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Career

Health Education Specialists

Typical education: Associate degreeModerate pressure Bright Outlook

What they do

Provide and manage health education programs that help individuals, families, and their communities maximize and maintain healthy lifestyles. Use data to identify community needs prior to planning, implementing, monitoring, and evaluating programs designed to encourage healthy lifestyles, policies, and environments. May link health systems, health providers, insurers, and patients to address individual and population health needs. May serve as resource to assist individuals, other health professionals, or the community, and may administer fiscal resources for health education programs.

Kinds of work

  • Social: Helping, teaching, caring for and supporting other people.
  • Investigative: Science, research, figuring out how things work and solving complex problems.
  • Conventional: Organizing information, following clear procedures and working with data and details.

Moderate pressure: How much pressure workers in this job report: deadlines, conflict, dealing with upset people, the cost of mistakes, responsibility for others' safety, competition and long hours. It varies a lot from one employer to the next. Source: U.S. Department of Labor worker surveys.

Pay, tasks and more

Salary

United States $64,070 Median per year · $30.80/hr Most earn $42,990–$118,200

BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, 2025.

What you might do

  • Develop, prepare, and coordinate grant applications and grant-related activities to obtain funding for health education programs and related work.
  • Collaborate with health specialists and civic groups to determine community health needs and the availability of services and to develop goals for meeting needs.
  • Provide program information to the public by preparing and presenting press releases, conducting media campaigns, or maintaining program-related Web sites.
  • Provide guidance to agencies and organizations on assessment of health education needs and on development and delivery of health education programs.
  • Supervise professional and technical staff in implementing health programs, objectives, and goals.
  • Prepare and distribute health education materials, such as reports, bulletins, and visual aids, to address smoking, vaccines, and other public health concerns.

Job outlook

Bright Outlook Rapid Growth

United States
6% more jobs by 2035, faster than average · about 6,900 openings a year

Openings include new jobs and jobs left by workers who retire or change careers. Projections: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. "Bright Outlook": U.S. Department of Labor.

Where they work

  • General medical and surgical hospitals15.2%
  • Colleges, universities, and professional schools12.5%
  • Local government, excluding education and hospitals11.4%
  • State government, excluding education and hospitals6.8%
  • Offices of physicians6.1%

Share of all workers in this career. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Employment Matrix.

Experience before this job: 1 to 2 years

Some people start through an apprenticeship: paid training on the job, often with classes. Search apprenticeships on Apprenticeship.gov (opens in a new tab) ↗

Career path

How people usually get into this career, from school to their first job and beyond.

Typical education: Associate degreeExperience before this job: 1 to 2 years

Health Education Specialist is often reachable with an associate degree plus about 1 to 2 years of related work, so it's a realistic path if you start after high school. Expect roughly 3 to 4 years from graduation to landing this job.

  1. Associate degree in health education, public health, or a related field

    2 years

    You learn the basics of health topics, how communities are served, and how programs are planned, which is the foundation for this work.

  2. Social and Human Service Assistant

    1-2 years

    You help clients connect with services and run community outreach, building real experience with people and programs before you plan your own.

  3. Health Education Specialist

    Target role

    You use community data to plan, run, and evaluate health programs, and you link people to the care and resources they need.

Where it can lead

  1. Senior Health Education Specialist

    3-5 years of experience first

    You take on bigger programs, lead other staff, and manage grant budgets and evaluation plans, which requires a strong record of results.

  2. Social and Community Service Manager

    3-5 years of experience first

    You oversee teams and whole community service programs, which usually calls for a bachelor's degree and several years of proven program experience.

What you can do now

Ideas for high school and college students.

In high school

  • Take biology, health, and statistics classesThese classes build the science and number skills you'll use to understand health problems and program results.
  • Join a health-related club like HOSA or a public speaking clubClubs like these help you practice teaching others about health and working in a team.
  • Volunteer at a food bank, shelter, or community health fairVolunteering shows you how communities meet health needs and gives you experience to list on applications.
  • Get a starter job, such as a camp counselor or retail jobAny job where you explain things to people and solve problems builds the communication skills this career needs.

In college

  • Take courses in public health, health promotion, or community healthThese classes teach how health programs are designed, delivered, and evaluated, which is the core of this job.
  • Take an introductory statistics or research methods classBeing able to read and use data is central to finding community needs and measuring whether programs work.
  • Get an internship at a health department or nonprofitHands-on experience in a real program gives you the 1 to 2 years of related work employers often look for.
  • Join a campus health or wellness student groupLeading events and outreach helps you practice planning and teaching health topics to others.
  • Look into a first-aid or health education certification offered locallyA recognized certificate shows employers you have specific, job-ready skills in health education.

Tips for getting started

  • Look for entry jobs in community clinics, public health departments, or nonprofits, since hands-on work counts toward the experience this career asks for.
  • Learn to read simple data, like survey results and health statistics, because this career starts with understanding community needs.
  • Keep track of the programs you help run and their results, so you can show what you did when you apply for jobs.

Related jobs that often lead here

Related jobs a step up

Education, experience and related careers: U.S. Department of Labor. The step-by-step path, where it can lead and what you can do now were written by AI as typical examples; many people take other ways.

College majors that lead here

Majors: U.S. Department of Education and BLS (CIP–SOC crosswalk). Earnings and debt: College Scorecard, typical across U.S. colleges.

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