How To Become A Public Health Educator: What It Is and Career Path

What is a public health educator and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted experts

Lester Andrist Ph.D.,

Steve Jackowicz Ph.D.

When it comes to health and wellness concerns, the public health educator is one of the busiest professional players. Their main roles and goals are to advocate a healthy lifestyle and provide information about various health-related topics by arranging lectures, workshops, and outreach programs in the communities. They usually collaborate with different healthcare professionals and workers in making informational materials and other efforts to educate the public. They typically work full-time in the public health department and healthcare sectors and accommodate the need to render overtime hours to complete their tasks.

At the entry-level, the educational requirement to be a public health educator is a bachelor's degree in any healthcare-related field. An advanced position requires a master's degree in education or discipline related to health promotion and public health education. Another qualification is a certification from the National Commission for Health Education Credentialing, Inc.

What general advice would you give to a public health educator?

Lester Andrist Ph.D.

Program Director Master of Professional Studies in Public Safety Leadership and Administration, University of Maryland

My advice is to remain in close contact with your graduate school contacts, especially your classmates. While on the job market, reach out to these contacts for information about job openings and feedback on your resume and other application materials. When starting a new position, reach out again for advice on navigating the politics of your organization. And don't forget to return the favor and pay it forward.

ScorePublic Health EducatorUS Average

Salary

3.0

Avg. Salary $38,330

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.7

Growth rate 12%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

10.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.33%

Asian 7.48%

Black or African American 11.44%

Hispanic or Latino 16.09%

Unknown 6.42%

White 57.25%

Gender

female 75.31%

male 24.69%

Age - 42

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 42

Stress level

7.7

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.6

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

9.1

Work life balance is excellent

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a public health educator

Explore public health educator education requirements

Most common public health educator degrees

Bachelor's

64.2 %

Master's

24.4 %

Associate

6.3 %

Start to develop specific public health educator skills

Skills	Percentages
Health Promotion	10.18%
Public Health Education	7.88%
Disease Prevention	7.37%
Health Education Programs	6.16%
Community Outreach	4.47%

Complete relevant public health educator training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New public health educators learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a public health educator based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real public health educator resumes.

Research public health educator duties and responsibilities

Engage with members' telephonically, using motivational interviewing techniques to assist members' in achieving their health goals.
Design new survey tool using qualitative and quantitative methods to monitor and evaluate quality of immunization programs at county health departments.
Direct communication with the public on a variety of health issues relating to STDs and HIV
Communicate with individuals, couples and groups regarding STDs and HIV/AIDS prevention, testing, and treatment.

Prepare your public health educator resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your public health educator resume.

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Choose from 10+ customizable public health educator resume templates

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