What Does it Take to Be a Health Educator?

Career Description Provide and manage health education programs that help individuals, families, and their communities maximize and maintain healthy lifestyles. 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 serve as a resource to assist individuals, other healthcare workers, or the community, and may administer fiscal resources for health education programs.

Daily Life Of a Health Educator

• Develop, conduct, or coordinate health needs assessments and other public health surveys.
• Develop educational materials and programs for community agencies, local government, and state government.
• Develop, prepare, and coordinate grant applications and grant-related activities to obtain funding for health education programs and related work.
• Document activities and record information, such as the numbers of applications completed, presentations conducted, and persons assisted.
• Provide guidance to agencies and organizations on assessment of health education needs and on development and delivery of health education programs.
• Develop and present health education and promotion programs, such as training workshops, conferences, and school or community presentations.

What Every Health Educator Should Know

These are the skills Health Educators say are the most useful in their careers:

Active Listening: Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.

Writing: Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

Speaking: Talking to others to convey information effectively.

Learning Strategies: Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.

Active Learning: Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.

Social Perceptiveness: Being aware of others’ reactions and understanding why they react as they do.

Related Job Titles for this Occupation:

• Clinical Educator
• Clinical Instructor
• Clinical Nurse Educator
• Community Educator
• Chronic Disease Manager

What Kind of Health Educator Job Opportunities Are There?

In 2016, there was an estimated number of 61,000 jobs in the United States for Health Educator. New jobs are being produced at a rate of 14.6% which is above the national average. The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts 8,900 new jobs for Health Educator by 2026. The BLS estimates 8,700 yearly job openings in this field.

The states with the most job growth for Health Educator are Utah, Arizona, and Colorado. Watch out if you plan on working in Maryland, Illinois, or Mississippi. These states have the worst job growth for this type of profession.

Average Health Educators Salary

The average yearly salary of a Health Educator ranges between $32,030 and $98,530.

Health Educators who work in District of Columbia, Georgia, or Rhode Island, make the highest salaries.

How much do Health Educators make in each U.S. state?

State	Annual Mean Salary
Alabama	$53,060
Alaska	$62,800
Arizona	$53,630
Arkansas	$49,270
California	$65,000
Colorado	$56,800
Connecticut	$71,940
Delaware	$67,310
District of Columbia	$88,060
Florida	$54,520
Georgia	$85,440
Hawaii	$74,230
Idaho	$54,110
Illinois	$58,610
Indiana	$55,130
Iowa	$54,650
Kansas	$52,480
Kentucky	$49,280
Louisiana	$55,930
Maine	$49,510
Maryland	$77,820
Massachusetts	$63,270
Michigan	$52,470
Minnesota	$57,740
Mississippi	$43,140
Missouri	$46,470
Montana	$45,370
Nebraska	$46,610
Nevada	$60,090
New Hampshire	$59,100
New Jersey	$61,110
New Mexico	$54,240
New York	$57,010
North Carolina	$57,300
North Dakota	$56,410
Ohio	$55,730
Oklahoma	$55,490
Oregon	$56,230
Pennsylvania	$61,220
Rhode Island	$78,680
South Carolina	$60,060
South Dakota	$49,060
Tennessee	$40,700
Texas	$54,580
Utah	$52,630
Vermont	$58,430
Virginia	$55,880
Washington	$60,780
West Virginia	$48,870
Wisconsin	$55,800
Wyoming	$48,590

Tools & Technologies Used by Health Educators

Below is a list of the types of tools and technologies that Health Educators may use on a daily basis:

• Microsoft Excel
• Microsoft Word
• Microsoft Office
• Microsoft PowerPoint
• Microsoft Outlook
• Web browser software
• Microsoft Access
• Microsoft Visio
• Adobe Systems Adobe Photoshop
• Facebook
• Microsoft Publisher
• MEDITECH software
• Blackboard
• Blackbaud The Raiser’s Edge
• Blogging software
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Epi Info
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CDC WONDER
• Wiki software

How to Become a Health Educator

Individuals working as a Health Educator have obtained the following education levels:

How Long Does it Take to Become a Health Educator?

Who Employs Health Educators?

Below are examples of industries where Health Educators work:

You May Also Be Interested In…

Are you already one of the many Health Educator in the United States? If you’re thinking about changing careers, these fields are worth exploring:

• Coaches and Scouts
• Athletic Trainers
• Speech-Language Pathologists
• Career/Technical Education Teachers, Secondary School

References:

• Bureau of Labor Statistics
• College Factual
• O*NET Online

Image Credit: Article 25 Flickr via Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license

More about our data sources and methodologies.