Can I Work For The CDC With A Health Science Degree?

CDC JobsThe United States Centers for Disease Control (CDC) fulfills many functions for the US and the world. Many of those functions rely on people with diverse sets of skills proficient in the health fields. Some of the jobs available are to people who have degrees in health science.

The Basics

As the CDC is a government agency that employees a variety of specialties, including directorships, division of Global HIV/AIDS, supervisory librarian, geographer and IT specialist, in addition to health scientist. Health science jobs require a bachelor’s degree with major study in an academic field related to the health sciences.

Other Jobs

There are jobs with the CDC that require a degree in the health sciences. An epidemiologist is one type of those jobs. In addition, a number of positions with the CDC do not list specific educational credentials, citing instead time in service at the next lower rank in the federal employment system. Persons already in the civil service who have both a health science degree and the requisite time in grade would doubtlessly be able to do such jobs, particularly those with titles such as Public Health Advisor and Public Health Analyst.

Limits

Unfortunately, a health science degree will not equip a person for all jobs with the CDC. A number of the supervisory jobs require medical or osteopathic degrees, directly, which usually do not fall under the rubric of health science degrees, although they are clearly related. While a health science degree can lead to a medical degree, such as an MD or a DO, it will not lead to the highest-ranking jobs with the CDC, but that does not mean that it prevents a person from having a fulfilling career with the agency.

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A job with the CDC can be rewarding, not only in terms of finances, the benefits are generally quite good, and the pay is generally stable if not necessarily high, but in the opportunity to be of service to the nation. It is fortunate, then, that there are many opportunities to work for CDC with a health science degree.