What do they do?

Investigate and describe the determinants and distribution of disease, disability, or health outcomes. May develop the means for prevention and control.

Also known as:

Chronic Disease Epidemiologist, Clinical Epidemiologist, Communicable Diseases Specialist, Environmental Epidemiologist, Epidemiologist, Epidemiology Investigator, Infection Control Practitioner (ICP), Medical Epidemiologist, Nurse Epidemiologist, Public Health Epidemiologist, Research Epidemiologist, State Epidemiologist

Typical Wages

Projected Growth Rate

Employment of Epidemiologists is projected to grow 27 percent from 2022 to 2032, much faster than average compared to all occupations.

Projected Employment For All United States

No Data Available
  • 27%

    Change

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    800

    Job Openings

    Select a state to see its net job growth ranking

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Education Level

Percent of workers in this field with these degrees:

  • Doctorate or Professional Degree  (48%)
  • Master's degree  (26%)
  • Bachelor's degree  (24%)
  • Some college, no degree  (1%)
  • Associate's degree  (<1%)
  • Less than high school diploma  (<1%)
  • High school diploma equivalent  (<1%)

Typical College Majors

Most Popular Majors that prepare Epidemiologists

Select Type of Degree:

  • #1
    • Degrees Granted

      408
    • Female Students

      252
    • Male Students

      156
    • Median Starting Salary

      $42,090
  • #2
    • Degrees Granted

      367
    • Female Students

      225
    • Male Students

      142
    • Median Starting Salary

      $51,200
  • #3
    • Degrees Granted

      120
    • Female Students

      98
    • Male Students

      22
    • Median Starting Salary

      $42,090

People in this career often have these skills:

  • Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
  • Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
  • Complex Problem Solving - Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
  • Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
  • Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
  • Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
  • Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
  • Science - Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
  • Active Learning - Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
  • Systems Analysis - Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
  • Systems Evaluation - Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
  • Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
  • Mathematics - Using mathematics to solve problems.
  • Coordination - Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
  • Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
  • Learning Strategies - Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.

People in this career often know a lot about:

  • Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
  • Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
  • Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
  • English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
  • Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
  • Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
  • Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

People in this career often have talent in:

  • Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
  • Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
  • Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
  • Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
  • Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
  • Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.
  • Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
  • Fluency of Ideas - The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
  • Category Flexibility - The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
  • Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
  • Originality - The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
  • Information Ordering - The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
  • Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
  • Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
  • Mathematical Reasoning - The ability to choose the right mathematical methods or formulas to solve a problem.
  • Flexibility of Closure - The ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material.
  • Number Facility - The ability to add, subtract, multiply, or divide quickly and correctly.

People in this career often do these activities:

  • Prepare scientific or technical reports or presentations.
  • Communicate with government agencies.
  • Direct medical science or healthcare programs.
  • Research diseases or parasites.
  • Train personnel in technical or scientific procedures.
  • Plan biological research.
  • Develop methods of social or economic research.
  • Write articles, books or other original materials in area of expertise.
  • Write grant proposals.
  • Prepare proposals or grant applications to obtain project funding.
  • Establish standards for products, processes, or procedures.
  • Establish standards for medical care.
  • Advise others on healthcare matters.
  • Supervise scientific or technical personnel.
  • Instruct college students in physical or life sciences.
  • Analyze biological samples.

This page includes data from:

O*NET OnLine Career data: O*NET 28.3 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (“USDOL/ETA”). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Logo Occupation statistics: USDOL U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment Statistics

careeronestop logo Videos: CareerOneStop, USDOL/ETA and the Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development

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