I’m a foreign trained dentist and am trying to purisue a career in public health here in US. I just graduated from my MPH from USC in August. Have been job hunting but no luck so far. I am kinda confused as to what would be the best approach in Public Health for someone with my background. I don’t think there are many opportunities regarding dental public health without a DDS license whicb I do not have. I would really appreciate any suggestions and if any of you would like to share your experiences please.

Feel free to take down mod team but this effects all of us in this sub. If you aren't voting or can't be bothered to follow the politics, what are you even doing in this field?

https://x.com/realRFKJr/status/1851326967762821596?t=1UIPe3W5Noo5dnxoyvERZQ&s=19

What do you use in your field? And what would you prefer?

Hello! I am wondering what minors would be good to pair with a Public Health BA? Specifically looking for a STEM minor.

Are you a health professional with experience treating individuals facing eating disorders?

My team and I are conducting a study to gather expert opinions on using AI in eating disorder care and your voice is CRITICAL in helping us shape the future of AI in this field.

All you have to do is complete a 5-minute survey by following the link below to provide your perspectives on this important topic.

https://researchsurveys.deakin.edu.au/jfe/form/SV_6qWexaE07syjeyG 

Imagine a future where artificial intelligence could play a role in enhancing treatment outcomes for people struggling with eating disorders!

Hey everyone - unsure if this is the right place to ask, but I recently read the political determinants of health and found it to be very interesting.

I wanted to continue reading books about the public health policy and politics (which i admit is very broad) and wanted to get some recs. Just any books in the field that you thought brought interesting perspectives.

I’ve already seen a lot of books that talk about solutions, and how Medicare for all is going to solve a lot of the problems in our healthcare system, so I think it would be especially great to get recs on books that are more historical or opposed to/more critical of Medicare for all to widen my knowledge.

I’m also very interested in comparing healthcare systems and better aging if that helps!

What is your public heath job title and rate it 1-10!

To keep it simple, I don’t really want to deal with getting and maintaining a security clearance later on in my career, so I’m wondering how many of you have jobs that require one.

Do you think that this would pretty much bar me from any federal public health work in the future? I’ve done some research on usajobs and found a mix of public health jobs that require and don’t require one. Also, does anyone working for state government instead of federal need a clearance for their job? Would appreciate any insight y’all have on this. Thanks!

Edit: To clarify, I mean any clearance levels above the tier 1 background investigation or Public Trust, since apparently those aren’t really full-on security clearances.

Like so many people, I’ve watched family members suffer and die from cancer. Losing my grandmother was especially hard, and it’s really driven me to pursue a career in cancer research. I’m currently working on my Master’s in Public Health, but sometimes I feel so behind. My bachelor’s degree is in psychology, and after college, I followed the money into roles in diversity and inclusion at an investment bank, then moved into government consulting. Now, my main experience is in program management, and it feels like internships, research labs, and entry-level jobs in the cancer field are out of reach for me.

I’m just not sure how to gain experience when I can’t seem to get the chance. Has anyone been in a similar situation, or have advice for making this transition?

Bonus points if used for syndromic surveillance or zoonotic disease epidemiology. Looking for both projects as well as groups/programs/initiatives. Heck, even leading scientists or epidemiologists would be great. I know of a handful of references (mostly US federal govt and IGOs), but I would love to hear from the community!

Hello, What is the california health department rules when it comes to restaurant that is open to the outside with operable windows and an open cooking area. The kitchen itself is enclosed where the preparation and storage of the raw product is happening but the cooking area is open to the dining area and the dining area is open to the outside with operable windows? is this allowed by the health department?

I am very interested in health inequities, specifically using data to implement community health programs, see if current programs are working, and develop new programs in order to improve health outcomes in disadvantaged populations. But what job even is that lol? Like what is the job title? What jobs do I look for and where? Any advice from people in this field is appreciated!

Hi everyone, I was wondering what your thoughts are on this. I’m already a junior so switching my major (currently bs in psych) would put me back one year so I’m debating if I should switch or is it better to just go for a MPH after I graduate? My main thing is in case I don’t want to get an MPH right after I can get job or internship experience but I’m just worried it will be hard without an undergrad degree in PH. Thanks for any input.

Are you interested in being a part of a clinical trial? Complete our 2-minute interest form to receive future updates and help gather interest on a potential study, "Caffeine consumption's effects on productivity and wellness". This behavioral study is completely remote, and $375 will be offered to participants who complete the 6 week-long study. Completing this survey will help gauge interest.

Click the link below to complete the interest survey:

https://forms.gle/fSVGtWJXK7fEFvST7

As a professor, during this time of the year, I often receive countless emails from prospective PhD students. Half of them are MPH students with no work experiences. They have never worked a part-time job related to public health. Some don’t even have other professional work experience. They have never volunteered on any research projects.

What is the rush? I can understand for international students who need to continue their studies to stay, but most of the applicants are domestic students.

Every year during selection, the committee always disregard their applications after looking at their CV. It’s wasting money on application fees when you’re not going to get admitted.

