Health Educator Career Plan
If you are interested in becoming a health educator, there are multiple paths. Some people enter the field through clinical professions such as nursing or psychology. Others choose health education as a first career. If you’re a high school student, or a graduate seeking a first college degree, you’ll want to enroll in an accredited health education program. The following steps are designed to help you.
Become a Health Educator
- Career Plan: How to Become a Health Educator
- Schools offering: Health Educator and Public Health Programs
- Health Educator Certification
- Duties & Statistics: Health Educator
- Related Careers
Health Educator Resources…
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Take advantage of secondary school opportunities – both in the classroom and out. Take college prep (or honors) math, science, and composition. Also consider classes in psychology, health, or public speaking. You can develop your communication skills through coursework or extracurricular activities. The Bureau of Labor Statistics recommends pursuing a foreign language – there’s a need for educators across language groups.
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Meanwhile, begin to explore the health education field. Participate in career fairs. You may want to join a pre-health student group like the Health Occupations Students Association. You’ll find multiple competitions and events that relate to health education. There is a health education teamwork event. There are also leadership events like Healthy Lifestyle, Extemporaneous Health Poster, and Researched Public Speaking.
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Research health education programs. Decide if you want to pursue health education at the undergraduate or graduate level. (You can, of course, do both, but you may want to choose a complementary field like nutrition the first time around.)
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Continue to seek out professional opportunities as a college student. You may want to become a student member of the American Association for Health Education. You can also apply for internships. If you live in a dorm, you might want to become a Resident Assistant. In this role, you may get a chance to develop health-related programming.
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You may want to pursue certification during the final three months of your degree program.
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Now it’s time for your first position as a health educator. Network and utilize online job boards.
