I stepped away from my normal routine last week with an impromptu visit home to see my family (sorry for the PHHH delay!). It was jarring in the best way—crossing items off my to-do list from my dad’s small home office, my mom’s TV show audible in the background from downstairs. I was completely out of sync with my usual rhythm. But underneath the disorientation was this feeling of lightness. Like I’d been stuck in a rut and suddenly I could breathe again.
Our perspective on public health careers follow a similar pattern, I think. We get locked into a straight and narrow path, and we forget that there are other ways to life.
We create this image of what our careers are supposed to look like. Epidemiology. Policy work. Community health. Whatever it is, we decide on our lane and we stick to it religiously. We scroll past opportunities that don’t fit the narrative. We turn down roles that might teach us something because they’re not “supposed to be” part of our predetermined trajectory. We’re so focused on staying on course that we don’t notice we’re stuck.
But flexible work is actually our permission slip to step sideways. It’s low-stakes enough that we can experiment without it derailing a whole career. It’s short-term enough that if it’s not for you, you move on. It’s our chance to discover whether the path we thought wee wanted is actually the one that makes us feel alive, or whether it’s just the one we decided on years ago and never questioned.
Some of the most interesting careers happen when we say yes to opportunities that don’t fit our plans or routines. When we give ourselves permission to try something different. When we step away from what we’re supposed to want or what we’re used to and actually explore what we might want.
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Project Coordinator (PT, CT) (London, UK) EPI, BIOS, Master’s
Oxford University, Research Assistant (PT, CT) (Oxford, UK) BSHES, GH, HPM, Master’s
Health Research Inc, Disease Surveillance Project Assistant Intern II (NYC) EPI, Undergrad, Grad, Bachelor’s, Master’s
Health Research Inc, Health Promotion Project Assistant Intern II (Albany, NY) BSHES, Undergrad, Grad, Bachelor’s, Master’s
Health Research Inc, Epidemiology Project Assistant Intern II (New Rochelle, NY) EPI, Undergrad, Grad, Bachelor’s, Master’s
Health Research Inc, Outbreak Investigation Project Assistant Intern II (Syracuse, NY) EPI, Undergrad, Grad, Bachelor’s, Master’s
Health Research Inc, Chagas Disease Project Assistant Intern II (Albany, NY) EH, EPI, BIOS, Undergrad, Grad, Bachelor’s, Master’s
Health Research Inc, Epidemiological Surveillance Project Assistant Intern II (Buffalo, NY) EPI, Undergrad, Grad, Bachelor’s, Master’s
City of San Francisco, Community Safety Ambassador (PT, CT) (San Francisco, CA) BSHES, GH, Grad, Bachelor’s, Master’s
Los Angeles Co, Jr. Program Analyst (CT) (Los Angeles, CA) RMACH, EPI, BSHES, Bachelor’s, Master’s
ORISE, Partnerships and Performance Improvement Evaluation Fellow (Atlanta, GA) HPM, BSHES, BIOS, Master’s
Guidehouse, Life Sciences Advisory Intern (Multiple Locations) HPM, EPI, BIOS, Undergrad, Grad
Toccata Data Solutions, Database Consultant (PT, CT) (Remote) BIOS, EPI, HPM, Bachelor’s, Grad, Master’s
CDC Foundation, Technical Assistance Specialist (CT) (Remote) GH, BSHES, HPM, Master’s
Malaria No More, Policy and Advocacy Intern (DC) HPM, GH, Grad, Bachelor’s
ORISE, Vision Health Initiative Fellow (Atlanta, GA) BSHES, GH, EPI, Master’s
Prenatal to 3 Policy Impact Center, Sr. Data Analyst (CT) (Nashville, TN) RMACH, EPI, Master’s
