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Social Services

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.

Median salary (BLS)

$64,070

10th–90th percentile (BLS)

$43k – $118k

Job outlook

+5% (faster than average)

AI exposure

Early-career check: graduates of the matching programs below typically earn $87,000 ten years after starting college — an early-career figure, vs. the all-experience BLS median above. Source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard.

Plan a path to Health Education Specialists

Qualification costsStack incomeBest cities/statesSchool ROIJob-posting fitTailored resume

Education

Typical entry: Bachelor's degree

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How to qualify

EstimateLicense required

Cost to qualify

$40,200–$151,000

Time to qualify

5 yr

Renewal

$75/yr

  1. 1

    Bachelor's degree

    Degree

    Four years at public in-state rates — average published tuition & fees ≈ $11,610/yr, plus books. Private and out-of-state run higher; grant aid lowers most students' actual net price.

    $40,000–$150,000 · 4 years source

  2. 2

    State license — supervised hours + exam

    License

    Most counseling and social-work roles (LCSW/LPC pattern) require supervised experience hours and a state exam.

    $200–$1,000 · 12 months · varies by state · renews every 2 yr source

Estimated typical U.S. route for "Health Education Specialists" — built from BLS education requirements and College Board 2024–25 average published prices (public, in-state tuition + fees + books). Not yet verified against a specific state's licensing rules — confirm with your state licensing board or program.

Typical progression

  1. Junior Health Education Specialists

    Entry / Junior

    $42,990

    ~2 yrs to advance

  2. Health Education Specialists

    Established

    $64,070

    ~3 yrs to advance

  3. Senior Health Education Specialists

    Senior

    $91,135

Key skills

A typical day

  • •Prepare and distribute health education materials, such as reports, bulletins, and visual aids, to address smoking, vaccines, and other public health concerns.
  • •Develop and maintain cooperative working relationships with agencies and organizations interested in public health care.
  • •Maintain databases, mailing lists, telephone networks, and other information to facilitate the functioning of health education programs.
  • •Document activities and record information, such as the numbers of applications completed, presentations conducted, and persons assisted.
  • •Develop and present health education and promotion programs, such as training workshops, conferences, and school or community presentations.

Fields of study

Any field

Top colleges for Social Services

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