Epidemiologists

Epidemiologists are public health workers who investigate patterns and causes of disease and injury. They seek to reduce the risk and occurrence of negative health outcomes through research, community education and health policy.

Duties

Epidemiologists typically do the following:

• Plan and direct studies of public health problems to find ways to prevent them or to treat them if they arise
• Collect and analyze information—including data from observations, interviews, surveys, and samples of blood or other bodily fluids—to find the causes of diseases or other health problems
• Communicate findings to health practitioners, policymakers, and the public
• Manage programs through planning, monitoring progress, and seeking ways to improve
• Supervise professional, technical, and clerical personnel
• Write grant proposals to fund research

Epidemiologists collect and analyze data to investigate health issues. For example, an epidemiologist might study demographic data to determine groups at high risk for a particular disease. They also may research trends in populations of survivors of certain diseases, such as cancer, to identify effective treatments.

Epidemiologists typically work in applied public health or in research. Applied epidemiologists work for state and local governments, often addressing public health problems through education outreach and survey efforts in communities. Research epidemiologists typically work for universities or in affiliation with federal agencies, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) or the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Epidemiologists who work in private industry may conduct research for health insurance providers or pharmaceutical companies. Those in nonprofit companies often focus on public health advocacy instead of research, which is expected to be unbiased.

Epidemiologists typically specialize in one or more public health areas, including the following:

• Chronic diseases
• Environmental health
• Genetic and molecular epidemiology
• Infectious diseases
• Injury
• Maternal and child health
• Mental health
• Public health preparedness and emergency response
• Veterinary epidemiology

For more information on occupations that concentrate on the biology or effects of disease, see the profiles for biochemists and biophysicists, medical scientists, microbiologists, and physicians and surgeons.

Epidemiologists held about 12,300 jobs in 2024. The largest employers of epidemiologists were as follows:

Work environments vary because of the diverse nature of epidemiological specializations. Epidemiologists typically work in offices and laboratories to study data and prepare reports. They also may work in clinical settings or the field, supporting emergency actions.

Epidemiologists working in the field may need to be active in the community, including traveling to support education efforts or to administer studies and surveys. Because modern science has reduced the prevalence of infectious disease in developed countries, infectious disease epidemiologists often travel to remote areas and developing nations in order to carry out their studies.

Epidemiologists encounter minimal risk when working in laboratories or in the field, because they have received appropriate training and take precautions before interacting with samples or patients.

Work Schedules

Epidemiologists who work full time and typically have a standard schedule. Occasionally, epidemiologists may have to work irregular schedules in order to complete fieldwork or attend to duties during public health emergencies.

Epidemiologists typically need at least a master’s degree to enter the occupation. They may have a master’s degree in public health (MPH) or a related field, and some have completed a doctoral degree in epidemiology or medicine.

The median annual wage for epidemiologists was $83,980 in May 2024.

Employment of epidemiologists is projected to grow 16 percent from 2024 to 2034, much faster than the average for all occupations.

About 800 openings for epidemiologists are projected each year, on average, over the decade. Many of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to different occupations or exit the labor force, such as to retire.