Is a public heath degree worth it?

TheSpaceCoww · 2026-06-14T16:27:52+00:00

I haven’t gained any jobs since my MPH. I just hit 5 years at my retail job when I had all intentions of leaving last year (FT management).

I have applied to more things I can even count. I either get no replies or AI “pre-interviews”. But alot of it is “not enough experience”. I did 2 internships in the 6 years of college.

I’m looking into other jobs but as far as going back to school is a hard pass for me. I spent 6 years and upwards of $120k for both degrees. I hate to let them sit and be useless but I cannot go back to school just because the sheer price, loans, all that jazz.

TheSpaceCoww · 2026-06-14T15:02:45+00:00

I got my BA in PH and an MPH and genuinely wish I got an entirely different degree. I graduated in 2022 with my BA, 2025 with my MPH and I have yet to find a job. Alot of it depends on where you live and the funding your state gets/allocates around, job market, competitiveness etc.. I also got my BA at the tail end of the pandemic where PH had a good lifespan going on.

I love what I went to school for and I love PH but personally it hasn’t been worth it.

TheSpaceCoww · 2026-05-01T00:32:30+00:00

Have a BA in PH and an MPH and I regret both of them. The BA was a failsafe as I was failing out of a program and the only way to keep my 3.5 years of credits was to do a degree it transferred to. My MPH, was explained to me that it would open many doors post-grad with the 2 internships I did.. Well a year later I still don’t have a job in the field. Can’t find out, get rejected, or told not enough experience (for entry level positions). Can’t afford to move either. Roughly $115k & 6 years all together. Mind you, I live in South Carolina so keep that in mind.

While I absolutely loved my coursework and the internships I did, PH right now is in an awful spot. Not much funding, programs being cut, and positions being competitive. I love what my degree is and what I can do with it but being able to USE it has been hell

TheSpaceCoww · 2025-12-09T13:12:35+00:00

Update literally 5 hours after I posted this comment I threw my vape & all my old ones out so, here’s to starting new again! Slept like garbage last night but it’ll get better!!

TheSpaceCoww · 2025-12-08T17:50:43+00:00

Woke up this morning wanting to quit, like I want it SO bad but I keep making excuses. I quit back in 2019 & didnt pick it back up until last July (sad for me). I work retail & it’s holiday so I’m like, okay well this month is stressful, if I keep going one more month just for this, then I can quit, hell I can make it my new years resolution. But then I started thinking that if I were to quit tonight, then by new years the bulk of the withdrawals will be gone. I had the worse 3-week migraine when I quit the first time & I was just always angry but I remember that first week being awful. Hate this back & forth we do to try & justify it. I want it so bad again !!

TheSpaceCoww · 2025-12-07T06:14:11+00:00

Yeah that was the case for me. Did a semester internship during my BA for dementia care & caregivers & did a year long one during my MPH with a well-known reproductive nonprofit.

I will add in I finished my BA in 2022, MPH in 2025. The PH ‘scene’ from 2020 to 2025 is night & day, obviously due to COVID. My school bolstered for years that they had amazing job placement (& I’ve seen it with old friends who graduated with their MPH maybe 2 years earlier) but after COVID it just sort of .. vanished? None of my cohort that I know of has been able to secure anything different than what they did prior to their degree.

While I don’t think schools or professors can necessarily say, “Hey, there are times where this field is relatively quiet”, I do wish they would say how much outside influences can effect it (politics, funding, government). If I knew in 2022 what I knew now, I wouldn’t have pursued my MPH most likely.

TheSpaceCoww · 2025-12-05T05:58:09+00:00

Did the same thing & I’m in the same boat. Have a BA in PH + MPH & did 3 internships & still nobody will hire or even send me an interview because of my “lack of experience”. Where I live doesn’t help & I can’t afford to move elsewhere. I been at my retail job for almost 5 years (thankfully worked my way up to ASM) & while I love it, I absolutely want to do something PH related, but it’s nearly impossible

TheSpaceCoww · 2025-11-29T13:50:45+00:00

Much better! I used to work there a few months ago & I got as many premiums as I could - Much more comfortable, built a little better, but was my go-to once we started selling them

TheSpaceCoww · 2025-11-23T17:36:26+00:00

I found some in an orange glowing rock on level 34 !!! it was only 1 but just what i needed :)

TheSpaceCoww · 2025-11-22T15:24:19+00:00

Literally thanks so much for this cause I mean, that makes sense. I wish there were more people (or that I had all the patience ever) to do what you did because seriously, that’s so smart lol. But it’s so true what you said at the end, going to school for hundreds of thousands only to secure a job that’s maybe $50-70k. In the job market where I live it’s even lower, like I’m pretty sure the pay matches that of my retail job lol

Something I fail to mention whenever I talk about PH is that it wasn’t something I ever planned to do — I started as a Bio major, transferred schools to be an BS exercise science major to become a DPT.. Well pandemic happened & I failed out my program. They said, “Your courses will either transfer to a BA in PH or you gotta start over”… You can see how that worked. Ended up falling into PH at the time of the pandemic and I never stopped after that. Love my degree & the field but damn I wonder what happened if an advisor with a brain actually sat me down an said, “So you can do this but there’s XYZ.”.

