Health Education Specialist Career Assessment
Teaching people and communities how to stay healthy
Welcome
Health education specialists teach people how to stay healthy. They run classes, build programs, make materials, and work with whole communities.
It is a smaller field in North Dakota, but it is growing. You will explore whether it fits you.
This takes about 15 minutes.
What is a Health Education Specialist?
A health education specialist finds out what a community needs, then builds programs to meet it. That might be diabetes classes, tobacco quit programs, car seat clinics, or school health lessons. They write easy-to-read materials, train volunteers, run events, and track whether the program worked. Many work for public health units, hospitals, or tribal health programs.
The Reality: This is a small field here. North Dakota has around 90 of these jobs and about 10 openings a year. Many are grant-funded, which means the job can end when the grant does. You often cover a large rural area with a lot of driving. Change is slow, and people do not always want the advice you are offering.
Your Responsibilities:
- Find out what health needs a community has
- Plan and run health education programs
- Teach classes and lead workshops
- Write easy-to-read handouts and web pages
- Train volunteers and community health workers
- Run health fairs and community events
- Track results and write grant reports
- Work with schools, clinics, and tribal programs
You help whole communities get healthier.
A Day in the Life
8:00 AM — Check email and confirm a class for tonight.
8:30 AM — Work on a grant report that is due Friday.
10:00 AM — Meet with a school nurse about a health lesson.
11:30 AM — Drive to a rural clinic an hour away.
12:30 PM — Lunch and set up for a community event.
1:30 PM — Run a blood pressure and nutrition booth.
4:00 PM — Drive back and enter the numbers you collected.
6:00 PM — Teach an evening diabetes class.
Teaching, planning, and a lot of driving.
Training in North Dakota
A four-year degree in health education, public health, or a related field. Most of these jobs ask for a bachelor's degree. Public health, health education, community health, nursing, or a related field all work. The national CHES certification is often preferred and sometimes required.
Training Pathways:
- Bachelor's degree (4 years): Public health, health education, community health, or a related field.
- Add CHES certification: After your degree, sit for the CHES exam. It is what many employers look for.
- Master's degree (1-2 more years): An MPH opens supervisor and program director jobs, and is the path to MCHES.
Where to Train in North Dakota:
- North Dakota State University (Fargo) — Health Education undergraduate program (teacher licensure focused) and a Master of Public Health with a Community Health Sciences specialization (ndsu.edu)
- University of North Dakota (Grand Forks) — Master of Public Health, plus CSWE-accredited BSSW and MSW options for community health roles (und.edu)
- Dickinson State University (Dickinson) — Health and Wellness program (dickinsonstate.edu)
- Bismarck State College (Bismarck) — Human Services AAS, on campus or online, as a two-year transfer start (bismarckstate.edu)
- United Tribes Technical College (Bismarck) — tribal college programs and a good route into tribal health work (uttc.edu)
Before You Start: High school diploma or GED. Comfort speaking in front of groups. Good writing. A driver's license, because rural outreach means driving.
Tip: Start with financial aid, scholarships, and any help an employer offers — that is where the money starts. After that, ask a career counselor or Job Service North Dakota whether WIOA or other programs can help with what is left over, like training, tools, work boots, or exam fees. What can be paid for depends on the program and on your own situation, so ask before you sign up rather than after. Registered apprenticeships let you earn a paycheck while you learn — see jobsnd.com/job-seeker/apprenticeships for ND programs.
Certification & Licensing
CHES certification is not required by the state, but employers like it. North Dakota does not license health education specialists. The national credential comes from NCHEC (nchec.org): CHES and the advanced MCHES.
National Credentials:
- CHES (Certified Health Education Specialist) — needs a bachelor's, master's, or doctoral degree plus at least 25 semester credits covering the Nine Areas of Responsibility, with grades of C or better
- MCHES (Master Certified Health Education Specialist) — either 5 continuous years as an active CHES, or a master's degree plus 25 qualifying credits (15 at graduate level) and 5 years of paid work experience
- Prescreen service — NCHEC offers a $40 transcript prescreen if you are unsure your courses qualify
- Teaching route — if you want to teach health in a school instead, that is a state teaching license, not CHES
The Exams: The CHES exam is a multiple-choice test given in two windows a year, at a test center or by live remote proctor.
Cost: CHES exam fees run about $300 early bird to $435 late for non-students, and about $250 to $385 for students. Prices change, so check nchec.org.
Keeping It Current: Both credentials renew with ongoing continuing education through NCHEC.
Salary & Job Outlook
North Dakota Health Education Specialist Pay (May 2025):
- Starting out (bottom 10–25%): $22.79–$23.20/hour ($47,410–$48,250/year)
- Middle (median — half earn more, half earn less): $28.68/hour ($59,650/year)
- Experienced (top 25–10%): $36.36–$43.59/hour ($75,640–$90,660/year)
What that means: North Dakota starting pay is close to the national bottom, and the top end is lower than the national top end. Hospital and state jobs usually pay better than small grant-funded positions.
Jobs in North Dakota: About 90 people do this work in ND today. By 2034, that should be about 100 (about 9% growth). Expect about 10 job openings every year in ND from growth and people retiring or changing jobs. Across the U.S., the change is about 5% growth — faster than average.
Outlook: Growing but small. About 10 openings a year in North Dakota. The state is growing faster than the country, but there are not many of these jobs to begin with.
Who Hires in ND: Local public health units, North Dakota Health and Human Services, tribal health programs and Indian Health Service, hospitals and clinics, nonprofits, universities, and worksite wellness programs.
Work Setting: Offices, schools, clinics, community centers, and health fairs. A lot of driving in rural areas. Some evening and weekend events.
Physical Demands: Low to medium. Standing to teach, setting up tables and displays, loading supplies, and driving.
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, North Dakota, May 2025 (SOC 21-1091); North Dakota and U.S. long-term employment projections 2024–2034, via O*NET OnLine. Numbers are rounded.
Where This Leads
Path 1: Community Health Educator — Run programs for a county or region.
Path 2: Public Health Program Coordinator — Manage a program and its grant.
Path 3: Tribal Health Educator — Build programs with and for a tribal community.
Path 4: Worksite Wellness Coordinator — Run health programs for an employer.
Path 5: Health Communications Specialist — Write and design health materials.
Path 6: Public Health Director — Lead a local public health unit, usually with a master's degree.
The Real Talk
What's Great:
- You help whole communities, not one person at a time
- Creative work: teaching, writing, events
- Mostly regular hours
- Growing faster in ND than nationally
- Good fit if you like teaching
- Tribal and rural work is deeply needed
What's Hard:
- Only about 10 openings a year in ND
- Many jobs depend on grant money
- Pay starts low
- Long rural drives and some night events
- Change happens slowly
- You need a four-year degree
Be Honest: Can you speak comfortably in front of a group? Can you keep going when people ignore good advice? Are you OK with a job that may depend on grant funding? And can you commit to a four-year degree for a field with only about ten openings a year in this state?