Epidemiologist
What this job does:
Studies how diseases and health outcomes are distributed across populations and what causes them. Designs observational and interventional studies, manages large datasets, runs statistical models, and translates findings into public health recommendations or clinical guidance.
This job is similar to these lab/research tasks:
Designing study protocols with clear hypotheses and control conditions; analyzing complex datasets and interpreting statistical associations; writing detailed methods and results sections; communicating findings to diverse audiences; managing large-scale data collection and tracking.
Typical starting salary range
$75k to $115k
Salary estimate represented as 25th to 75th percentile. Gathered from recent job postings, Glassdoor.com, and Salary.com
Daily task breakdown
- Study design, protocol development, and IRB submissions (25%)
- Data collection, management, and cleaning (20%)
- Statistical analysis and modeling (30%)
- Writing and reporting findings (15%)
- Stakeholder communication and cross-functional collaboration (10%)
Skills you'll use in this job:
Study design (cohort, case-control, cross-sectional, RCT); biostatistics and regression modeling; causal inference methods; SAS, R, Stata, or Python; IRB and human subjects protocols; data management and cleaning; scientific writing; public health communication
Talk about these PhD skills in your resume and interview:
Talk about your experience designing studies with clear hypotheses and controls - this is the core of epidemiology. Highlight your statistical analysis skills, your ability to interpret associations carefully, and your experience writing up findings for peer review. If you have IRB experience or worked with human subjects, lead with that.
Alternative job titles to search:
Epidemiologist; Research Epidemiologist; Pharmacoepidemiologist; Clinical Epidemiologist; Surveillance Epidemiologist; Applied Epidemiologist; Infectious Disease Epidemiologist; Population Health Scientist; Health Research Scientist; Outcomes Researcher
*Note:
-Job titles are inconsistent between companies. Try various keywords.
-PhDs tend to undershoot seniority level. Target higher than you think.