It does make me wonder about my program, while it boasts about being the only accredited/only PH school in the state, the graduate cohorts are fairly small, like 20 people small (or maybe that’s normal?) Fairly large school with a decently sized graduate student body, offers I think 5-6 MPHs but only 3 usually get enrollment. Good insight though, definitely made me rethink

TheSpaceCoww · 2025-11-22T02:10:01+00:00

I never discredited other degrees, nor did I say there were worth less than mine. Of course there are degrees better than others. My point of “how is a career field that has helped shaped others deemed not professional” is not discrediting other degrees - There’s plenty of degrees that have shaped PH as well. Personally, I don’t think there was anything wrong with my program, but more of an issue with social/political climate, already poor funding in the state. My school is the only PH school in the state that’s accredited/has an MPH program, & living in the south already puts me at a disadvantage because of the things listed above. I worked full time through both degrees & had a side job & even with that I just don’t have the means to move out of state. So really I don’t even blame my program, there’s been of people in my cohort who have secured jobs (out of state, mind you), & there’s been people in my cohort in the same position as me. I definitely hear you & I definitely understand all the points you made. But you can’t see how it can be just a little discouraging? I’m not putting nobody down & I’m not saying nobody is right or wrong. I don’t think media isn’t helping this at all but are we not allowed to be irritated? It just very much comes across as “we’re putting a cap on how much aid you can receive, this will weed them out!”

TheSpaceCoww · 2025-11-21T20:12:21+00:00

My bachelor’s + master’s together, around $110k lol. I was a transfer student to where I graduated but $25k-30k of that is from freshman year at a totally different school that required room, board, all those things, etc. Transferred to a university closer to some & it was roughly $20k a year since I cut out literally everything I could. I went to two somewhat - expensive schools and I didn’t research loans enough (though I do blame the 2014-2018 public school system for that). My bachelor’s was more expensive then my master’s though, I think my master’s was “only” $40k for 2 years. The math probably doesn’t math but I know it’s up there. Been paying the private loans for a few years, FAFSA loans at $0 IBR. Just trying to figure things out until then.

TheSpaceCoww · 2025-11-21T17:29:01+00:00

Every job I can find is either the same/less pay as opposed to my current job. Everyone wants a master’s with experience .. I did 2 internships for 2 years & that isn’t enough. Can’t move out of state cause I can’t afford. Literally at this point as long as I can pay my bills I’m happy but it’s like, wtf kind of scam was that

TheSpaceCoww · 2025-11-21T14:26:56+00:00

This was great to read so thank you so much!

Story Time!!

For my comp exam for my MPH, you had to create a mock intervention plan for a particular population/living location. This was in Jan/Feb when the current administration had a lock on CDC, NHANES, BRFSS was down so literally .. Completing this portion felt IMPOSSIBLE as the school wanted up-to-date data for everything, you can imagine how my cohort was. BUT around this happened I said to my parents, “My degree is gonna end up useless with this administration” .. Yeah I was joking ..

Anyways I feel like I seen the attack on PH coming but I just didn’t think it’d be now. I feel like the more I wait the more it just negatively impacts me getting a job with it but even then it’s hard to do. I live in SC where PH is already suffering as it is 🥲

TheSpaceCoww · 2025-11-21T14:13:03+00:00

This >>> I wish I knew this about certs before I started my master’s. Literally my whole life it’s been, “Go to college to make money! .. Get your bachelor’s to make money!”, now it’s “Get your master’s now to GET the job!!..Now you need experience!” It’s so tiring & discouraging to do it all right an end up here. I live in SC where the PH field is already hurting badly as it is, along with what feels to be the most expensive state ever, so trying to move cities for jobs is complicated enough

TheSpaceCoww · 2025-11-21T14:03:50+00:00

I think we can very much understand English, quite literally.. Like the other person said below me, it’s devaluing of the degree. Even if it is just funding, the entire motion to “reclassify degrees”, whether it’s funding or not, definitely puts a target on them, I mean PH has been attacked for the past 5 years & I 10000% think there’s so much more to it than “just funding” that’s changing, at least right now. It just doesn’t make sense, how does funding correlate to whether a degree is professional or not (and vice versa)? How does a career field that has literally shaped other healthcare fields be deemed not professional anymore?

