Career in Public Health: Jobs, Best Countries, Eligibility

If you want to contribute to the Healthcare sector but not necessarily become a medical practitioner then a Career in Public Health can be your dream come true. This sector of healthcare involves areas like vaccination programmes, preventive medicine, family planning etc. Furthermore, as the name suggests the field is concerned with the well-being of society as a whole rather than that of an individual like in the cases of Doctors or Nurses. 

Why Make a Career in Public Health?

This profession is more in demand in the job market due to the high interactions of a globalised world. The world is now connected in facing natural disasters, pandemics & epidemics, war or refugee crises. A Public Health practitioner is needed in all such cases. 

Moreover, it’s not all charity! In countries like the USA, a public health practitioner can earn somewhere between USD 45,000 to USD 65,000 annually. However, this will highly depend on the field and the level of expertise and experience. Not only this, your work will be an inspiration and hope for thousands of people. 

Furthermore, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that these kinds of job requirements will grow between 5% to 11% within the next 10 years. Some of these job positions also involve travelling to different countries for work on a project basis and gaining worldwide experience. 

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Major Sectors in Public Health

As the National Health Services of the United Kingdom Public Healthcare has three major sectors. These are mentioned below for your reference. 

Health Protection: This is the precautionary stage where planning is done to prevent epidemics, food shortages etc. Also, pre-planning is done to have an action plan for emergencies. 

Health Improvement: This includes awareness programs relating to eating and lifestyle habits. Having a routine, healthier meals and exercises are covered under this. 

Healthcare Services: These services are to be ensured to all those who need them. Be it any kind of treatments or medicines that are required. 

Most Important Public Health Issues

In order to choose the field of operation you must also be familiar with what major public health issues are prevalent in today’s world. The foremost aim of a public health practitioner is to remove disparity in access to public health. Some other issues entailed are as follows; 

• Climate change and sustainability of the environment 
• Preparing for epidemics
• Antimicrobial resistance
• Spreading awareness around health protection and preventive measures
• Mental health

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Best Countries to Make a Career in Public Health 

Here are a few countries which need Public Health practitioners. These countries also have well-developed public health systems and promote such jobs to maintain their systems and leverage workers around. 

• United States
• United Kingdom
• Canada
• Sweden
• Germany 
• Singapore
• Switzerland
• Denmark

Top Public Health Career Options Abroad

You must have a clear idea about the jobs in this field before applying anywhere. You will get an idea of what job options you can avail of in this field and what key roles and responsibilities each job has. Here is a list of top career options in Public Health abroad followed by details of each one of them. 

Job Option	Average Annual Salary
Health Informatics Specialist	62,600 USD
Epidemiologist	104,680 USD
Public Health Advisor	88,650 USD
Health Scientist	94,581 USD
Policy Analyst	114,290 USD
Healthcare Administrator	65,500 USD
Health and Safety Engineer	76,000 USD
Medical Officer	104,680 USD
Public Health Educator	45,800 USD
Healthcare Consultant	76,900 USD

Health Informatics Specialist

Health Informatics Specialists are also called biostatisticians. They are responsible for analysing healthcare-related data. This helps in providing a statistical approach to healthcare studies and medical research. 

Epidemiologist

Epidemiologists are responsible for studying the spread of diseases by evaluating and monitoring them. They research the causes of the disease and discover or invent solutions or treatments for them.

Public Health Advisor

They curate and maintain a bird’s eye view of the public health undertaking. How developments, diseases and other factors are affecting in the long term is analysed by them. They record and synthesize the research, policies, regulations, and actions of a project to ensure it stays on track. 

Health Scientist 

They conduct research on all levels to keep the public health sector going. Their responsibilities include laboratory research, field research as well as research through community interviews and surveys. They also develop new methodologies and communicate their findings through government and NGO collaborations. 

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Policy Analyst 

Policy analysts use global platforms to implement public healthcare reforms. They are responsible for making the research-oriented system functional to the world. Policy analysts act as collaborators between the government and healthcare organizations to ensure fair implementation of public health programs. They also study the effects of such programs on communities. 

Healthcare Administrator 

Their work is to oversee the functionality of a public healthcare institute. Healthcare administrators are responsible for maintaining the activities at these institutions. They also ensure that the facility has all the required resources and inventory to carry out programs that fall under their research. 

Medical Officer

Medical officers can be doctors, nurses, midwives, PAs or medical technicians working at healthcare organisations. Their ultimate job is to analyse and manage programs and staff of the facility. They also work with policymakers and administrators to provide medical consultation. 

Public Health Educator  

These are professionally trained individuals who communicate health and safety concerns to people. They also train people to care for themselves and their community. They promote check-ups and motivate people to be informed. Public Health educators provide information on pressing topics like HIV AIDS, Malaria, TB etc through talks, flyers and brochures.

Requirements to Build a Career in Public Health Abroad

Some requirements are basic while others might be specific to the job post you are applying for. Here are some of the common requirements to become a Public Health Practitioner abroad. 

• A bachelor’s degree in Science, Medicine, Healthcare, Nursing, Pharmacy etc from a recognised institution. 
• A master’s degree is also required from a recognised university or institution in the field of Public Health or related subjects. 
• A degree recognition test might be required to work in some countries if you have not completed your education in the same location. 
• Some countries might also conduct an entrance test or interview for the positions. 
• If you are not working in your domicile country you will also require a visa. It can be a skilled worker visa, health and care worker visa or some other visa as per the chosen country. 
• English proficiency tests will be required if you are migrating from a non-native English-speaking country to a native English-speaking country. 

Where to Apply for Jobs in Public Health Care Abroad?

To apply for jobs in Public Health abroad one can follow the given tips. 

• Make a profile on recruiting websites in the country and apply to various openings related to public health.
• Make connections with local authorities and government. 
• Build connections through LinkedIn profiles with people working under the same job role and keep track of job openings under their connections.
• If you have a good profile you can also directly reach out to private healthcare companies. 
• Charities and higher education and research institutions also have openings for these jobs on their websites. 

FAQs

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Therefore, by making a career in public health one can earn a good fortune as well as help the world battle some of the deadliest problems that we might face. This is all the information about making a career in Public Health abroad, if you want to read blogs on part-time jobs follow Leverage Edu.