How to hire epidemiologists

Job description template

Copy it, fill in the brackets, and remove anything that does not fit your job. Keep only must-haves you would really turn someone away for.

[Job title] at [Company name]
[City, State] · [Full-time / Part-time] · [Pay range]

About the role
[Two or three sentences about your team, the work and why it matters.]

What you will do
• Communicate research findings on various types of diseases to health practitioners, policy makers, and the public.
• Educate healthcare workers, patients, and the public about infectious and communicable diseases, including disease transmission and prevention.
• Investigate diseases or parasites to determine cause and risk factors, progress, life cycle, or mode of transmission.
• Monitor and report incidents of infectious diseases to local and state health agencies.
• Oversee public health programs, including statistical analysis, health care planning, surveillance systems, and public health improvement.
• Plan and direct studies to investigate human or animal disease, preventive methods, and treatments for disease.
• Provide expertise in the design, management and evaluation of study protocols and health status questionnaires, sample selection, and analysis.
• Write articles for publication in professional journals.

What you bring
• [Required license, certification or years of experience, if any]
• [Education, only if you truly need it. Typical to start in this job: Master's degree]
• Strong critical thinking, reading comprehension, active listening, science, speaking and writing skills
• Working knowledge of mathematics, biology, English Language and medicine and dentistry
• [Anything else you would really turn someone away for]

Pay and benefits
[Pay range]. For reference, the U.S. median for this job is $41.93 an hour ($87,220 a year).
[Benefits, schedule and anything else candidates should know.]

How to apply
[Apply on JAI Bot. Every applicant hears back.]

Copy the template Check your finished job post

Interview questions for epidemiologists

Ask every candidate the same questions, in the same order, and write down what they say. Questions about past work show what someone has actually done.

1. Tell me about a time you had to communicate research findings on various types of diseases to health practitioners, policy makers, and the public. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
2. Tell me about a time you had to educate healthcare workers, patients, and the public about infectious and communicable diseases, including disease transmission and prevention. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
3. Tell me about a time you had to investigate diseases or parasites to determine cause and risk factors, progress, life cycle, or mode of transmission. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
4. Tell me about a time you had to monitor and report incidents of infectious diseases to local and state health agencies. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
5. Describe a decision at work where the obvious answer was wrong. How did you work out the better choice?
6. Tell me about written instructions, a policy or a manual you had to follow closely. How did you make sure you followed it correctly?
7. Tell me about a time you had to understand a request or problem that was explained poorly. How did you make sure you got it right?
8. Why this job, and why now? What would make you stay here for the long term?

Good answers name a real situation, what the person did themselves and what happened. Avoid questions about age, family plans, religion, health, national origin or anything else unrelated to the job.

What epidemiologists do

• Communicate research findings on various types of diseases to health practitioners, policy makers, and the public.
• Educate healthcare workers, patients, and the public about infectious and communicable diseases, including disease transmission and prevention.
• Investigate diseases or parasites to determine cause and risk factors, progress, life cycle, or mode of transmission.
• Monitor and report incidents of infectious diseases to local and state health agencies.
• Oversee public health programs, including statistical analysis, health care planning, surveillance systems, and public health improvement.
• Plan and direct studies to investigate human or animal disease, preventive methods, and treatments for disease.
• Provide expertise in the design, management and evaluation of study protocols and health status questionnaires, sample selection, and analysis.
• Write articles for publication in professional journals.

Skills that matter most

Critical ThinkingReading ComprehensionActive ListeningScienceSpeakingWritingMathematicsBiologyEnglish LanguageMedicine and Dentistry

Education, experience and outlook for epidemiologists

• Typical education to start: Master's degree (BLS)
• Job outlook: +18.7% over ten years, much faster than average · about 800 openings a year (BLS)

What to pay epidemiologists

Pay depends a lot on where the job is. Highest and lowest median yearly pay by state:

See epidemiologists pay in every state

Related hiring guides

• Animal Scientists
• Food Scientists and Technologists
• Soil and Plant Scientists
• Biochemists and Biophysicists
• Microbiologists
• Zoologists and Wildlife Biologists
• Biological Scientists, All Other
• Conservation Scientists
• Foresters
• Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists

Job duties and skills: O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license; O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. JAI Bot has modified this information; USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. Pay: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS, May 2025. Interview questions and the job description template: JAI Bot, based on the duties and skills above.