Career Paths in Community Health & Human Services

What can you do with a degree in community health and human services? It's an important question. The competencies and skills you learn during your program will enable you to work with individuals and communities to promote health and improve quality of life through health coaching and education, social service programming, and health advocacy.

In the recent past, emphasis has been placed on professionals in non-profit, governmental, and agency settings to have the skills and training needed to communicate a variety of health-seeking behaviors to diverse populations effectively. Skills such as adapting to diverse community groups, providing effective programming in various settings, assessing the service population's needs, and using a client-centered lens to develop meaningful interventions are only a few of the needed competencies in today's job market.

EMPLOYMENT AND JOB OUTLOOK

Health education and promotion is a diverse field! An emphasis on promoting healthy behaviors, mainly based on experiences from the COVID-19 pandemic, is expected to increase demand for these workers over the decade. The job outlook for the field is projected to grow 17 percent from 2020 to 2030, much faster than the average for all occupations. (www.bls.gov)

Opportunities are broadening in community and public health as more sectors recognize the critical role of communities and the environment in health. As the idea of "Health in All Policies" continues to gain prominence, leaders in diverse fields (housing, transportation, agriculture, business, law, etc.) are seeking workers who can bring public health awareness about the role of the environment in health and the connection between behavior and health outcomes.

Further, governments, healthcare providers, and social services providers want to find ways to improve the quality of care and health outcomes while reducing costs. Ultimately increasing the demand for health education specialists and community health workers to teach people about health and wellness, which can help prevent costly diseases and medical procedures.

SIX MAJOR CAREER SECTORS IN HEALTH EDUCATION

WHAT ARE OUR GRADUATES DOING NOW?

Our graduates have followed many paths, from pursuing advanced degrees to teaching and writing grants. The following is a small sample of what our program graduates are doing now.