Also called: Disease Detective
Tracks where diseases come from, how they spread, and how to stop them.
Gets reports of a spike in food poisoning, maps cases, interviews patients about what they ate, and pins it on a contaminated lettuce farm within days.
BLS May 2024. Median from BLS; 10th/90th percentiles estimated.
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 public health (MPH) or epidemiology; PhD for research leadership.
Ways in: 4-year college, Graduate school. Training cost: $60k – $150k.
Majors to look at: Public Health, Biology, Statistics.
Growing much faster than average (about 16% over 10 years). BLS 2024-34.
Medium risk for 10 years. AI maps cases and runs analyses fast; field interviews, outbreak judgment and talking to the public stay human.
Classes: AP Statistics, AP Biology, Spanish.
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.