got your message. Very helpful.
 
I was also researching a cert in global health. What drew you to that school's program? I am finishing up my MSN and trying to decide -DNP, DrPH, or a cert in global health.
 
I was also researching a cert in global health. What drew you to that school's program? I am finishing up my MSN and trying to decide -DNP, DrPH, or a cert in global health.

I am going to assume this question is for me. 😉

I am drawn to the certificate in global health for a few reasons. I wanted a relatively long-term practicum/internship. The GH certificate requires 6 months abroad. (I make exceptions for some programs I am applying to, including Harvard.) Also, I am interested in global health policy, comparative health systems, and opportunities to take more focused electives (e.g., mental health policy, health policies in developing countries, etc.). The health policy track and the GH certificate offer these.
 
Top