Epidemiologists are tasked with studying infectious diseases and how they may affect populations, as well as developing solutions to protect people from these diseases, making this one particularly important career in public health. Those in the field of epidemiology not only get to find a job which allows them to flourish, but they also can enjoy job stability and a comfortable level of salary as well while simultaneously helping their communities and communities abroad.
An associate epidemiologist works primarily in research, and this field is extremely helpful to the overall study of epidemiology. Researching infectious diseases and how they relate to a population is just one way that these diseases can be better prevented and understood, and this exciting career allows a person to make a very important positive mark on society.
What Is An Associate Epidemiologist?
The average associate epidemiologist will work primarily in clinical research or overall research of infectious diseases as part of an epidemiology team. This may include investigating patient data, creating reports, developing solutions, or a variety of other tasks, and an associate epidemiologist may work in a local environment or in other communities around the world to investigate and resolve problems with infectious disease.
Some of the daily roles of an associate epidemiologist are:
- Interpreting research results
- Developing new research procedures to be followed by an epidemiologist team
- Preparing published manuscripts
- Teaching methodology, procedures, and research protocol to new epidemiology employees
- Implementing new research proposals
- Building various epidemiological profiles for infectious diseases and populations
- Researching infectious diseases
- Building solutions to help a population to recover from or avoid an outbreak of infectious disease
- Identifying and solving any inaccuracies that may be present in different forms of patient data
- Answering routine questions from investigators or other public health professionals working with a community
Associate epidemiologists are tasked with a variety of different research based jobs that allow for advancements in the field of infectious disease. Without the research performed by associate epidemiologists, solutions to infectious disease problems would not be able to be found and communities around the globe would suffer the consequences of routine outbreaks with little relief.
Education And Training
An associate epidemiologist will typically need to earn a PhD in epidemiology in order to find employment, and this will first begin with earning a bachelor’s degree in epidemiology or public health. Through a 4 year undergraduate program a student will study various topics revolving around healthcare related topics, science, mathematics, statistics, and a variety of other subjects in order to prepare for work in the field or to go on to a higher degree program.
After a bachelor’s degree program is completed, and a degree is earned, the student will then go on to earn their master’s degree in public health or epidemiology. During a 2 year master’s degree program a student will complete an internship to gain real world experience as well as classroom study in order to expand their learning in epidemiology or public health, and it is during this time that many specialized fields of interest are further looked in to.
After a 2 year master’s degree program a student will the move on to another 3 to 5 year program to achieve their doctorate in epidemiology and become an associate epidemiologist. This doctorate program will again focus on both hands on experience working with professional epidemiologists as well as classroom study and further expansion on any specialized interests.
A certificate in epidemiology can allow a person to become a certified associate epidemiologist, and although this is an optional achievement it is one that is always recommended. This certification is given through The Certification Board of Infection Control and Epidemiology after the passing of an exam, and the exam is built to be passed after a bachelor’s level degree in epidemiology has been reached.
The salary for an associate epidemiologist can range from $51,000 to $107,000 and beyond depending on a person’s experience and chosen field of work. The demand for associate epidemiologists, and all epidemiologists, is expected to rise by about 10% or 500 new job vacancies by the year 2022, allowing students coming in to the field to have many different options for employment upon graduation.
