If you are thinking about becoming an epidemiologist, then you should know that this work can be quite rewarding, both mentally and financially. People who work in this medical field spend many hours saving lives and finding solutions for better health. An epidemiology employee performs research regarding diseases like cancer or other serious health conditions. Their research has applications which can literally benefit everyone in the world. The epidemiologist can find out why certain diseases occur, and find solutions to prevent these diseases.
An epidemiologist also teaches the public about other things that can affect a person’s health, like cigarette smoking or environmental dangers. The epidemiology industry is expected to grow at a higher rate than most other health care industries. By the year 2016, as statistics show from 2006 reports, the increase will be at least 14%.
Even stronger growth is expected among jobs available in health care clinics. Epidemiologists work closely with patients and monitor medical conditions. In most cases, the work is considered low-risk, although some epidemiologists may work directly with dangerous pathogens; at every step of the way precautions are taken to protect their health and well-being.
Some epidemiological specialties
Environmental epidemiology:
If you choose this specialty, you will work in certain conditions of environment and/or exposures that might be a danger to individual health. In the environmental epidemiology field, you will do extensive research regarding pollutants, risk estimations, medical estimates and inspections regarding health consequences of pollutants and pathogens.
Genetic epidemiology:
The genetic epidemiology field deals with genetics and the factors involving how genetic expression affects biological systems. The genetic histories of families and individual patients are used to determine how genetic diseases occur and how they can best be treated.
Social epidemiology:
Social epidemiologists study how socioeconomic factors affect the health of populations or individuals. Research is done to determine whether certain illnesses occurred because of people’s lifestyles, regional environmental factors, or working conditions.
What is the yearly salary of an epidemiologist?
An epidemiologist’s salary is approximately $36,000-$52,000. Those statistics are aimed towards people that have one year or less for job experience in this industry.
Epidemiologist job benefits
You do not need to be concerned about finding work in this field, as there are many positions available for an epidemiologist.
If you are looking for an emotionally and financially rewarding job, this is a great one to choose; you’ll be actively seeking the cause of and cure for serious illnesses, and will be able to help improve the quality of life for those affected by these diseases.
What does an epidemiologist study?
There are two common types of epidemiologists: research epidemiologist and clinical epidemiologist. A research epidemiologist does most of the research regarding diseases in order to find a way to prevent or cure certain diseases. A clinical epidemiologist generally works for a health care service with the main goal of finding ways to halt or avoid communicable epidemics.
Epidemiologists study a wide range of health care issues. They perform research on areas regarding serious, life-threatening diseases, diseases that are considered infectious, illnesses that run in families, or medical conditions that have occurred as a result of exposure to environmental pollutants or other conditions; they also do research regarding certain types of physical injuries.
Epidemiologists collect important information and the information is thoroughly investigated. An epidemiologist also plans wellness lessons, writes explanations about research, and talks to the public about any results from investigations.
Another part of the epidemiological study and research process involves medications. An epidemiologist may investigate medications to make sure that the prescribed dosages are working for the people those who take the medications; he may also do research to ensure that the side effects are not hazardous.
Guide for becoming an epidemiologist
Whether you are in the midst of college level coursework or are considering a career change, you can get a great start toward a new career in epidemiology by taking online college courses and following those up with medical coursework. The most important high school or basic college classes in preparation for this career will be math and science. You’ll want to make sure you keep as high a GPA as possible, as this line of work requires a lot of initiative and intelligence.
Other necessary skills for the epidemiologist include critical thinking, great listening and communications skills (oral and written), good organizational skills, hands-on training, solving multifaceted problems and great reading and comprehension skills. You’ll also need to learn how to use certain types of computer software.
A solid history of science, biology, chemistry, and math knowledge is very important, and a public health Master’s degree is ultimately a major educational requirement in this field. Before a Master’s degree is earned, you should pursue an Associate in Applied Science (undergraduate program) or a Bachelor’s degree in one of the biological sciences. Accredited online universities offer these programs throughout the United States – including the online Master’s of Public Health degree – and you’ll find that most of these programs also have flexible scheduling to meet the needs of those who work full time.
You can probably become employed as an epidemiologist with a Bachelor’s degree, but a Master’s degree will open up additional opportunities to you. You can even elect to take your education even further and obtain a Doctoral degree in public health. A Doctoral degree gives you opportunities to work with larger facilities or to take on higher-level jobs with more responsibility and higher pay.
It’s a good idea to become involved in as many classroom or laboratory experiments as possible during college classes and to get in as many hours of internship as possible.
Becoming an epidemiologist is an interesting, exciting, and rewarding field of work.
