Srijana Bajracharya

Retired Professor, Health Promotion and Physical Education

Health Educators: Employment and Future Job Outlook

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook, (2010-11 Edition) the current job outlook for health educators is  extremely positive and strong.  The following facts indicate that graduate degree in health education will be critical for our future students in health care discipline.

  • Out of 66,200 Health Educator jobs in 2008

Ø  51% in health care and social assistance

Ø  23% in government

  • Employment growth for Health Educators

Ø  Anticipated growth: 18% through 2018 (compared to 10% growth for all occupations)

Ø  Fueling the growth: high cost of health care & quest to curb it

Ø  A graduate degree is preferred by many employers

  • Earnings

Ø  Median wage: $44,000 in May 2008

Ø  Middle 50% earned between $33,170 - $60,810

Ø  Top 10% earned more than $78,260

(*U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2010-11 Edition)

Further, the online job site CareerBuilder had a 17 percent increase in wellness job listings from April to October 2010, according to spokeswoman Jennifer Grasz. A search in December 2010 for “wellness manager” returned 2,245 jobs posted within the previous 30 days.