Epidemiologists

What the job really is

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

At a glance

• Sector: Life, Physical & Social Science
• O*NET-SOC code: 19-1041
• O*NET job zone: 5 — extensive preparation
• Work sample tasks on file: 12
• Tools and technologies listed: 12

What you actually do

Work sample tasks recorded for this occupation:

• 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.
• Plan and direct studies to investigate human or animal disease, preventive methods, and treatments for disease.
• Provide expertise in the design, management and evaluation of study protocols and health status questionnaires, sample selection, and analysis.
• Write articles for publication in professional journals.
• Identify and analyze public health issues related to foodborne parasitic diseases and their impact on public policies, scientific studies, or surveys.
• Write grant applications to fund epidemiologic research.
• Plan, administer and evaluate health safety standards and programs to improve public health, conferring with health department, industry personnel, physicians, and others.
• Conduct research to develop methodologies, instrumentation, and procedures for medical application, analyzing data and presenting findings.

Tools and technology

ESRI ArcGIS software, Facebook, IBM SPSS Statistics, Microsoft Access, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office software, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Word, Python, R, SAS

What employers expect you to already be comfortable with.

Where this job leads

Related occupations — the usual moves up and sideways:

• Preventive Medicine Physicians
• Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists
• Clinical Nurse Specialists
• Geneticists
• Physicians, Pathologists
• General Internal Medicine Physicians
• Microbiologists
• Emergency Medicine Physicians

Getting in

O*NET assigns this occupation job zone 5 (extensive preparation). The related occupations above are the realistic routes in and out.

Find openings

Browse the verified job sources directory, or explore more occupations.

Check this against the source

O*NET OnLine: Epidemiologists — the authoritative public-domain profile this page is derived from, including the full task list, reported skills and the wage estimates for your region.

Derived and rewritten from the public-domain O*NET database (U.S. Department of Labor / Employment and Training Administration). Figures are observations, not promises — always confirm salary, licensing and visa requirements with the employer and the relevant authority.