Afraid of needles? Most jobs in global health don’t require a lab coat or medical degree. This growing field offers career paths ranging from the extremely technical to more generalist positions, from epidemiologist to social marketer.
Global health addresses issues that cut across multiple borders, such as the eradication of tuberculosis — unlike international health, which is seen as tackling problems that mainly affect two countries, such as a cholera outbreak in a border region. Unlike some economic development work, global health can result in nearly instantaneous results, experts say.
“In development, it’s hard to see the changes you’re making. But in some areas of health, you can actually see the changes year to year,” one human resources expert said. “Other changes may take a generation or two.”