6.18.2008

Job prospects for health economists

Over the last couple of weeks I have received quite a few of inquiries about the job prospects in health economics, the type of training required and of course also about the earnings potential both from US and European young professionals / students who came across my blog and therefore I thought that warrants a separate post on the blog. Needless to say that I am very delighted that the readership is growing rapidly and that people find the information useful - especially professionals becoming interested in this field. Indeed the area is expanding rapidly due to health policy developments across the globe. I found an interesting career information sheet from Australia but I think the comments made on job prospects etc. are valid for any geography, which I would like to share with the readers. In terms of questions related to earnings potential, last year I cited a very good and detailed article on US health economists salaries (search the blog and put “earnings”). What is missing is the same concise information on EU salary ranges per country. I wonder if there is a way to get some information – maybe some of the recruiters reading my blog would like to share some thoughts - on bands per level in order to guide young professionals on the compensation front in their career choice and potential moves. I know ISPOR is very active on the students chapter but perhaps here also some more career info could be provided going forward. In any case, I am happy to continue to answer questions or chat about the field in general as time allows… best Ulf



7 comments:

Three Quarters of the Globe said...

Thanks for the information!
I also did a quick search on current job listings. Here are my observations:
1.Many openings either are in academia, or require science background, or health economics degree
2. Majority of the demand is in Europe
3. One interesting post: Pfizer is hiring health economist for the newly-formed Evidence Based Medicine Strategy Group with the purpose to ensure that the Pharmaceutical Strategy Committee (PSC) possesses a robust understanding of the health-economic potential of Pfizer’s products.

- Can we say that overall the demand in the US is yet to emerge. But the big bio-pharmaceuticals are starting to include health economics as part of important company strategy?

N

ustaginnus@hotmail.com said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Bamibino85 said...

Hi there:

I've done extensive research on getting into Health Economics at entry level and it seems the best way is to do it via an Msc in Health Economics.

The main problem with this is courses are few and far inbetween and might not be in an ideal location for applicants with the best course at York University.

This has proved to be a problem for me as I am now going to take a Health Management course in an attempt to break in which contains a couple of modules on Health Economics.Hopefully this will get me in but I am not sure if that will be enough of a qualification....

Neel said...

I am a masters student majoring in Health Outcomes Research with a pharmaceutical background. Am I eligible to apply to entry level Health economics and outcomes research positions or do I need additional qualifications?

ustaginnus@hotmail.com said...

It should be sufficient, especially for a departmentthat focusses on observational research

Unknown said...

Hii.. I'm masters in Economics and recently completed Post Graduate Diploma in Health Economics,Financing and Policy and currently interning at Government Medical and Health Department. What positions should I apply for job and in which organizations?

ustaginnus@hotmail.com said...

This depends a lot on your interest and where do you want to develop your career, basically you need to decide between industry and organizations. You could apply to the pharmaceutical industry or start a career in one of the bigger health care organizations or even health insurers.