Tell me about public health.
March 5, 2012 7:58 AM Subscribe
I think I'd like to go to graduate school in public health. Please educate me!
After a 6-year post-undergrad career split between community organizing, PR, and management consulting, I think I've found something that I'd love to do: public health. I have a few assumptions about the field that I'd like to pressure test:
First, I'm drawn to the discipline because it seems more rigorous, more "scientific" than my current career doing management research. After doing a liberal arts degree, I've long wanted to shift my career in a more rigorous, quantitative direction, and it seems like public health is a good option for this. The job prospects seem excellent. Is this true?
Second, I'm interested in it because of what appears to be its multidisciplinary nature. It seems to encompass a wide variety of methods - sociological, economic, historical, statistical - something that appeals to me as someone who's never been able to pin down their interests to a reasonable number. I'm particularly interested in obesity, for instance - a problem that every academic discipline seems to have some opinion on.
So, I guess I'm asking, are these crazy ideas? (They're just what I've gleaned from reading a few public health blogs, looking at the studentdoctor forums, etc.)
If they're not, I'd love to hear about my chances of getting into a good school. I have a ~3.0 from a middling liberal arts college, excellent test scores (my GRE is 1530, combined), good recommendations and excellent work experience that, while not in a health field, indicates that I can do research and think critically. What can I do to improve my chances?
Thanks for any thoughts!
After a 6-year post-undergrad career split between community organizing, PR, and management consulting, I think I've found something that I'd love to do: public health. I have a few assumptions about the field that I'd like to pressure test:
First, I'm drawn to the discipline because it seems more rigorous, more "scientific" than my current career doing management research. After doing a liberal arts degree, I've long wanted to shift my career in a more rigorous, quantitative direction, and it seems like public health is a good option for this. The job prospects seem excellent. Is this true?
Second, I'm interested in it because of what appears to be its multidisciplinary nature. It seems to encompass a wide variety of methods - sociological, economic, historical, statistical - something that appeals to me as someone who's never been able to pin down their interests to a reasonable number. I'm particularly interested in obesity, for instance - a problem that every academic discipline seems to have some opinion on.
So, I guess I'm asking, are these crazy ideas? (They're just what I've gleaned from reading a few public health blogs, looking at the studentdoctor forums, etc.)
If they're not, I'd love to hear about my chances of getting into a good school. I have a ~3.0 from a middling liberal arts college, excellent test scores (my GRE is 1530, combined), good recommendations and excellent work experience that, while not in a health field, indicates that I can do research and think critically. What can I do to improve my chances?
Thanks for any thoughts!
Best answer: Hello! I am a public health student. I'm satisfied with my choice, and I think you have mentioned some excellent reasons to consider the field. My impression is that job prospects are pretty good (maybe not "excellent" --we're in a weak economy still and this is not computer science). Pay isn't princely, since this is a do-gooders track. The cross-disciplinary nature of public health is something I enjoy and my classmates have taken classes in law, poli sci, and divinity towards their public health degree. Public health programs can be strongly quantitative and frequently quite scientifically rigorous, but this varies by the program and sub-field of study. If you study epidemiology or biostatistics you'll definitely see a lot of math. If you do a program in health education, it may be less quantitative. I should say that the concepts you see in management research are definitely in use in the public health field. I've gotten the SMART objectives thing hammered into my brain in classes on evaluation and interventions.
As you consider applying and where to apply, keep in mind that public health is a hugely diverse field. My peers in my public health program are aiming to be hospital administrators, health policy advocates, program managers for international relief agencies, epidemiologists in municipal health departments, statisticians, researchers, professors, physicians, nurses, physicians assistants, and many other things. Before you apply for a program, try to envision what you want to learn and what you are hoping to achieve afterwards. You are going to need to choose a particular sub-discipline, and being able to paint a clear picture of why you are applying in your personal statement will help your chances immensely. If your personal statement convincingly explains why you want to go into public health, why you've chosen your particular area or discipline of interest and why you want to go to that particular school, you've given yourself a big advantage.
In terms of admissions, your GPA seems to be your one weak spot. I would still apply to the best programs with some backups -- admissions for public health schools doesn't tend to be immensely competitive; you might get in anywhere. Also, make sure you communicate with your references about why you want to attend public health school. If they can confirm your dedication to the field, that will be much stronger than a generic reference indicating that you are smart and reliable. The administrators like to see dedication.
Hope I've been helpful! Let me know if you have any other questions.
posted by reren at 11:59 AM on March 5, 2012 [1 favorite]
As you consider applying and where to apply, keep in mind that public health is a hugely diverse field. My peers in my public health program are aiming to be hospital administrators, health policy advocates, program managers for international relief agencies, epidemiologists in municipal health departments, statisticians, researchers, professors, physicians, nurses, physicians assistants, and many other things. Before you apply for a program, try to envision what you want to learn and what you are hoping to achieve afterwards. You are going to need to choose a particular sub-discipline, and being able to paint a clear picture of why you are applying in your personal statement will help your chances immensely. If your personal statement convincingly explains why you want to go into public health, why you've chosen your particular area or discipline of interest and why you want to go to that particular school, you've given yourself a big advantage.
