Education · 1 of 5
The path
You are hired for who you know and where you are from as much as for what you studied.
- 1
High school diploma or the GED (General Educational Development) test
Grade 12
That is the floor for most postings. Some ask for an associate degree, many do not.
- 2
Get certified, if your state has certification
A few months, often part time
Where it exists it is usually a course of roughly 80 to 160 hours plus supervised field work. Employers frequently pay for it.
- 3
Get hired
Right away
Clinics, county health departments, hospitals, food banks, housing programs and disease specific nonprofits all hire outreach staff.
- 4
Build a specialty
1 to 3 years in
Diabetes, maternal health, behavioral health, immigrant and refugee support, housing. Specialists get the better funded roles.
- 5
Lead a program
3 to 6 years in
Supervising other outreach workers, managing the grant and reporting the numbers that keep it funded.