How Much Can I Make With an Online Bachelor’s of Public Health?
By Sam MacArthur

Few online college degrees can provide as many diverse opportunities for employment as a degree in public health. There are as many job opportunities as there are types of employment in the field, too, since it is constantly growing. In fact, the community health sector is expected to grow 16% by 2022, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. There’s another way public health is an exceptional field – since public health experts are in such demand, there are many occupations in which a bachelor’s degree holder can make as much as a master’s degree holder in other fields.

The Demand for Public Health Majors

With a shortage of qualified professionals, students who earn an online Bachelor’s degree in public health are highly valued and well paid. Salaries start around $38,000 for Community Health Workers. They connect community members with health services and educate the public of health related topics – things like HIV transmission, diabetes care, and personal health and hygiene. Specialists in mental health services or social work may see pay increase to $55,000 or more. The need for trained personnel in counseling, therapy, and case working often exceeds the available workforce.

Public Health Workers rarely struggle to find a job and are often considered vital members of the community, connecting citizens in need to physical and mental health services. Many of these jobs often lead to a job in Healthcare Administration over time. Rather than providing direct care to patients, administrators work to improve the quality and efficiency of the health care services that their organization provides. Administrative positions may pay as much as $105,000, especially at a major hospital or private sector business.

An online degree in Public Health qualifies graduates to work in Emergency Management. Emergency Management Directors make about $60,000 cleaning up the messes that disasters leave behind. This job requires you to travel, prepare plans, and implement procedures. This would be a highly rewarding job for a self-motivated individual with a great starting salary and a chance to spend time outside of the office.

Students who earn an online Bachelor’s of Public Health with a scientific specialization can expect salaries of around $75,000. Because these positions require an ability to think analytically and solve complex problems, the pay can go quite high. Health and Safety Engineers, for instance, usually start their careers making around $45,000, but mid-career salaries can be double. Environmental Scientists and Biostatisticians conduct research and gather data with a goal of improving environmental and human health. Starting salaries are usually over $50,000 and double over time, even as high as $120,000 dollars by late career.

Take a look at our 10 Most Serious Public Health Scares Ever to see if you’re cut out for the darker side of Public Health.

Furthering Your Public Health Degree

The highest paid Public health employees are the Epidemiologist. While epidemiology usually requires a master’s degree, an online public health bachelor’s degree is a solid start. Epidemiology, in a lot of ways, is the be-all, end-all of public health, analyzing large-scale patterns to understand how disease spreads and affects population. Epidemiologist normally make well over $100,000 and are instrumental in keeping humans safe from the next harmful epidemic.