← All careers

Science

Epidemiologists

Investigate and describe the determinants and distribution of disease, disability, or health outcomes. May develop the means for prevention and control.

Median salary

$83,980

Typical range

$57k – $135k

Job outlook

+16% (much faster than average)

AI exposure

Plan a path to Epidemiologists

Education

Typical entry: Master's degree

Plan my path to this →

Typical progression

  1. Epidemiologists Intern

    Internship

    $36,000

    ~4 mos to advance

  2. Junior Epidemiologists

    Entry / Junior

    $56,950

    ~2 yrs to advance

  3. Epidemiologists

    Established

    $83,980

    ~3 yrs to advance

  4. Senior Epidemiologists

    Senior

    $109,420

Internships are a common on-ramp here — they speed up landing that first role and improve your odds, which is why the Safe and High-ceiling plans build one in.

Key skills

A typical day

  • Communicate research findings on various types of diseases to health practitioners, policy makers, and the public.
  • Oversee public health programs, including statistical analysis, health care planning, surveillance systems, and public health improvement.
  • Investigate diseases or parasites to determine cause and risk factors, progress, life cycle, or mode of transmission.
  • Educate healthcare workers, patients, and the public about infectious and communicable diseases, including disease transmission and prevention.
  • Monitor and report incidents of infectious diseases to local and state health agencies.

Fields of study

Any field

Top colleges for Science

Explore all

Reputation-based selection; stats shown are outcome data per school.