Also called: Wastewater-Based Epidemiologist
Tracks diseases like COVID and flu in a community by analyzing sewage test results for health departments, spotting rises before hospitals see them.
Reviews lab results from treatment plants showing COVID, flu, and measles levels in the sewage, spots a rise before hospitals do, and alerts local health officials.
Estimate based on BLS epidemiologists.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Master's degree, about 6 years after high school. Master's in epidemiology or public health; lab science background helps.
Ways in: Graduate school. Training cost: $60k – $150k.
Majors to look at: Public Health, Epidemiology, Microbiology.
Growing faster than average. New field that grew after COVID; funding varies.
Medium risk for 10 years. Lab-to-dashboard pipelines and AI trend alerts automate much of the data work; interpreting signals and advising officials stay human.
Classes: AP Biology, AP Statistics, Chemistry, Computer science.
Official data: O*NET occupation 19-1041.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.