When most people think about careers in the health field, they think about clinical careers that involve treating individuals who are sick or injured. Public health is a different kind of health career. Public health professionals try to affect the health of whole populations, rather than just single individuals. They also focus on health promotion or disease or injury prevention, rather than treatment. Students at Montclair State aim to prevent injury and disease and promote health either by designing and implementing health education programs or by improving health systems and changing health policies.
Currently, the Department of Public Health offers the following programs in public health:
- BS in Public Health, with concentrations in:
- Community Health Education
- Health Systems Administration and Policy
- Undergraduate Minor in Public Health
- MPH with concentrations in:
- Program Manager
- Research Analyst
- Health Educator
- Health Communications Specialist
- Case Manager
- Project Planner
- Policy Analyst
- Client Services Coordinator
- Program Evaluator
- Outreach Specialist
- Research Assistant
- Program Assistant
- Hospital Executive
- Clinic Administrator
- Health Services Manager
- Community Prevention Specialist
- Regulatory Specialist
- Government Official
- Policy Advocate
- Health departments
- Government agencies
- Voluntary health organizations
- Non-profit organizations
- Hospitals
- Insurance companies
- Although total employment in the U.S. economy is projected to grow 10.8% through 2022, some of the fastest projected growth will occur in the healthcare and healthcare support fields. (National Bureau of Labor Statistics)
- Job growth for health educators and community health workers (21% job growth) is projected to far outpace other professions. (National Bureau of Labor Statistics)
- Employment growth for health administration professionals (23% job growth) is projected to far outpace other professions. (National Bureau of Labor Statistics)
Salary variations depend upon level of education (BS or MS), experience in the field, geographic area of employment, and employment in the for-profit vs. the non-profit sector.
- The median annual salary for community health educators was $55,220 in May 2019 (National Bureau of Labor Statistics). (These data reflect a mix of Bachelor’s or Master’s degrees.)
- The median annual salary for medical and health services managers/administrators was $100,980 in May 2019 (National Bureau of Labor Statistics). (These data reflect a higher proportion of workers with Master’s degrees).