Public Health
Research career options and find opportunities in public health
About
There are various career options within public health. This ranges from academic research and epidemiology to health promotion and policy. Roles can range from health visitors to directors of public health.
The public health specialist workforce is growing, increasing 15.3% in England 2020 - 2021.
"Public health is about helping people to stay healthy and protecting them from threats to their health."
Salaries
Starting salaries for graduate jobs in this sector can vary depending on the position and location.
To get an idea of typical starting salaries use the following resources:
- our Discover your Earning Potential Pathway offers access to The Pay Index. This shows you how salaries vary across different roles, industries and locations
- job profiles, such as those listed on Prospects or targetjobs
- vacancy sites such as Glassdoor and LinkedIn
For information about how to negotiate a salary, visit Handling job offers.
Job Profiles
Have a look at Prospects and core public health roles to find out what roles in this sector involve and how to get into them. These are some of the job profiles available:
Skills employers look for
- a strong interest in public health
- the ability to handle and interpret data and statistics
- an investigative mind and the ability to organise and carry out research
- the ability to project-manage, prioritise tasks, meet deadlines and work with minimum supervision
- leadership
- the ability to work collaboratively in multidisciplinary teams
- strong written and oral communication skills
- the ability to understand legislation and policies
- attention to detail
- a logical and methodical approach to problem-solving
Inspiration from people working in the industry
- browse our Work Experience and Graduate Employment directories. See where our students and graduates have had work experience, or been employed
- use LinkedIn’s Alumni tool to find out what Newcastle graduates are doing now. You could ask to connect with them, to gain advice and insights into their career. See Newcastle Alumni on LinkedIn to help you get started or watch our quick tutorial on Getting inspiration from others [3:13]
- attend alumni events, such as Newcastle Develop, to hear directly from our graduates
- sign up for mentoring support with and The 1 Hour Project. These aim to match students with industry professionals who can provide invaluable insights. Register to be connected for a one-hour meeting
- attend . Hear about graduate jobs, placement schemes, build your network and ask questions
Online reviews
Searching for reviews online can be a useful way to get an idea of what to expect from certain roles or employers. Reviews are written by employees with different opinions about what makes a good employer.
Use the following review sites for inspiration and insight into the recruitment process:
- RateMyPlacement - placement year reviews written by students.
- The Job Crowd – graduate job reviews
- Glassdoor – company reviews from employees
Not sure what you want to do?
If you’re not sure exactly what you want to do, we can help. You can book a guidance appointment via MyCareer. Our careers consultants can help you explore your options or plan your career.
Career guides
Read career guides for this sector, such as:
- Health Careers: Careers in public health
- Faculty of Public Health - find information on careers and routes into public health
Industry news
Use online magazines and journals to follow news from your industry. Reading about trends and developments is important for applications and interviews.
Examples include:
- New Scientist
- Public Health Journal
- Public Health Matters - a blog from Public Health England
Student societies
Become active in student societies. Relevant societies include the Teddy Bear Hospital and Marrow Society.
Social media
Use social media to find industry insights
Join sector-specific groups on LinkedIn to keep up to date. Posts often include news, events and opportunities. You can also find useful insights on careers on Twitter and TikTok. Treat these with caution, as not all content may be accurate.
Find out more about and subscribe to our sector Twitter list.
Professional bodies
Consider joining a relevant professional body/industry network
Professional bodies often:
- run networking events
- have specialist groups you could join
- post vacancies on behalf of their members
- have member directories, useful for speculative applications
Key organisations include:
Professional societies/institutes
- Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH)
- International Epidemiological Association
- Chartered Institute of Environmental Health
Research councils/institutes
- Medical Research Council
- Economic and Social Research Council
- National Institute for Health Research
- Fuse (the Centre for Translational Research in Public Health) in the North East
Government agencies
- UK Health Security Agency
- Office for Health Improvement and Disparities
- Health Protection Scotland
- Public Health Wales
- Health and Safety Executive (HSE)
Non-governmental organisations/charities
- World Health Organization
- United Nations
- King’s Fund- independent charity working to improve health and care in England
Finding professional bodies worldwide
GoinGlobal’s country guides include details of professional bodies. Find them under ‘Professional and Personal Networking’ on each individual country guide.
