Genomic epidemiology jobs
Trends, requirements, prospects
The genomic epi job board
Pathogen genomic epidemiology is a relatively new field, and as such there is a wide variety in what employers are looking for in candidates, and I often get questions about what skills are needed for these roles. One of the things I maintain on a regular basis is a job board, hosted at www.genomicepi.com/jobs. There are several goals that I have for the job board:
Provide a way for employers to share job postings
Serve as a resource for job seekers
Maintain a historical record of job postings over time to track trends in the field
Give inspiration for job descriptions for agencies creating their first genomic epidemiologist role
Jobs can be submitted by anyone, using the web form on the site. While I do get some submitted jobs, most of them I put in based on jobs I receive through a few automated alert emails I have set up through google and indeed. The intent of the board is epidemiology roles that are focused on incorporating pathogen genomics. My focus is in public health roles, but academic and industry roles are welcome as well.
Common features of job postings
I pulled together a word cloud by feeding in all the job descriptions to give a sense of what key words come up the most. Not surprisingly genomic and epidemiology are at the top 😃. Another top his is bioinformatics, which reflects both that genomic epidemiologists interface regular with bioinformaticians, and also that they need to develop skills in understanding bioinformatics processes and outputs. Surveillance is another top hit and really emphasizes the epi aspects of these roles (see my Turning Sequencing into Surveillance post for more on that aspect). Data and technical are some other top hits, emphasizing the need for strong skills in understanding, analyzing, and disseminating data in a technically competent and reproducible manner. Other skills highlighted on the less technical side include partnerships and programs. Building a successful program involves so much more than technical competence - understanding how to bridge between groups with diverse skillsets is a key part of success as a genomic epidemiologist.
I’ve been collecting job postings since March of 2023, and postings have been pretty constant, though they slowed down a bit between July and December of 2024. Most of the job postings have come from US sources, which probably just reflects my network and job alerts (my alerts are only in English for example) rather than the availability of jobs. I welcome submissions from around the globe!
What types of organizations?
Most of the jobs are coming from state public health departments, with a smaller number coming from local health departments, academic orgs, national public health, and non-profit organizations. The low number of local public health departments is not surprising - these are very specialized positions and smaller agencies don’t have the luxury of having specialist roles. Thinking back to my start in public health, as a local health department epidemiologist I was responsible for disease surveillance, outbreak investigation, and reporting for over 70 different conditions from Group A Strep to Legionella…as a team of one! It does present a challenge though in that local public health is usually the direct interface with facilities such as schools, prisons, and medical care facilities. If those agencies don’t have the resources to help their staff understand and use genomic data and feel comfortable explaining this to their facilities during outbreaks, we’re missing out on a lot of potential impact.
Salaries
Though public health is often an area that draw people in who have a passion for public service and community impact, people still need to pay their bills! Since many of the job postings are from government agencies, the majority of them include a salary range. There is a tremendous variation depending on the geographic location, organization type, and seniority level, with an overall median of the salary range midpoints of $91,804. The plot below shows salary ranges for all the roles that provided one, grouped by country. I did exclude jobs from the Gates Foundation, as the pay range listed ($249,000-$386,900) extended the axis so far that it made all the others hard to read.
Wrapping it up
Thank you to all who have contributed to the genomic epidemiology job board! If you haven’t yet, please consider doing so in the future if you come across any roles that would be a good fit for the community. This is an emerging field, and the required skillsets and types of job postings will continue to evolve over time. If you’re a student, or someone looking for a career change into the field, I hope this helps provide an overview of what types of jobs are available.