Careers in Action

CDC attracts the best, the brightest, and the most committed people in their career fields. Every CDC employee has a story to tell about what experiences, education, training, and career paths led him or her to CDC.

To learn more about the diverse career opportunities at CDC, click on a job title below to read about real CDC people who work in your field of interest and how they contribute to CDC´s mission:

CDC Dentists

Although there are fewer than 20 dentists at CDC, with only half serving in the agency´s Division of Oral Health, dentists play key roles in many research areas related to public dental health, including CDC´s HIV program.

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CDC Engineers

There are over 400 CDC engineers who apply their diverse knowledge from the fields of mechanical, biomedical, electrical, industrial hygiene, and safety engineering in the lab and the field.

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CDC Health Economists

Outlining the potential economic impact of a pandemic is the job of CDC Health Economists whom force policymakers to confront, in the starkest possible terms, the possible consequences of their choices in setting vaccination priorities for who to vaccinate first to reduce the total number of deaths.

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CDC Health Education Specialists and Public Health Educators

Scientific data can sometimes be overwhelming, especially if you don´t understand it. Here at CDC, there are special people who translate CDC/ATSDR´s research results into easy-to-comprehend forms for populations at risk.

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CDC Health Physicists

Increased risk potential for human exposure to radiation and radioactive material has resulted in more career opportunities and interest in this field of study. CDC Health Physicists are trained to detect, analyze, and evaluate radiological agents in food, human tissue, and the environment.

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CDC Microbiologists

As one might expect, the duties of CDC Microbiologists depend upon their level of training and experience. These duties range from performing basic microbiological procedures and techniques under supervision to developing creative methods for solving problems, developing protocols and tests, conducting experiments, writing manuscripts, and supervising staffs.

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CDC Microscopics

Come with CDC Microscopics on an adventure into a microscopic world tinier and more fascinating than the one Alice faced in her adventures in Wonderland. Instead of journeying down a rabbit hole, we travel through the lens of an electron microscope to find things "curiouser and curiouser."

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CDC Public Health Advisor

Public Health Advisors can be found in a variety of settings, including state and local health departments, and local, state, and federal public health agencies, where they gain valuable first-hand disease control experience.

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CDC Registered Nurses

There are about 100 CDC Registered Nurses who perform a wide range of duties with diverse responsibilities, including Branch Chief, Deputy Director, EIS Officer, Public Health Advisor, Senior Scientist, and Occupational Health Nurse.

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CDC Secretaries

CDC secretaries provide critical support to programs and staff. They keep managers organized. Their tasks range from handling correspondence and maintaining daily appointment calendars, to coordinating travel and facilitating review of processes.

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CDC Social and Behavioral Scientists

CDC Social and Behavioral Scientists possess diverse backgrounds in psychology, sociology, anthropology, health communications, geography, social work, and demography. They design, analyze, and evaluate behavioral surveillance systems, public health interventions, and health promotion and health communication programs.

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CDC Statisticians

CDC Statisticians know the value of numbers, statistics, estimates, analyses, and assessments; but they also know the meaning of balanced design in research. They provide guidance to CDC scientists to ensure the use of appropriate analytic methods and reporting.

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CDC Veterinarians

Because of an increase in zoonotic diseases world-wide, veterinarians have played an increasingly critical and diverse role at CDC and in public health in the past several years. CDC Veterinarians work in a wide range of areas like bioterrorism, environmental health, food safety, and viral and bacterial diseases.

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CDC Writer-Editors

CDC has about 85 writer-editors agency-wide who perform a wide variety of tasks typically associated with the profession: editing, copy-editing, and proofreading authors´ manuscripts. Some writer-editors are also involved in research, writing, design, layout, and printing; they produce brochures, flyers, manuals, journals, and websites for the agency.

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