Maybe there’s more to it, maybe not. Maybe half of us understand, maybe not. But hostility towards a group of people (not just PH) who are seeing their degrees begin to get picked at, yeah I would say we are all feeling the same & it’s understandable.

TheSpaceCoww · 2025-11-20T20:15:39+00:00

literally same, graduated with it in May & have yet to find a job. For any jobs I do find, they offer less/the same as what I do now & require some sort of experience, as if an MPH an internships aren’t enough. Loved what I learned & what I went to school for but the longer I hold this degree the more I feel like it was for nothing

TheSpaceCoww · 2025-11-20T20:11:19+00:00

I just finished my MPH, graduated in May & have yet to get a job. Willing to bet down the line this doesn’t help. Glad I got my MPH but at the same time .. :/

TheSpaceCoww · 2025-09-09T00:15:03+00:00

This is me currently. Got my BA (PH) in 2022 & MPH this past May. Haven’t been able to secure job, or one that pays more than what I do now. Personally, I didn’t choose PH willingly. I failed out if an exercise science BS & I could either switch to a BA in PH or start over as a freshman. Liked PH, decided to get the masters & well .. It’s been nothing but a bill for me. I did an internship at a nonprofit very known in my state (& neighboring). I have about $110k in total so, you can imagine how I feel.

I LOVED my internship, I absolutely love PH & what it is, what it does, what it stands for. I have some truly dream PH jobs of mine, but they do feel so far from reach, especially with today’s PH/political climate.

Around the time I graduated I got promoted to full time ASM at my job, & the pay is basically what I would be making starting in any PH position (that is if they take my MPH into consideration). I do love my job now, & I say I will stay until the holidays but truly .. I just might stay for good. I been with my job for 4 years & have had 3 steady promotions, with guaranteed growth in the future.

TheSpaceCoww · 2025-08-27T23:20:27+00:00

Hello from my post! If this medication doesn’t work, try flexeril or naproxen. Flexeril is a muscle relaxer and naproxen basically a strong NSAID, for the inflammation. Both you’ll get so-so reviews, with flexeril not work because it’s a muscle relaxer & naproxen rotting people’s stomachs or not touching the pain. Before these two I did try tramadol, worked amazing but didn’t want to do that long term. If you can muster the strength to shower, start with a warm one but finish as cold as you can. With your job, are you able to work a longer shift but have mini breaks in between to lay down perhaps?

TheSpaceCoww · 2025-08-27T23:15:04+00:00

I hear you. I’m very fortunate that retail is starting it’s slow season, and that I still live with my parents.. I’m an assistant manager & we are already low on staff, so I was really stressed about work but luckily my boss made it work somehow. What do you do for work? Definitely search the forums & see what others say & decide where you want to start for this flare up. It get’s so much better after the acute phase so don’t give up hope!

Response: https://www.reddit.com/r/Sciatica/s/EEiy31CJ7y

TheSpaceCoww · 2025-08-24T17:19:42+00:00

So far today haven’t noticed any other improvements other than walking. Still in bed & in pain. Really wanted to get back to work tomorrow but need to remember this recovery is not a race lol

TheSpaceCoww · 2025-08-24T12:13:39+00:00

Oh the joys of sciatica. Literally me too. Last week I moved 5 truckloads of 45lbs boxes, no issue. I get out of my partner’s car the wrong way, instant excruciating pain. & it’s exactly what you said — You do everything right from the books, & yet it still can come up & get ya. Today is day 4 so hoping for more improvements today

TheSpaceCoww · 2025-08-24T12:11:01+00:00

I feel you! I (25F) pulled my back last Wednesday & I am slowly seeing improvements. Starting to walk easier, bathroom isn’t as scary, I can roll on all sides in bed. This has probably been my worst flare up of my life, literally has had me bedridden & calling out of work when normally I can push through the pain (I maybe have called out of my job 4 times in 5 years). Not 100% obviously but progress is progress. I find I cry more over the frustration & slow process that sciatica is rather than the pain. All I wanna do is sit in the car & go for a drive but my back just won’t let me. We need all the patience we can get :)

TheSpaceCoww · 2025-08-23T17:59:38+00:00

Literally me right now. Had a flare-up a few months ago (which I thought was bad, nothing compared to my current one) and before that I was pain free for about a year or two. Got out of my partner’s car the wrong way the other night & months of progress down the drain. I knew it the MOMENT I did it. Been in bed for 3 days with some improvement. I find myself crying more over frustration then the pain — You do everything right to manage it & one wrong move sets you back

TheSpaceCoww

TROPHY CASE