How much does a health education specialist make?

The median pay is $30.80 per hour — roughly $64,000 a year, with the real range running from about $20.67/hr (10th percentile) to $56.83/hr (90th percentile). Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Do you need a degree to be a health education specialist?

The typical entry-level education is: Bachelor's degree. Overall preparation level: considerable preparation (Job Zone 4 of 5).

What does a health education specialist actually do all 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.

Community & Social Services◆ PROMISING

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.

What it pays
Health Education Specialists earn a median of $30.80/hr — about $64,000 a year. The lowest-paid 10% earn $20.67/hr; the top 10% earn $56.83/hr. (Annual figures are approximate: hourly × 2,080.)

What you'd actually do

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.
Collaborate with health specialists and civic groups to determine community health needs and the availability of services and to develop goals for meeting needs.

How you get there

Typical entry-level education: Bachelor's degree. Overall preparation: considerable preparation (Job Zone 4 of 5).

The feel of the work

You're around people constantly; it rewards working independently. (Compared against the other 818 careers in the guide.)

Working for yourself

About 0.6% of health education specialists are self-employed.

Who it tends to fit

This work tends to fit people who are people-focused, analytical and organized and detail-focused.

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Quick questions

How much does a health education specialist make?: The median pay is $30.80 per hour — roughly $64,000 a year, with the real range running from about $20.67/hr (10th percentile) to $56.83/hr (90th percentile). Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Do you need a degree to be a health education specialist?: The typical entry-level education is: Bachelor's degree. Overall preparation level: considerable preparation (Job Zone 4 of 5).
What does a health education specialist actually do all 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.

Wages: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS. Tasks & interests: O*NET. Career pathways shown in the app are draft archetypes — verify before relying on them. Trailhead is a free career guide for students — honest numbers, no hype.

Trailhead is operated by FLEXVermont LLC. It is intended for high-school students age 13 and older, and the educators and families who support them, and is not directed to children under 13. Trailhead is provided for general informational and educational purposes only. It does not offer professional, financial, or career advice, and its wage figures and pathways are estimates that may not fit your situation — they should not be relied on as the sole basis for any decision.