Epidemiologists

What the work involves

• Oversee public health programs, including statistical analysis, health care planning, surveillance systems, and public health improvement.
• Investigate diseases or parasites to determine cause and risk factors, progress, life cycle, or mode of transmission.
• Plan and direct studies to investigate human or animal disease, preventive methods, and treatments for disease.
• Plan, administer and evaluate health safety standards and programs to improve public health, conferring with health department, industry personnel, physicians, and others.
• Provide expertise in the design, management and evaluation of study protocols and health status questionnaires, sample selection, and analysis.
• Conduct research to develop methodologies, instrumentation, and procedures for medical application, analyzing data and presenting findings.
• Consult with and advise physicians, educators, researchers, government health officials and others regarding medical applications of sciences, such as physics, biology, and chemistry.

What to study

The fields of study the Department of Education links to this occupation, most widely taught first.

• Public HealthSee 543 colleges that teach it
• Ecology, Evolution, Systematics, and Population BiologySee 270 colleges that teach it
• Microbiological Sciences and ImmunologySee 123 colleges that teach it
• Cell/Cellular Biology and Anatomical SciencesSee 106 colleges that teach it

Who it suits

O*NET scores every occupation on six interest dimensions. This one leans hardest on these three.

• Analytical and curious

• Helping and teaching

• Organised and precise

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