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What is a public health representative and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read
Quoted expert
Dr. Julie Gast Ph.D.
introduction image

The role of a public health representative varies. From managing health cases to delivering health education classes, being a public health representative can take you to many different healthcare and public health paths.

The common duties of a public health representative may include managing vaccinations, providing assistance in disaster relief operations, conducting health education classes, and executing public health events. Moreover, common routine tasks that come with this role are collecting data, analyzing data, conducting research, providing counseling, and coordinating with other healthcare staff and public officials.

Many public health representatives have a bachelor's degree in a healthcare field, such as nursing, public health, and health care administration. Although prior experience is not typically required for an entry-level position, it can serve as a great edge and increase earning potential.

A public health representative makes an average of $60,000 per year. Their job progression route may lead them to higher roles such as public health administrators, public health directors, or public health project managers.

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

Dr. Julie Gast Ph.D.Dr. Julie Gast Ph.D. LinkedIn profile

Professor and Director, Master of Public Health, Utah State University

Internships are required for most MPH degrees, and that is an excellent opportunity to network and let others know about the skills you have learned in your program, or your hard skills, your work ethic, and your soft skills (such as teamwork, communication, follow-through, ability to juggle multiple assignments). Take the internship and all networking opportunities seriously.
ScorePublic Health RepresentativeUS Average
Salary
4.1

Avg. Salary $52,050

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level
7.7

Growth rate 12%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity
10.0
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.30%

Asian 6.76%

Black or African American 10.77%

Hispanic or Latino 21.37%

Unknown 6.41%

White 53.40%

Gender

female 73.17%

male 26.83%

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

Public health representative career paths

Key steps to become a public health representative

  1. Explore public health representative education requirements

    Most common public health representative degrees

    Bachelor's

    58.4 %

    Master's

    14.1 %

    Associate

    13.8 %
  2. Start to develop specific public health representative skills

    SkillsPercentages
    Patients27.70%
    Public Health17.61%
    Patient Care6.24%
    Strong Customer Service5.96%
    Phone Calls5.49%
  3. Complete relevant public health representative training and internships

    Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New public health representatives 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 representative based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real public health representative resumes.
  4. Research public health representative duties and responsibilities

    • Authorize voluntary EAP services and initial outpatient manage care treatment.
    • Comply with CMS rules and regulation.
    • Develop successful referral program with key physicians' offices for Medicare eligible patients.
    • Conduct field investigations and direct observation therapy for persons expose to or infect with tuberculosis.
  5. Prepare your public health representative resume

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

    You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a public health representative resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

    Choose from 10+ customizable public health representative resume templates

    Build a professional public health representative resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your public health representative resume.
    Public Health Representative Resume
    Public Health Representative Resume
    Public Health Representative Resume
    Public Health Representative Resume
    Public Health Representative Resume
    Public Health Representative Resume
    Public Health Representative Resume
    Public Health Representative Resume
    Public Health Representative Resume
  6. Apply for public health representative jobs

    Now it's time to start searching for a public health representative job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

    1. Browse job boards for relevant postings
    2. Consult your professional network
    3. Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
    4. Watch out for job scams

How did you land your first public health representative job

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Average public health representative salary

The average public health representative salary in the United States is $52,050 per year or $25 per hour. Public health representative salaries range between $38,000 and $70,000 per year.

Average public health representative salary
$52,050 Yearly
$25.02 hourly

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How do public health representatives rate their job?

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Public health representative reviews

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A zippia user wrote a review on Apr 2019
Pros

I like that am able to relate with my client well and solve their problem by providing adequate care and creating awareness on preventive measures


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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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