Asista Immigration Assistance, Development and Communications Specialist (PT) (Remote) GH, BSHES, HPM, Bachelor’s, Grad, Master’s
Esophageal Cancer Action Network, Development and Communications Manager (PT) (Remote) BSHES, HPM, Bachelor’s, Grad, Master’s
Health Research Inc, Project Assistant Intern II (Menands, NY) BSHES, EPI, BIOS, Undergrad, Grad
Health Research Inc, Emergency Preparedness Project Assistant Intern II (Syracuse, NY) GH, HPM, EH, Undergrad, Grad
Health Research Inc, Public Health Education Assistant Intern (Albany, NY) BSHES, HPM, Undergrad, Grad
Univ of WI, Water-Related Environmental Hazards and Public Health Fellow (Madison, WI) EH, Master’s
Johns Hopkins Univ, Behavioral Health Research Assistant (PT) (Baltimore, MD) BSHES, HPM, EPI, Bachelor’s, Grad, Master’s
ORISE, Surveillance Data Science Fellow (Atlanta, GA) EPI, BIOS, Grad, Master’s
ORISE, Bioinformatics and Genomic Surveillance Fellow (Atlanta, GA) EPI, BIOS, Master’s
Canberra Health Services, Data and Analytics Support Officer (CT) (Deakin, AUS) EPI, BIOS, HPM, Master’s
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Reproductive, Adolescent, and Child Health Needs Assessment Assistant (PT)(Philadelphia, PA) RMACH, BSHES, EPI, Undergrad, Grad
CA Dept of Health, Regulatory Epidemiology Analyst (CT) (Richmond, CA) EPI, Master’s
San Francisco Dept of Health, Breaking the Cycle Ambassador (CT, PT) (San Francisco, CA) BSHES, GH, Bachelor’s, Grad, Master’s
Los Angeles Community Health Project, LEAD Motel Coordinator (PT) (Los Angeles, CA) BSHES, Undergrad, Grad, Bachelor’s, Master’s
Salt Lake County, Health Educator (CT) (Salt Lake City, UT) BSHES, Bachelor’s, Master’s
Born in Bradford, Health Urban Places Sr. Research Fellow (Bradford, UK) EPI, Master’s
City of Waco, Public Health Equity Fellow (Waco, TX) BSHES, GH, HPM, Master’s
New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Making Care Better Performance Improvement Fellow (NYC) HPM, Bachelor’s, Master’s
American Cancer Society, Research Intern (Atlanta, GA) EPI, Grad, Master’s
Children’s Hospital of Atlanta, Office of Pediatrician in Chief Intern (Atlanta, GA) RMACH, EPI, HPM, Undergrad, Grad
Amazon, Injury Prevention Intern (Multiple Locations) BSHES, EH, Undergrad, Grad
National Laboratory of the Rockies, Socioeconomic Impacts Intern (Boulder, CO) EH, HPM, Grad
Endeavor Health, Research Intern (Evanston, IL) EPI, BIOS, Undergrad
MD Anderson, Research Intern (Houston, TX) EPI, Bachelor’s, Grad, Master’s
New Entry Sustainable Farming Project, Farmer Training Intern (Beverly, MA) EH, BSHES, Undergrad, Grad, Bachelor’s, Master’s
New Entry Sustainable Farming Project, Farm Disaster Preparedness and Response Intern (Beverly, MA) EH, GH, BSHES, Undergrad, Grad, Bachelor’s, Master’s
New Entry Sustainable Farming Project, Marketing and Communications Intern (Beverly, MA) EH, BSHES, HPM, Undergrad, Grad, Bachelor’s, Master’s
City of Boise, Watershed Education Intern (Boise, ID) EH, BSHES, Undergrad
City of San Francisco, Occupational Health and Safety Intern (San Francisco, CA) EH, BSHES, Undergrad, Grad
AARP, Community Outreach and Communications Intern (Concord, NH) BSHES, HPM, Undergrad, Grad
Hemophilia of GA, Data Evaluation Intern (Atlanta, GA) EPI, BIOS, HPM, Grad
Nationwide Children’s, Population Health Marketing Intern (Columbus, OH) BSHES, HPM, RMACH, Undergrad, Grad
National Education Association, Human and Civil Rights Intern (DC) HPM, BSHES, GH, Undergrad, Grad, Bachelor’s
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