Occupation Profile for Health Educators
Promote, maintain, and improve individual and community health by assisting individuals and communities to adopt healthy behaviors. Collect and analyze data to identify community needs prior to planning, implementing, monitoring, and evaluating programs designed to encourage healthy lifestyles, policies and environments. May also serve as a resource to assist individuals, other professionals, or the community, and may administer fiscal resources for health education programs.
Signficant Points
- 5 out of 10 health educators work in health care and social assistance and an additional 2 out of 10 work in State and local government.
- A bachelor’s degree is the minimum requirement for entry level jobs, but many employers prefer to hire workers with a master’s degree.
- Rapid job growth is expected, but the relatively small number of jobs in this occupation will limit the number of job openings.
Earnings
Median annual earnings of health educators was $41,330 in May 2006; the middle 50 percent earned between $31,300 and $56,580. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $24,750, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $72,500.
Median annual earnings in the industries employing the largest numbers of health educators in May 2006 were as follows:
| General medical and surgical hospitals | $40,890 |
| State government | 33,100 |
| Local government | 32,420 |
| Outpatient care centers | 27,530 |
| Individual and family services | 25,760 |
Job Outlook
Employment of health educators is expected to grow much faster than the average for all occupations and job prospects are expected to be favorable.
Employment change. Employment of health educators is expected to grow by 26 percent, which is much faster than the average for all occupations. Growth will result from the rising cost of health care and the increased recognition of the need for qualified health educators.
The rising cost of healthcare has increased the need for health educators. As health care costs continue to rise, insurance companies, employers and governments are attempting to find ways to curb the cost. One of the more cost effective ways is to employ health educators to teach people how to live healthy lives and avoid costly treatments for illnesses. Awareness of the number of illnesses, such as lung cancer, HIV, heart disease and skin cancer, that may be avoided with lifestyle changes has increased. These diseases may be avoidable if the public better understands the effects of their behavior on their health. In addition, many illnesses, such as breast and testicular cancer are best treated with early detection so it is important for people to understand how to detect possible problems on their own. The need to provide the public with this information will result in State and local governments, hospitals, and businesses employing a growing number of health educators.
The emphasis on health education has been coupled with a growing demand for qualified health educators. In the past, it was thought that anyone could do the job of a health educator and the duties were often given to nurses or other healthcare professionals. However, in recent years, employers have recognized that those trained specifically in health education are better qualified to perform those duties. Therefore, demand for health professionals with a background specifically in health education has increased.
Demand for health educators will increase in most industries, but their employment may decrease in secondary schools. Many schools, facing budget cuts, ask teachers trained in other fields, like science or physical education, to teach the subject of health education.
Job prospects. Job prospects for health educators with bachelor’s degrees will be favorable, but better for those who have acquired experience through internships or volunteer jobs. A graduate degree is preferred by many employers.
Employment
Health educators held about 62,000 jobs in 2006. They work primarily in two industries with 20 percent working in State and local government and 53 percent working in health care and social assistance. In addition, a small percent of health educators work in grant-making services and social advocacy organizations.