What does a public health specialist do?
Public health microbiologists are professional scientists who are responsible for identifying, detecting, and containing microscopic organisms that may cause disease or detrimental to the wellbeing of the public. These microbiologists are required to supervise skilled technicians to maintain quality controls for the laboratory procedures. They must perform biochemical tests to detect communicable disease agents such as tuberculosis, HIV, and other sexually transmitted diseases. Public health microbiologists must also provide advice and technical assistance to local community organizations in implementing public health improvement courses.
Public health specialist responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real public health specialist resumes:
- Manage busy immunization clinics overseeing the administration of thousands of immunizations per day.
- Assist with hiring and training of new sanitarians.
- Assist with HACCP food service program training classes and certifications.
- Audit restaurants and food facilities in accordance with HACCP guidelines.
- Conduct food and beverage review to ensure compliance with city and state regulations, as well as OSHA and FDA.
- Review medical records of patients who suffer serious injuries in automobile accidents and classify injury by type.
- Develop and distribute educational pamphlets to health departments on cervical and breast cancer detection and prevention.
Public health specialist skills and personality traits
We calculated that 20% of Public Health Specialists are proficient in Environmental Health, Technical Assistance, and Community Health. They’re also known for soft skills such as Ability to use technology, Communication skills, and Detail oriented.
We break down the percentage of Public Health Specialists that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Environmental Health, 20%
Address local and regional organizations or other appropriate groups to promote environmental health programs and explain departmental policy.
- Technical Assistance, 7%
Provided technical assistance in planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of different program.
- Community Health, 6%
Create written reports necessary to provide a comprehensive community health needs assessment.
- Health Services, 6%
Lead and facilitated the development & adaptation of appropriate tools for improving the quality of Health services.
- State Agencies, 5%
Coordinated activities between federal and other state agencies that maximized resources and shaped a unified party.
- Public Health Programs, 5%
Prepare, planning, coordinate, develop, analyze and evaluate the effectiveness public health programs, policies and activities.
Most public health specialists use their skills in "environmental health," "technical assistance," and "community health" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential public health specialist responsibilities here:
Ability to use technology. One of the key soft skills for a public health specialist to have is ability to use technology. You can see how this relates to what public health specialists do because "occupational health and safety specialists and technicians must be able to use advanced technology." Additionally, a public health specialist resume shows how public health specialists use ability to use technology: "enforced fda sanitation criterion for government and commercial food and hospitality facilities and instituted programs compliant with air force protocol. "
Communication skills. Another essential skill to perform public health specialist duties is communication skills. Public health specialists responsibilities require that "occupational health and safety specialists and technicians must be able to communicate safety instructions and concerns to employees and managers." Public health specialists also use communication skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "developed internal staff communication and client-focused educational material. "
Detail oriented. This is an important skill for public health specialists to perform their duties. For an example of how public health specialist responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "occupational health and safety specialists and technicians need to understand and follow safety standards and complex government regulations." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a public health specialist: "prepared and submitted detailed reports of all field inspections and complaint investigation findings. ".
Physical stamina. A big part of what public health specialists do relies on "physical stamina." You can see how essential it is to public health specialist responsibilities because "occupational health and safety specialists and technicians must be able to stand for long periods and be able to travel regularly." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical public health specialist tasks: "implemented physical and health education programs for afterschool programs for children ages eight to ten years old. "
Problem-solving skills. Another crucial skill for a public health specialist to carry out their responsibilities is "problem-solving skills." A big part of what public health specialists relies on this skill, since "occupational health and safety specialists and technicians must be able to solve problems in order to design and implement workplace processes and procedures that help protect workers from hazardous conditions." How this skill relates to public health specialist duties can be seen in an example from a public health specialist resume snippet: "identified and solved community health problems and linked people to need of personal health services in the community. "
The three companies that hire the most public health specialists are:
- Public Consulting Group4 public health specialists jobs
- Americorps3 public health specialists jobs
- ICONMA2 public health specialists jobs
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Compare different public health specialists
Public health specialist vs. Safety representative
A safety representative is responsible for reiterating safety protocols and regulations in the workplace to prevent potential hazards and operational delays. Safety representatives facilitate training and programs for the employees and inform them of any communications related to their safety and wellbeing. They also submit incident reports to the safety manager and provide recommendations to minimize risks and practice emergency drills. A safety representative must have excellent communication and organizational skills to create a safe environment for operations.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a public health specialist are more likely to require skills like "environmental health," "provide technical assistance," "technical assistance," and "community health." On the other hand, a job as a safety representative requires skills like "osha," "safety procedures," "corrective action," and "safety program." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Safety representatives really shine in the energy industry with an average salary of $68,912. Comparatively, public health specialists tend to make the most money in the hospitality industry with an average salary of $62,895.safety representatives tend to reach lower levels of education than public health specialists. In fact, safety representatives are 21.4% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 2.2% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Public health specialist vs. Safety trainer
The Safety Trainer ensures that all employees are safe from dangers and are educated well on handling threats and problems. Alongside this, the Safety Trainer properly educates and informs all company employees on the company's safety protocols and procedures. It is the safety trainer's discretion on how they will be able to conduct workshops and seminars for all employees. The safety trainer is an administrative task, and the position is open for people with relevant skills concerning office works.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that public health specialist responsibilities requires skills like "environmental health," "provide technical assistance," "technical assistance," and "community health." But a safety trainer might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "osha," "cdl," "safety training," and "fall protection."
On average, safety trainers earn a lower salary than public health specialists. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, safety trainers earn the most pay in the energy industry with an average salary of $62,203. Whereas public health specialists have higher pay in the hospitality industry, with an average salary of $62,895.In general, safety trainers achieve lower levels of education than public health specialists. They're 20.1% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 2.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for public health specialists in the next 3-5 years?
Dr. Erika Austin
Associate Professor, Associate Dean, University of Alabama at Birmingham
Public health specialist vs. Radiation safety officer
A safety and training coordinator helps ensure that all employees, subcontractors, and vendors adhere to the safety protocols and safety behaviors. They oversee safety instructor's safety teachings, procedures, and implementation.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from public health specialist resumes include skills like "environmental health," "provide technical assistance," "technical assistance," and "community health," whereas a radiation safety officer is more likely to list skills in "safety procedures," "radiation safety," "health physics," and "rso. "
Most radiation safety officers achieve a lower degree level compared to public health specialists. For example, they're 12.9% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.7% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Public health specialist vs. Safety and training coordinator
Even though a few skill sets overlap between public health specialists and safety and training coordinators, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a public health specialist might have more use for skills like "environmental health," "provide technical assistance," "technical assistance," and "community health." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of safety and training coordinators require skills like "osha," "safety procedures," "safety training," and "training programs. "
Safety and training coordinators enjoy the best pay in the energy industry, with an average salary of $53,372. For comparison, public health specialists earn the highest salary in the hospitality industry.In general, safety and training coordinators hold lower degree levels compared to public health specialists. Safety and training coordinators are 19.8% less likely to earn their Master's Degree and 2.3% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of public health specialist
Updated January 8, 2025