Guide to finding opportunities
There are various ways to find internships, placements and graduate opportunities. We’ve added some tips below to help you get started.
- search for advertised vacancies using the vacancy sites listed below
- look at the careers sections on company websites for student and graduate opportunities.
- use Researching employers to help you gain insights into companies
- attend events such as recruitment fairs and employer and sector insights
- contact employers speculatively – see 'non-advertised work experience and graduate jobs' to help you find organisations to approach
- follow companies on Social Media for latest news and updates
- consider registering with a recruitment agency for graduate jobs
- register with EmployAbility if you are disabled, neurodivergent or have a mental health condition. They can offer advice and support on applications to Newcastle students. They also run first year, internship and graduate programmes with inclusive employer partners.
- consider alternative ways to find relevant experience and develop your skills
Advertised Internships
Search these external sources for opportunities:
- Wellcome Trust
- World Health Organisation.
- PHG Foundation - offer paid internships and voluntary opportunities
- The Epidemiology Group – based at the University of Aberdeen
Use our resources to further your search:
- MyCareer - search for internships and placements in the North East, UK and overseas. Register/log in to access vacancies and sign up for personalised email alerts
- - links to vacancy sites
- - for internships or placements abroad
Professional bodies and research councils also advertise opportunities, including research, funding and studentships. See above for a list of organisations.
NCL Internships
The Careers Service runs flexible term-time and summer internships with local employers and on campus. NCL internships are aimed at all students, from any stage:
- search for these under Vacancies on MyCareer. Type in ‘NCL internship’ into the text search box
- previous NCL internships that are related to libraries and information management include Library Resource Assistant, Library Resource Developer, Academic Skills Advisor and Library Marketing Intern.
Worldwide experience
Access GoinGlobal for internships in over 120 global locations, updated daily. Search for opportunities in the local language, as well as in English. You can also use their country guides to find:
- additional vacancy websites
- CV, application and interview advice
- Advice on living and working in different countries and cities around the world.
Looking for ideas
If you’re looking for inspiration, try searching our NU Work Experience Directory. You can see where our students have had internships and placements in the last five years. To see all results in a search category, keep the search field blank.
When to apply
The resources in this section advertise both graduate jobs and graduate schemes. See our graduate jobs page to understand the difference between them.
For graduate schemes, apply as early as possible. There are few formal graduate schemes available in public health. Some related schemes include the:
- Wellcome Trust Graduate Development Programme
- NHS Graduate Management Training Scheme in health informatics and analytics.
Apply early - both schemes usually open in early October. They often close mid-November for the following year's entry.
Graduate jobs tend to be immediate start positions which can be available all year round. You are more likely to apply for these towards the end of your studies.
Vacancy sites
Use our resources to get started:
- MyCareer - search for internships and placements in the North East, UK and overseas. Register/log in to access vacancies and sign up for personalised email alerts. You can filter by occupational area (eg 'using languages'), vacancy type and location.
- Internships, placements & shadowing - links to vacancy sites
- Global work experience - for internships or placements abroad
External resources:
- Jobs.ac.uk - search for jobs in librarianship, information science, IP, transfer technology and museum/curatorial work. This is generally in higher education institutions in the UK.
- Times Higher Education - for vacancies within higher education in the UK and abroad
- Lisjob.net - graduate training opportunities through CILIP for those who want to undertake a postgraduate qualification
- Philip Robinson Library advertises for library aides and assistants on the Newcastle University vacancy site and on MyCareer
- Archives & Records Association: Jobs - member subscription required
- Information and Records Management Society: Jobs
- Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ): Knowledge and Information Management - advertises vacancies
- Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTP). This is a three-way partnerships involving a business, a graduate and an academic institution. Graduates work on research projects while gaining industrial experience with an employer. Projects are competitively paid. There is funding for personal development. They can last 1-3 years. View current opportunities.
- Guardian Jobs
Worldwide vacancy sites
See for details of overseas vacancy sites.
Access GoinGlobal for job adverts in over 120 global locations, updated daily. Search for opportunities in the local language, as well as in English. You can also use their country guides to find:
- additional vacancy websites
- CV, application and interview advice
- advice on living and working in different countries and cities around the world
Non-advertised work experience and graduate jobs
Not all internships, placements and graduate jobs are advertised. In fact, many people create opportunities through:
- networking and making contacts
- developing their own business ideas
A speculative approach is common for finding internships and placements and graduate jobs. This is where you approach a company directly to ask if they have any opportunities available.
