Health Education Specialists

Provide and manage health education programs that help individuals, families, and their communities maximize and maintain healthy lifestyles. Use data to identify community needs prior to planning, implementing, monitoring, and evaluating programs designed to encourage healthy lifestyles, policies, and environments. May link health systems, health providers, insurers, and patients to address individual and population health needs. May serve as resource to assist individuals, other health professionals, or the community, and may administer fiscal resources for health education programs.

$63,000

Median Annual Pay

Jobs growth:

+4% projected 2024–2034

Bachelor's degree

Typical Entry-Level Education

What They Do

Health educators design and deliver programs that teach people about wellness, disease prevention, and healthy lifestyle choices. They spend their days researching community health needs through surveys and data analysis, then creating educational materials like workshops, presentations, and written resources tailored to specific populations. A health educator might conduct a diabetes prevention class at a senior center in the morning, meet with school administrators about nutrition programs in the afternoon, and spend evening hours developing social media content about mental health awareness.

Programs That Prepare You

College programs linked to this occupation, ranked by graduate earnings

Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences(masters)University of California-Davis, CA

Public Health(doctoral)University of California-Los Angeles, CA

Public Health(doctoral)University of Illinois Chicago, IL

Public Health(masters)Touro University California, CA

Public Health(masters)Montana Technological University, MT

Public Health(masters)Harvard University, MA

Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences(professional)MCPHS University, MA

Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences(doctoral)A T Still University of Health Sciences, MO

Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences(doctoral)Nova Southeastern University, FL

Public Health(doctoral)University of South Carolina-Columbia, SC

Public Health(doctoral)Harvard University, MA

Public Health(doctoral)University of South Florida, FL

Public Health(bachelors)The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, TX

Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences(doctoral)University of Arkansas, AR

Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences(doctoral)Touro University Worldwide, CA

Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences(doctoral)The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, TX

Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences(doctoral)The University of Texas at El Paso, TX

Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences(doctoral)University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus, CO

Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences(doctoral)Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions, UT

Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences(doctoral)Midwestern University-Downers Grove, IL

Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences(doctoral)Eastern Virginia Medical School, VA

Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences(doctoral)Brown University, RI

Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences(doctoral)Rutgers University-New Brunswick, NJ

Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences(doctoral)Loma Linda University, CA

Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences(doctoral)Indiana State University, IN

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