Epidemiologists determine the cause of diseases. Epidemiology is related to medical science, but it has its own specialized degree programs. Those with sufficient education can get a high-salary job with employers like government health departments.
At the baccalaureate level, there are programs in epidemiology and public health. You can choose either path if you want to eventually become a professional epidemiologist. There are hundreds of such epidemiologist or public health degree programs at the undergraduate level. However, keep in mind that you will generally need at least a master’s degree in epidemiology to get an epidemiologist job after graduation. Some jobs will undoubtedly go to those with a Ph.D. or similar doctoral degree in epidemiology, as well.
Before beginning your education in epidemiology, it is helpful to know something about accreditation of epidemiology degree programs. The Council on Education for Public Health accredits public-health degree programs at the graduate level (master’s degrees and doctorates). This includes epidemiology graduate degree programs. Note that many of the graduate programs are in public health but have a concentration in epidemiology.
To improve your chances of getting accepted into one of these accredited programs, you may wish to first look at the list of accredited programs and then seek to attend an undergraduate program at one of the same colleges or universities that has an accredited epidemiologist degree program.
Go to the link near the bottom of this page to find the search engine for accredited epidemiology school programs. Select “All” for the university and degree options and epidemiology as the concentration. You will get several pages in the results. Some programs even let you further specialize in certain areas of epidemiology if you have a particular passion for becoming a certain kind of epidemiologist or college professor.
With sufficient education, you can compete for the 5000 or so professional epidemiology jobs available throughout the United States. The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated that number of jobs in May of 2010 and also released salary information. The median annual wages for an epidemiologist was about $63,000.
Major employers include state and local governments. There are health departments at this government level that will hire epidemiologists to go out to hospitals and other places to conduct research and determine the cause of disease outbreaks, instances of apparent food poisoning, and other public health problems.
Other employers of epidemiologists include hospitals, research and development companies, pharmaceutical companies, and colleges and universities.
Resources:
Council on Education for Pubic Health: Search Directory for Accredited Epidemiology Programs
Bureau of Labor Statistics: Career Information on Epidemiologists