DHSc Degree

Health Education Specialist: The Career and the Path

Designing and running programmes that change health behaviour, in health systems, employers, schools and public agencies.

Last updated

Median
$64,070
Middle half
$50,620–$87,130
Top 10%
$118,200
Employed
65,690
A doctor speaking to a seated group of older women during a community health talk
Health education work happens in community rooms and clinics rather than lecture halls, and the audience is the public rather than students. Photograph by Lagos Food Bank Initiative

What Does a Health Education Specialist Do?

Designing and running programmes that change health behaviour, in health systems, employers, schools and public agencies.

A common route for DHSc graduates whose interest is population-facing programme work rather than running a department. Note the pay: this is the lowest-paying occupation on this page, and choosing it is a choice about the work rather than about money.

How Much Does a Health Education Specialist Make?

The national median is $64,070. The middle half of the occupation earns between $50,620 and $87,130, and the published range runs from $42,990 to $118,200. Full state-by-state figures are on the health education specialist salary page.

Job Outlook for Health Education Specialists

The Department of Labor projects 5% to 6% growth for this occupation over 2024 to 2034, which it labels faster than average, against 7,900 projected openings across the period. Openings come from people leaving the occupation as well as from new posts, so that second figure describes your odds of finding a job better than the growth rate does.

Growth here is steady and the pay is the lowest of the careers on this site. Those two facts belong together: this is a growing occupation that a doctorate does not obviously reprice.

Pay runs from $42,990 at the tenth percentile to $118,200 at the ninetieth, with a median of $64,070. The full spread and pay in every state sit on the salary page.

Where Health Education Specialists Work

The eight states holding the most of these jobs, out of 65,690 nationally. This is not the same list as the eight that pay best.

StateEmployedMedian
California 12,520 $63,610
Texas 5,320 $59,340
New York 4,150 $62,560
Georgia 3,210 $99,400
Pennsylvania 2,690 $80,670
Massachusetts 2,420 $57,510
Maryland 2,220 $104,470
North Carolina 2,110 $58,080

How a DHSc Degree Fits a Health Education Specialist Career

Every program on our ranked list is built for people already working in health care, so the realistic sequence is not degree then job. It is job, then degree alongside it, then the move. That is why almost all of these programs are online and part-time, and why their published timelines already assume you are employed throughout.

Before committing, do the check in our guide to whether a DHSc is worth it: find three current postings for this role and see whether they require a doctorate, prefer one, or never mention it. That answer is worth more than any ranking.

DHSc Concentrations That Point at This Career

These programs publish a concentration whose own name points at this kind of work. The track you pick at entry usually decides what your applied project is about, so choose on the track rather than on the program's headline.

Frequently Asked Questions About Becoming a Health Education Specialist

Do you need a doctorate to become a health education specialist?
No. This occupation is entered with a bachelor's or master's degree far more often than with a doctorate. A DHSc tends to matter at the senior end, where postings begin listing an advanced degree.
What does a health education specialist earn?
A median of $64,070, with the middle half between $50,620 and $87,130, and the full range running from $42,990 to $118,200 across 65,690 jobs. Full detail including pay by state is on the salary page.
Which DHSc programs suit this career?
All 24 programs on this site point at leadership and teaching roles, so the better question is structure rather than specialism. If you want the research training, choose one of the programs that ends in a dissertation. If you want the credential and the leadership coursework, the applied-project programs are the honest fit.

Careers Related to Health Education Specialist

Sources for Health Education Specialist Career Data

Wage and employment projection figures on this page come from the Department of Labor. Anything about accreditation or the degree itself is sourced separately.