Finding your path: Expert reflections on the public health career landscape

careers

April 4, 2025

In a time of significant changes to the federal public health infrastructure and funding of public health research and programs, many students and professionals are concerned about how this evolving landscape will impact their career prospects. While these changes present new challenges for the field of public health, there remain many opportunities to leverage public health training to find rewarding careers across various sectors and fields.

READ: The future is uncertain, but public health is prepared, adaptable and resilient

We sat down with Ari Renda, PhD, associate director of Career Services at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, to discuss the evolving job market and how students and graduates can position themselves for success. Dr. Renda and the Michigan Public Health Careers Office team are committed to helping students navigate their professional journeys through personalized career exploration, preparation and networking opportunities. 

What does the public health job market look like right now?

The public health job market encompasses a wide range of sectors, including hospital and healthcare, government, non-profit, government, private sector, and higher education.

According to the April 2025 US Bureau of Labor Statistics report, employment in the federal government declined by 11,000 jobs in February and 4,000 jobs in March, and employment in the Health Care and Social Assistance Sector rose by 63,000 jobs in February and 78,000 jobs in March. 

In addition to this latest national employment report, over the last several weeks, the Michigan Public Health job board has had postings for the following positions across the country:

  • Epidemiologist, health program manager, and health educator positions at the state, city, and county levels
  • Infection prevention specialist, operations manager, research scientist, dietician, and clinical trials coordinator positions within hospital systems
  • Health coordinator and program manager positions at non-profit organizations
  • Quality assurance specialist, health and safety coordinator, biostatistician, and data analyst positions at private companies 

To learn more about the various types of positions within public health, review our Explore Public Health Careers page, where we have detailed information about seven interdisciplinary public health fields, including job titles, employment sectors, average salaries, hiring trends, core skills, research opportunities, and alumni insights.

What types of internships and post-graduate opportunities are Michigan Public Health students receiving this year?

Our students have received summer 2025 internships at state health departments, hospital systems, research centers, insurance companies, and pharmaceutical companies across fields such as operations, environmental health, epidemiology, research, policy, injury prevention, and dietetics. 

Several 2025 graduates have secured full-time positions in county and state health departments, private companies, hospital systems, research centers, and non-profit organizations, working across fields such as health promotion, data analysis, environmental health, clinical research, project management, and consulting. 

For information about where Michigan Public Health graduates are working, review our Employment of Recent Graduates page.

Are you seeing any emerging trends in public health jobs? 

According to the World Economic Forum 2025 Job Report, broadening digital access and AI/information processing technologies are two trends that will impact jobs across all sectors. 

When we look specifically at the impact of these trends on public health, we see increases in telehealth (virtual healthcare services), digital and personalized health education through wearable health devices and health apps, virtual appointment scheduling and record keeping in health systems, and medical imaging, disease detection, and diagnostic recommendations by AI. 

While these technologies open avenues to increase healthcare access for populations, they can’t be successful without the skills of public health professionals. In order for these tools to be effectively used by patients and healthcare providers, they must be informed by professionals skilled in behavioral and health education and healthcare management strategies. The use of AI technologies in providing health recommendations requires public health professionals who can manage, organize, and evaluate large health datasets so that the technologies can access both extensive and accurate information. These technologies also require experts in health data ethics and privacy given the sensitive nature of the information being used by AI within the healthcare setting. Lastly, even though these technologies provide interesting avenues for increasing healthcare access, patients report higher levels of trust when speaking to a medical or health professional, which demonstrates that jobs consisting of people-based interactions will continue to hold significant importance in the public health field. 

Some public health graduates pursue careers outside the field of public health. With that in mind, what overall job market trends are you seeing, and what key skills are important to equip students for these opportunities? 

A public health degree can open doors to various career opportunities, both within and outside of the field of public health. Because many of the skills gained through public health education are highly transferable, graduates sometimes pursue careers outside the public health sector. 

The US Occupational Outlook Handbook and World Economic Forum 2025 Job Report state that some of the largest growing jobs include big data specialists, data analysts and scientists, medical and health services managers, information research scientists, healthcare professionals (nurse practitioners, physician assistants, personal care aides, occupational therapy assistants), substance abuse and behavioral disorder counselors, social work professionals, operations research analysts, information security analysts, data scientists, epidemiologists, and project managers.

Across all these jobs, there are three key skill areas, which are also valued within public health hiring:

  • Data & research fluency (collection, organization, analysis, reporting)
  • Organizational and program management (resource, time, project, system, and evaluation management)
  • Interpersonal and information-sharing skills (communication, relationship building, behavioral science, education, and mediation)

A degree in public health provides a foundation in all of these key skill areas with opportunities to gain deeper expertise in any of these three areas through departmental specializations. 

Public health core competencies that are integrated into curriculum allow students to receive training in qualitative and quantitative data and research skills; program, policy, and project evaluation and implementation; and relationship skills, including stakeholder engagement, audience-appropriate communication, advocacy, and mediation. These skills are not only valuable within the public health profession, but also transferable across the fields experiencing the most growth within the job market.

What advice would you offer to current public health students and recent graduates to position themselves competitively for the job market?

I often remind applicants that job searching is a skill and requires a growth-mindset, just like playing a new sport or practicing a new artform. Instead of thinking about the results of the job search as being determined by who you are and what you’ve done, recognize that there are job search skills you can learn and develop in order to be more successful in the process. 

Application customization and networking are key skills you want to use throughout this process. Four out of five employers prioritize a candidate’s demonstrated skills when evaluating application materials. This means that you want to have a strong understanding of the key skills required for the position and then customize your application materials (resume and cover letter) by highlighting those skills as clearly as possible. For example, if you are applying for a data analyst position, you want your resume bullets to focus on your use of data analysis skills. In your cover letter, you want to have a paragraph highlighting your data analysis skills through projects or experiences. Don’t forget that you can include projects from your public health coursework in that section. 

In addition to customizing by clearly articulating how you’ve demonstrated the position’s skills, you want to network by reaching out to individuals working in positions that interest you and talking with them about their work. This can be intimidating at first, but networking is a job search skill that you can develop. You can start out with putting one hour a week on your calendar to network, and then you will continue to build your confidence in making connections that can provide valuable career insights and opportunities. Professionals in the public health community are often very excited to connect students who share their passions and interests.

What support does the Michigan Public Health Careers Office provide for students and graduates? 

To support students in developing their job search skills, our office provides a wide array of services and programming, including appointments, workshops, and networking events. 

When students start at Michigan Public Health, we highly encourage you to meet with us to discuss your motivations for working in public health and how your public health goals can translate into your future career. Once we identify your target career fields, we can discuss how you can develop the top skills for those fields, which will then allow you to clearly articulate those skills in your application materials for internships and jobs.

We encourage students to participate in networking through our Public Health Career Fairs, which provide opportunities to not only connect with employers across public and private sectors, but also engage with second-year students who have completed internships and alumni who want to provide insights about how to navigate their fields. 

In addition to structured events and programming, we recognize that the internship and job search process is stressful and sometimes you may want to talk with someone about how it’s going. Students are always invited to come by the Careers Office to enjoy tea and snacks and to talk with our careers staff about your process and how we can support you. 

For more information about our services, please review our Career Services & Resources webpage.

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