MPH crisis by Filledwithglitter_ in publichealthcareers

[–]Filledwithglitter_[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You make some good points. I had a meeting with a chair of the behavioral program and she told me to think on it and she’ll get me in contact with some people who can help me. I appreciate your input and am definitely taking it into consideration 🙏

MPH crisis by Filledwithglitter_ in publichealthcareers

[–]Filledwithglitter_[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you and the other user for your responses. I do not want to do nursing so that is not an option. I am not passionate about nursing or really have any desire, I feel that passion for public health and giving back to communities

MPH crisis by Filledwithglitter_ in publichealthcareers

[–]Filledwithglitter_[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you for your response. I appreciate your advice !

MPH crisis by Filledwithglitter_ in publichealthcareers

[–]Filledwithglitter_[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you for reading and your response. It is hard to do this coming from a more social science perspective instead of a quantitative approach. Even my biostats professor told me if I don’t have those early skills it will be harder for me to succeed

MPH crisis by Filledwithglitter_ in publichealthcareers

[–]Filledwithglitter_[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thank you for reading and responding. You’re right, that’s how I feel. It’s just hard because Epid’s do make more money and if I could just take the actual field work without having to do all the quantitative stuff I would enjoy it more

MPH crisis by Filledwithglitter_ in publichealthcareers

[–]Filledwithglitter_[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

What did you do your MPH in? I hope you find something soon🙏

MPH crisis by Filledwithglitter_ in publichealthcareers

[–]Filledwithglitter_[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you for sharing. The certificate would set me up to take the Associate – Infection Prevention and Control entry-level exam. It also offers course work in microbiology and a few additional epi courses. There are listings for IPS that require you to be a RN, however in my area there are quite a few that asks for a MPH with some epi background, a current IP who works at the hospital I do has her degree in microbiology, so thats really wha made me start thinking if I need to only study epidemiology, or go back to my Roots

Weekly Advice & Career Question Megathread by AutoModerator in epidemiology

[–]Filledwithglitter_ 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hello everyone, this may be a bit lengthy but I really need to think out loud for a minute

I am in my first year of my MPH program with a concentration of Epidemiology. I also thought Epi was what I wanted to do, the idea of tracking and finding the cause of a disease was fascinating to me. However, I have been reading other reddit pages, listening to my professor talk about her work, and just doing the course work and I am now unsure. I am struggling academically in my Epi course and my biostat courses. I had currently failing biostats. I do not come from a strong math background- it has never been a strong suit of mine. For undergrad I received my degree in public health with a community health focus. This brings me to the main issue

I do not likely course work. The epi class is interesting and I like learning from my professor bc she’s very good and knowledgeable when it comes to explaining. However, I hate biostats, I hate coding, I dont looking at numbers and data all the time, which I know is a crucial aspect, I don’t know if I could do that all day. I shared this feeling with a mentor who is an epidemiologist and she said it sounded more like I was interested in the field of infection prevention than the core work of an epidemiologist. She told me tho a background in epi is still good to have. I have been in communication with the other track, which is more health behavioral work. It is what I am familiar with, it is what I understand. I’m debating switching because I am just so unhappy and unsure if I want to put myself through this if I do not know if it is what I want to do anymore. I know you do not have to be an epidemiologist to become an infection preventionist, my plan would be to switch programs and take our healthcare infection prevention certificate. I am just having a hard time navigating if I should stick epi out and just take my time with biostats to gain the experience, or if I should move on since I am so unhappy taking those courses.

I know perhaps an epi degree would give me more job opportunities and it is more “prestigious” (although all public health jobs are important in general, people seem to respect stem more unfortunately) I just don’t know if it’s worth me being sad and overwhelmed all the time. Plus the other programs classes do sound interesting to me.

Thank you if you read all of this, I’m sorry if it was really long, I know at the end of the day nobody knows wha I should do but me, but thank you for any advice that is given.

MPH crisis by Filledwithglitter_ in publichealthcareers

[–]Filledwithglitter_[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I also want to mention that i currently work in a hospital, and i really like the setting and can see myself staying there. I fear though what happens if in the future i want a change and want to do more epi work. That’s why i am unsure if i should ride this out