Epidemiologists build complex problem solving, judgment and decision making and systems evaluation skills that carry over to other work. Below are 25 careers ranked by how closely their skills match, with pay from BLS May 2025. The closest match is Clinical Nurse Specialists (82%).
Updated October 2026 · Data: O*NET 31.0 and BLS OEWS May 2025 · How we match careers
Sorted by skill match.
| # | Career | Skill match | Median pay | Pay change | Extra education |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Clinical Nurse Specialists | 82% | $97,550Pay for the broader BLS group “Registered Nurses” | Not compared | None |
| 2 | Health Informatics Specialists | 82% | $105,850Pay for the broader BLS group “Computer Systems Analysts” | Not compared | None |
| 3 | Biostatisticians | 81% | $105,650Pay for the broader BLS group “Statisticians” | Not compared | None |
| 4 | Genetic Counselors | 81% | $100,040 | +15% | None |
| 5 | Health Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary | 77% | $107,310 | +23% | None |
| 6 | Biological Science Teachers, Postsecondary | 76% | $84,620 | −3% | None |
| 7 | Advanced Practice Psychiatric Nurses | 76% | $97,550Pay for the broader BLS group “Registered Nurses” | Not compared | None |
| 8 | Statisticians | 75% | $105,650 | +21% | None |
| 9 | Environmental Science Teachers, Postsecondary | 75% | $94,980 | +9% | None |
| 10 | Sociologists | 75% | $106,030 | +22% | None |
Compared with Epidemiologists, median $87,220. Skill match is our estimate (0–99) from O*NET 31.0 skills, knowledge, work activities and interests, adjusted for preparation and big pay drops. Pay: BLS OEWS May 2025, national median.
How important each skill is in work as epidemiologists (O*NET importance, scale 1–5).
The gaps that show up most often across your top 10 matches.
Free and low-cost training: use the CareerOneStop training finder below.
A concrete first step, the skills to add, and the hard parts of each job, from O*NET 31.0 education, training and work context data.
82% skill match · $97,550 (broader BLS group)
Operations Monitoring · Service Orientation · Troubleshooting
82% skill match · $105,850 (broader BLS group)
Technology Design · Programming · Quality Control Analysis
81% skill match · $105,650 (broader BLS group)
Programming · Equipment Selection · Quality Control Analysis
No work-context factor stands out as unusually hard in O*NET data.
If you want to stay close to what you do now, these roles are the nearest.
The closest matches are Clinical Nurse Specialists (82% skill match, median $97,550), Health Informatics Specialists (82% skill match, median $105,850) and Biostatisticians (81% skill match, median $105,650), based on O*NET 31.0 data and BLS May 2025 pay.
Among the 25 matches, 12 pay more than epidemiologists at the median. The biggest increases: Political Scientists (+63%, $142,080), Mathematicians (+45%, $126,710) and Economists (+43%, $124,720).
25 of the 25 matches usually need no more education than you have now, based on O*NET Job Zones.
We compare the importance of skills, knowledge, work activities and interests in O*NET 31.0 for your job and every other career, then adjust for extra preparation and big pay drops. The full method is on our Methodology page.