The health care industry is booming with job opportunities, and the field of public health is no exception. Public health is a type of allied health career. It takes all types of allied health professionals to help make the healthcare system run smoothly. There is a broad range of public health careers to choose from, but the overall goal for all these careers remains the same: educating and encouraging people to adopt a good health policy, as well as focusing on disease prevention.

Public health looks at the health of the population at large (from a small town to the whole country), rather than focusing on the individual. They try and protect the community from any type of health care problems which may arise through public education, implementing policies, managing services and carrying out studies.

The World Health Organization (WHO) is responsible for the public health at large. The recent outbreak this year of the H1N1 virus (swine flu) has led the WHO to declare the virus reaching pandemic proportions. In order to combat the flu spreading, WHO has provided a list of recommendations of vaccines and antiviral medication, as well as situation updates and other guidance, on their website.

There are a number of different environments that public health professionals can work in. These include colleges and universities, community health centers, government agencies, health care consulting agencies, health insurance companies, hospitals, non-profit organizations, pharmaceutical companies, research firms, and state and local health departments.

Public health graduates can work in a number of fields of interest. The following are just some examples: behavioral science/health education, biostatistics, environmental health, epidemiology, health services administration/management, international/global health, maternal and child health, nutrition, public health laboratory practice, and public health policy.

The job market will favor recent public health graduates, with demand for most specialized public health fields growing faster than the average for other industries. Why not contribute to this demand and enroll in a public health degree? By educating the community about good health, you can help the public at large and help prevent common health care problems within the community.