7 global development career paths for MPH graduates

If you want to work in global health, you’ll find that a high percentage of positions in this field require a master’s in public health. While clinical degrees like nursing and social work are also in demand, most global health positions are not clinical jobs. Positions typically focus on the community, national or even global level and look at the systems and policies impacting areas like nutrition, infectious disease and maternal and child health. An MPH program provides a well-rounded education in areas like health policy, social and behavioral sciences, epidemiology and biostatistics. It’s great preparation for a global health career, particularly when combined with an international concentration. Global health is a broad field, however, and there are many different career paths you can choose — all that either require or heavily prefer candidates with an MPH. If you are pursuing or have recently completed an MPH, here are seven different career paths to consider. 1. Global health project management Most global health work is delivered through specific projects and programs that require strong project managers. While it can be helpful to specialize in one or a few areas of global health, project managers tend to be generalists with a multi-disciplinary background. Positions can be based in home offices or on overseas projects and usually require previous experience working with the same donor. READ: Move over generalists, make way for integrators 2. Technical expert Many international positions are for professionals with a specific technical expertise such as nutrition, HIV and AIDS prevention or infectious disease. These positions can be based in a home office or overseas and can often be short-term consulting assignments. Becoming a technical expert doesn’t happen overnight, so many people start out in a project management role to gain more experience in a specific specialization. 3. Behavior change communications Behavior change is one of the most difficult areas of international development work, yet it’s so important to public health causes. You might develop a hand washing campaign to discourage the spread of disease, promote breastfeeding to new mothers or create incentive programs for parents to seek routine healthcare for their children. A background in marketing, communications or advocacy coupled with a degree in public health can prepare you for these roles. READ: Behavior change toward healthier living: What's new and what works 4. Monitoring and evaluation Monitoring and evaluation has always been a core tenet of global health work, whether it’s monitoring the spread of a disease or the impact of a specific initiative. One of the more quantifiable areas of international development work, global health positions require at least some comfort with data analysis. If you love statistics and number crunching, there are many opportunities — both long- and short-term — for people who wish to pursue M&E as a specific field. If you want the flexibility of working as an independent consultant, this can be a good area to pursue. READ: What you need to know: Careers in monitoring and evaluation 5. Health systems strengthening In the midst of the recent Ebola outbreak in West Africa, it was largely understood that the rapid spread of the disease was in a large part due to weak health systems. Donors are paying more attention to health system strengthening in their programming and funding, and this trend is likely to continue. If you’re interested in health policy and administration, particularly at the national and regional level, you may want to consider jobs that look at strengthening the institutions, regulations and policies impacting global health. READ: Former WHO chief highlights the importance of health systems 6. Training A big part of global health work is capacity building. You may not be the one delivering the vaccine, but rather training national health care workers on vaccine best practices, as Alanna Shaikh says in the Devex webinar on Careers in Global Health. Even if you don’t want to work full time as a trainer (or trainer of trainers), knowledge transfer skills are increasingly important particularly for professionals hoping for overseas work. WATCH: Why and when to market your knowledge transfer skills 7. Emergency response If you are less interested in a desk job and are hoping to work closely with patients and beneficiaries, you can consider a career in emergency relief and response. In the aftermath of the Haiti earthquake, typhoon Haiyan and most recently the earthquake in Nepal, experienced health care workers are needed to help avoid the spread of contagious diseases among shelters, ensure adequate nutrition among survivors or develop communications campaigns to help victims be aware of the health services available to them. WATCH: Life in the field: A career in humanitarian response Do you have a masters in public health? What has been your career path and what would you add to this list? Please leave your comments below. Looking to make a career move? Visit our career center for expert advice on how to navigate your job search - all you need is a Devex Career Account to get started.