How to access hidden opportunities
Start by identifying organisations you are interested in. Our guide to finding organisations below can help. Then use the following steps to approach them speculatively about possible opportunities:
- Identify a contact name to address your cover letter to. Call or email to find out who handles recruitment within the organisation. Or, find a key contact in the department you want to work in.
- Send them a tailored CV and cover letter. Express your enthusiasm for the sector. Show that you have researched the company.
- Follow up your speculative application with a phone call, or email, around a week later. This shows you are serious and motivated.
- If your application was unsuccessful, ask for feedback or advice, and keep trying!
How to find organisations
- find organisations on MyCareer. Select ‘search' then 'organisations’
- use the business directories and databases on our Researching employers page
- search for companies on LinkedIn. The Find Alumni tool shows you where Newcastle graduates are currently working
- browse our Work Experience and Graduate Employment directories. See where our students and graduates have had work experience, or been employed
Use the resources below to find organisations in the North East, UK and worldwide.
North East organisations
International Newcastle - member directory
UK organisations
- UK Public Health Network - member organisations
- Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI)
- European Public Health Alliance for not-for-profit organisations across Europe working in public health
- LinkedIn Find Alumni tool
- targetjobs - search employers by sector, eg software engineering or technology
Professional body websites sometimes include member directories, which are helpful for finding employers.
Worldwide organisations
Search GoinGlobal’s employer directory for company information in 196 countries. Their country guides list professional bodies around the world.
Other ways to gain relevant experience
We've added some suggestions to help you develop your skills and gain relevant experience.
- become a health champion, see:
- RSPH’s Young Health Champions programme
- NICE Evidence Search Student Champion Scheme
- think about work shadowing. Try contacting primary care services to ask about opportunities, such as:
- health centres
- GP surgeries
- pharmacies
- hospitals
- local authority public health teams (eg Newcastle City Council)
- undertake voluntary work - see Volunteering for help with finding opportunities. The Public Health Jobs blog has a useful article on finding work experience. It also links to relevant charities
- network to build contacts. Attend events and conferences, comment on relevant blogs or join a professional body.
- part-time work can help you develop relevant skills. Researcher roles, for example, can be useful experience. To search, log on to MyCareer and also visit Part-time jobs.
Specialist recruitment agencies
Recruitment agencies can be useful for finding graduate jobs. These tend to be for immediate start positions. It's worth registering with one or two agencies towards the end of your course.
- REC: Member directory - search for a member agency by specialism or UK region
- Yell.com – UK business directory. Search using ‘recruitment consultancy’ as a keyword to find agencies in a particular location
See Recruitment Agencies to find more agencies.
Finding overseas recruitment agencies
GoinGlobal’s country guides include details of recruitment agencies in specific countries. They are listed under the following headings:
- staffing agencies and temporary help firms
- executive recruiters and search firms
Recruitment agencies may not operate in the same way in different countries. In the UK agencies are free for job seekers, but this may not be the case elsewhere. Explore the terms and conditions of an agency before signing up to use them.
Education and Training
For some careers within public health and epidemiology, a Master’s in an related area is useful.
Typical courses include taught/research Masters and PhDs in:
- Public Health
- Epidemiology
- Health Data Science
- Health Informatics
- Dental Public Health
- Public Health Nutrition
- Population Health
The following websites can help you find relevant courses and training opportunities:
- Findamasters
- Find a PhD
- Prospects
- NHS Speciality training in public health – requires significant work experience in public health
- UK Health Security Agency: Epidemiology, Surveillance and Public Health courses
- Newcastle University postgraduate prospectus
Funding
For UK students, there is the Government postgraduate loan scheme. This is available for both Masters and doctoral courses.
See for information on other sources of funding. This includes scholarships and PhD studentships.
Work for Yourself
Working as self-employed or freelance is common in the public health sector.
Our START UP team can help you explore working for yourself at any stage. Whether you want to explore an idea or have already launched a business or freelance career, you can access the following help:
- support with idea generation
- provide tailored advice
- help you develop your skills
- introduce you to like-minded peers
- refer you to further support from mentors
- award grant funding up to £3,000