Here is my advice: I understand that the job market is difficult, but your priority should be finding a job first to gain some experiences. It’s not a rush. You will also be more competitive with work experiences and have more options for which schools to go. Once you’re a competitive applicant, you’re more likely to be offered funding. Although most top institutions offer fundings, the packages are very different among students. Top students get internal fellowships and do not have to work at all. Meanwhile, less competitive students have to TA or be an RA. Think smart. Think of the long-term. Don’t rush. It’s not a race; it’s a marathon.

Start asking professors to volunteer for their research projects once you start your MPH. Don’t wait until your last semester.

Don’t waste your money on 10 applications. That’s about $1,000 or more. Use that money to find a job. If you desperately want to pursue your PhD, at least get one year of work experience.

What are some jobs in public health? I feel like it is definitely a very broad term. I’ve heard that the CDC and FDA can be difficult to break into which would be neat to do. Currently a CRC in oncology.

Hey guys, I’m looking to buy a laptop to use R and SAS. I currently have MacBook Air 2019. It gets heated up after a while. Any suggestions?

Hi everyone! I have been feeling a bit pigeon holed and stuck in my career and want to make a switch into anthor field within public health. Some background, I have a bachelors degree in health science did some community health work then after undergrad took a gap year. During the gap year COVID hit so I landed my first job as a contract airport screener with the CDC from there I was able to get a contract role with ASPR HCORE working in therapeutics data. Also during that time I got my masters in health informatics but it was more theory based didn't leave with alot of data analysis skills. It has been great but I am now 4 going on 5 years in emergency mangement and want to make a switch. The few spaces I have looking into are global health/sexual health and Medicaid but the job market has been diffcult while also maintaining the income I have now (almost 100k). Not sure how to get into these specifc feils without entry level jobs asking you to come with a wealth experince (for 50k salary mind you). I am open to training and learning just need to the chance. Any advice I am super open, sorry if this is a bit all over the place.

Hello everyone, I am planning to apply for different MPH programs via SOPHAS for fall 2025. However, I had few questions:

1. Can your recommenders see the programs you applied to?

2. Can you add programs after you have already sent recommendation request to your recommender?

3. Does anyone know how this LOR in SOPHAS work? I mean, do they have to fill up questionnaire or do they have to upload actual letter of recommendation as well? I'm asking this because one of my recommender wants to know what he has to go through beforehand.

I would be grateful for the answers. Thank you!

I graduated with a bachelor's degree in biomed and currently is enrolled to a master's degree in health education, where my current GPA is 4.0. The goal is to enter a PhD in public health next fall (since I will have completed that degree next summer). However, I need a backup plan since this current degree is course based and not a thesis or major research paper degree. It was stated in the admission that: "An applicant whose master's degree did not include a thesis must demonstrate the ability to undertake an independent research project". Now, in this degree, I have already done some assignments and there will be more next term. I am aware that it is not the same and after speaking with a member of the PhD program, they said that I basically have to explain to myself why and what I did. My question is has anyone found themselves in a similar situation or what should I do? I don't have a plan B because I don't really know what else to do. If anyone has any ideas, I would be really happy to hear them. For example, should I participate in an independent research project? Should I apply for another master's degree, maybe an MPH, but this one is also course-based but has a project... Thanks in advance!

Any applicable majors? Clinical Lab Scientist? Microbiologist?

I apologize if this isn't the appropriate place to post this. Please feel free to delete it if it isn't. I genuinely wanted people's thoughts on this though.

What is the difference between culture and a health issue that needs to be changed?

At what point does something go from being a cultural difference to something that needs public health intervention? For example one of the countries I've done prior research on is Papua New Guinea and spousal abuse is common and a facet of some communities. Is it at the point when someone doesn't consent to harm? Who determines what that harm is? Is it us as researchers? Is it the person who may not realize that they might be harmed (due to cultural norms being perceived as the way things are, almost like a Stockholm syndrome)? At what point do we intervene in an attempt to change the culture? 

How do we prevent ourselves from doing more harm to communities and their cultures than good?

I’ve only seen politics or education/career advice lately. I’m interested in where my emergency preparedness folks are? Who’s doing BioWatch, securing the cities, emergency management, or any other program I left out?

1.) Did you get into public health planning to be in your current role?

2.) Are you an MPH, or did you take a different route?

3.) What’s your role actually like. I know we all do a bunch of paperwork, but is there any fun or exciting field work you get to do?

I’ll go first, naturally.

1.) I always dreamed of doing disease prevention or investigation and solving big problems with infectious disease. Read Cobra Event if you want an example. Always knew that was pie in the sky, but figured I’d find something that occasionally scratched that itch.

2.) Earned my MPH in 2018. Did several non-PH jobs for about 4 years after until I found my current role.

3.) My role is amazing. I’m a science officer for a WMD response team. We can support anyone (local police/fire up to federal entities like FBI and Secret Service). Our missions run all over the place, but my focus is always hazmat detection/identification, decontamination, and recommendations for public safety. I have the typical lab paperwork and more, but the missions more than make up for having to push a little paper around. Also I have a mobile lab, so who’s mad about doing a little paperwork to be able to drive a semi that can identify infectious diseases and hazardous chemicals?