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Epidemiologist

Overview and Key Facts

epidemiologist
Education
Education
Master's degree
Median Pay
Median Pay
$83,980
Job Growth
Job Growth
16.20%
(Above US Average)
Jobs in 2034
Jobs in 2034
14,300

What Do They Do?

An epidemiologist could...

 
plate of food
Analyze what types of diets are most effective at preventing heart disease.
diabetes chart
Analyze data to determine what factors influence the development of a disease like diabetes.
Checking people during disease
Fly to the Democratic Republic of the Congo to help monitor and contain an outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus.
Girl coughing
Research whether a new strain of influenza has the capability to spread from person to person.
 
plate of food diabetes chart Checking people during disease Girl coughing

Overview Listen to this section

Do you like a good mystery? Well, an epidemiologist's job is all about solving mysteries—medical mysteries—but instead of figuring out "who done it" like a police detective would, they figure out "what caused it." They find relationships between a medical condition and things like human behavior, environmental toxins, genes, medical treatments, other diseases, and geographical location. For example, they ask questions like what causes multiple sclerosis? How can we prevent brain cancer? What is the "vector" or animal that is transmitting the hantavirus? Which populations are most at risk from a new flu virus? Epidemiologists work to answer these and thousands of other questions in an effort to reduce public health risks. Their work has the potential to save millions of lives.
Watch this video to see all the factors that epidemiologists are investigating as possible causes of multiple sclerosis, including how far a person lives from the equator.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXEwGQ7XcSA

Do You Have the Skills and Characteristics of an Epidemiologist?


  1. Judgment and Decision Making: ?
  2. Complex Problem Solving: ?
  3. Reading Comprehension: ?
  4. Critical Thinking: ?
  5. Writing: ?
More skills...

Core Tasks

Think about if you'd like the typical tasks an Epidemiologist might do:
  • Communicate research findings on various types of diseases to health practitioners, policy makers, and the public.
  • Investigate diseases or parasites to determine cause and risk factors, progress, life cycle, or mode of transmission.
  • Oversee public health programs, including statistical analysis, health care planning, surveillance systems, and public health improvement.
  • Educate healthcare workers, patients, and the public about infectious and communicable diseases, including disease transmission and prevention.
  • Monitor and report incidents of infectious diseases to local and state health agencies.
  • Plan and direct studies to investigate human or animal disease, preventive methods, and treatments for disease.
  • Provide expertise in the design, management and evaluation of study protocols and health status questionnaires, sample selection, and analysis.
  • Write articles for publication in professional journals.
  • Identify and analyze public health issues related to foodborne parasitic diseases and their impact on public policies, scientific studies, or surveys.
  • Write grant applications to fund epidemiologic research.
  • Plan, administer and evaluate health safety standards and programs to improve public health, conferring with health department, industry personnel, physicians, and others.
  • Conduct research to develop methodologies, instrumentation, and procedures for medical application, analyzing data and presenting findings.
  • Consult with and advise physicians, educators, researchers, government health officials and others regarding medical applications of sciences, such as physics, biology, and chemistry.
  • Supervise professional, technical, and clerical personnel.

Salary & Job Openings

Median Salary (Yearly Pay)

Tap or scroll over map to see median salaries for each state
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Future Jobs

Blast-Off:

How Will Epidemiologist Jobs Grow by 2034?
Projected % Growth
Rapid growth
(10% or higher)
Much faster than average
(7% - 10%)
Faster than average
(5% - 7%)
About as fast as average
(3% - 5%)
Slower than average
(0% - 3%)
Decreasing
Average of all U.S. jobs (5.3%)
Epidemiologist jobs (16.20%)
Source: https://www.bls.gov/emp/tables/occupational-projections-and-characteristics.htm

Steps to Get There: Becoming an Epidemiologist

High School Subjects to Study

Aim to study the yellow-shaded subjects.
Math
Algebra 1
Geometry
Algebra 2
Pre-Calculus
Calculus
Statistics
Science
Biology
Chemistry
Physics
Environmental Science
Physiology
Bio-Medical / Biotech
IT &
Engineering
Computer Science
Applied Technology
Drafting & CAD Training
Core
English
Foreign Language
Business
Psychology / Sociology

Education- Typical Degree Needed After High School Listen to this section

Degree
Post
high school credential
AA
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctoral or Professional Degree

Typical degree for an entry-level position: Master's degree ? Types of Degrees and Credentials

To become an epidemiologist, you must have at least a master's degree from a school of public health. In some cases, you might need a PhD or a medical degree, depending on the work you will do. Clinical epidemiologists or research epidemiologists who work in hospitals and health care centers often must have a medical degree with specific training in infectious diseases. You will need to be a licensed physician (that is, you must have passed licensing examinations) if you are going to administer drugs in clinical trials. Epidemiologists who are not licensed physicians frequently work closely with those who are.

Companies That Hire Epidemiologists

Try it Out with an Activity or Project

STEM Activities

STEM activities are fun hands-on explorations that usually take from 10 minutes to one hour and use readily available household or classroom materials while introducing you to STEM concepts common in this career.

Science Project Ideas

Project Ideas are in-depth STEM explorations that have a strong focus on controlling variables, taking accurate measurements, and analyzing data suitable for investigating the scientific method or the engineering design process.

On the Job

Role Models

Read this interview to meet research epidemiologist Dr. JoAnn Manson who is devoted to improving the lives of women by researching the roles of diet and lifestyle in the prevention of heart disease, stroke, breast cancer, diabetes and other major illnesses.
Epidemiologic research is extremely gratifying because it provides an opportunity for scientific and intellectual stimulation combined with public service. 
JoAnn E. Manson, MD, DrPH
Read this interview to meet state epidemiologist Dr. Dale Morse, who got his first working exposure to epidemiology one summer on a Navajo Indian reservation investigating allergic reactions to tattoo dyes, and a serious outbreak of giardiasis that causes gastrointestinal problems.
Working through a disaster is like transitioning from working on a general medical floor to a busy hospital emergency room. You’re doing some of the same things you might do in your routine as an epidemiologist, but everything is intensely time-driven. 
Dale Morse, MD, MS

Nature of the Work

Epidemiologists are medical scientists who investigate and describe factors that influence the development of disease, disability, and other health outcomes. They formulate means for prevention and control. Epidemiologists focus either on research or on clinical situations.

Research epidemiologists conduct studies to determine how to wipe out or control infectious diseases. They often focus on basic research as well, determining the incidence of a particular disease in a particular part of the world, for example. They may study many different diseases, such as tuberculosis, influenza, or cholera, often focusing on epidemics. Research epidemiologists work at colleges and universities, schools of public health, medical schools, and research and development services firms.

Clinical epidemiologists work mainly as consultants in hospitals, informing medical staff of infectious outbreaks and providing ways to control the spread of infection. In addition, clinical epidemiologists are usually the ones who develop a hospital's standards and guidelines for the treatment and control of infectious diseases.

Work Environment

Epidemiologists generally work in clean, well-lit offices and laboratories. In addition to hospitals, epidemiologists work in colleges and universities, schools of public health, medical schools, and research and development services firms. Many work for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia, or for other government agencies. A 40-hour, five-day week is the standard; however, a flexible schedule is often required.

More Information

Ask Questions

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Additional Resources

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