In terms of admissions, your GPA seems to be your one weak spot. I would still apply to the best programs with some backups -- admissions for public health schools doesn't tend to be immensely competitive; you might get in anywhere. Also, make sure you communicate with your references about why you want to attend public health school. If they can confirm your dedication to the field, that will be much stronger than a generic reference indicating that you are smart and reliable. The administrators like to see dedication.
Hope I've been helpful! Let me know if you have any other questions.
posted by reren at 11:59 AM on March 5, 2012 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: reren - thanks so much for that information, that's so useful!
One question - what opportunities are there to get back into the private sector post-graduation? I ask because not only are my interests fluid, but also my preferred work setting - I could imagine, for instance, working for a governmental health department, but I could also imagine doing healthcare consulting, working with the huge number of health-oriented startups out there, or something like that. Are any of your classmates planning on something outside the government/academic path?
posted by downing street memo at 2:48 PM on March 5, 2012
One question - what opportunities are there to get back into the private sector post-graduation? I ask because not only are my interests fluid, but also my preferred work setting - I could imagine, for instance, working for a governmental health department, but I could also imagine doing healthcare consulting, working with the huge number of health-oriented startups out there, or something like that. Are any of your classmates planning on something outside the government/academic path?
posted by downing street memo at 2:48 PM on March 5, 2012
Best answer: I am a public health professional with an MPH (and I also do some interviewing for entry level PH positions). Your reasons sound great! Public health is an awesome field, but I would not rate it as "excellent" for job prospects, unless you are in NYC, DC, Atlanta, or maybe SF. It's not as bad as, say, manufacturing, but it's not like the tech sector. As with many fields, the earlier you are in your career the harder it is to find a job. I strongly suggest you go to a school where you want to live for awhile, so you can try to get an internship that could lead to a job, or at least solid in-person connections.
Reren has great advice above. You'll need to narrow your focus before you apply for schools. One of the best things you can do is start volunteering *now*--it'll show your dedication, give you some ideas of what the field is like and what you like, will maybe give you an additional reference, and will give you that health experience you need. Health experience isn't required to get into grad school, but it will definitely help. Given that you don't have health experience, you will want to make sure you have an internship/practicum/strong RA position in school--do this every semester if at all possible; employers will look favorably on it.
Most schools will do an interested students day or put you in touch with current students so you can ask questions. I highly recommend that!
posted by min at 2:52 PM on March 5, 2012
Reren has great advice above. You'll need to narrow your focus before you apply for schools. One of the best things you can do is start volunteering *now*--it'll show your dedication, give you some ideas of what the field is like and what you like, will maybe give you an additional reference, and will give you that health experience you need. Health experience isn't required to get into grad school, but it will definitely help. Given that you don't have health experience, you will want to make sure you have an internship/practicum/strong RA position in school--do this every semester if at all possible; employers will look favorably on it.
Most schools will do an interested students day or put you in touch with current students so you can ask questions. I highly recommend that!
posted by min at 2:52 PM on March 5, 2012
Yes, lots of people in public health work in the private sector. I know people who plan to work at public health consulting firms, health insurers, and pharmaceutical and biotech companies. If you are most interested in health care management, specializing in healthcare administration or management (a sub-discipline often lumped together with health policy) might be the way to go.
posted by reren at 5:20 PM on March 5, 2012
posted by reren at 5:20 PM on March 5, 2012
Response by poster: min - what kind of volunteer settings are best? Can imagine for medicine, you'd work as a "care partner" or whatever they call them, but for public health?
posted by downing street memo at 5:46 PM on March 5, 2012
posted by downing street memo at 5:46 PM on March 5, 2012
What do you want to do? There should be non-profits or other health orgs in your town; that would be a good place to start. If you have an idea of what you want to do with your career, call an org that does similar work and look into volunteering there. But really you just want to get started working with a public health org. For public health, there's all kinds of stuff....maybe health education, or local non-profits, or Planned Parenthood, or your local or state public health association, or homeless shelters, or schools, or hospitals....you might end up stuffing envelopes, but the idea is to get connections and show you're interested in the field, not so much Learn Valuable Skills, if you know what I mean. Ideally, you'll do a real project as an intern, but right now you might not be able to do anything super interesting and Public Health-y. You just want to demonstrate interest in that direction, more than looking for a fantastic opportunity where you're going to do an amazing project.
posted by min at 2:01 PM on March 7, 2012
posted by min at 2:01 PM on March 7, 2012
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The Association of Public Health Schools also has an excellent website on selecting and getting accepted into the right program for you.
I would also check out the the Bureau of Labor Statistics website on Health Educators.
posted by OsoMeaty at 8:23 AM on March 5, 2012 [1 favorite]