Some of the fastest growing public health careers in the United States include biostaticians and epidemiologists. Many of those careers are experiencing growth rates of up to 27 percent over the next decade, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Not bad, considering that overall employment is projected to increase by 14 percent.
But what about northern New England? If you want to live and work in Vermont, New Hampshire or Maine, what is the outlook for jobs in public health?
The health care and social assistance sector – which includes jobs in public health – is growing faster than other industries in northern New England, the BLS notes.
Vermont
Similar to the rest of the region and the country, Vermont is expected to see a surge in health care jobs over the next decade. The health care and social assistance sector is expected to grow 15 percent, compared to 8.2 percent for all jobs in the Green Mountain State.
The job growth rate projected for public health careers includes:
- Health educators, 21.3 percent
- Health care social workers, 19.3 percent
- Environmental scientists and specialists, including health, 11 percent
- Social and community service managers, 10 percent
- Medical and health services managers, 10 percent
- Community and social service specialists, 9.3 percent
- Statisticians, 5 percent
- Occupational health and safety specialists, 3 percent
New Hampshire
The Granite State is expected to see a 24 percent jump in the number of health care and social assistance jobs over the next decade, compared to 10.4 percent growth for total employment. Put into perspective: The health care industry will account for nearly 30 percent of all new jobs in New Hampshire over the next decade.
The field of public health will see tremendous job growth compared to other fields:
- Health educators, 37.2 percent
- Medical and public health social workers, 28.3 percent
- Social and community service managers, 22.3 percent
- Community and social service specialists, 20.1 percent
- Medical and health services managers, 18.9 percent
- Environmental scientists and specialists, including health, 17.9 percent
- Statisticians, 9.4 percent
- Occupational health and safety specialists, 8.2 percent
Maine
As Mainers age, the state will experience numerous job openings. The health and social assistance sector – where approximately a quarter of the workforce is over age 55 – faces the most retirements. Couple that with the fact that Maine is the “oldest” state in the nation – with numerous health care needs for its aging population – and you can understand why the state is concerned about finding more health care workers.
Jobs in the health and social assistance sector are expected to grow nearly 16 percent, the highest of any industry in the state. That compares to a 5.5 percent increase for total employment.
Most of the careers in public health will follow this growth trend. Among them:
- Health educators, 24.2 percent
- Medical and public health social workers, 18.5 percent
- Medical and health services managers, 15.9 percent
- Epidemiologists, 15.2 percent
- Statisticians, 4.8 percent
- Social and community service managers, 4.3 percent
- Community and social service specialists, 3.6 percent
- Environmental scientists and specialists, including health, 1.9 percent
If you are planning on working in Public Health, Northern New England is following the national trend of seeing an increase in jobs in health care and social assistance sector, which will create 28 percent of new jobs over the next decade in the United States.
Many of those new jobs are tied to public health. Make sure you are prepared for a career in public health with UVM’s Public Health programs.
