A recent article in Public Health Reports, “Estimating the Potential Supply of Newly Trained Data Scientists for Government Public Health Employment,” by Robert D. Kirkcaldy and colleagues, including ASPPH’s Sarah Gusman, MPH, Senior Data Analyst, and Emily Burke, EdD, MPH, CPH, Senior Director of Workforce Development and Applied Practice, explores the growing pipeline of data science graduates and its implications for the governmental public health workforce.

The authors found that more than 467,000 students graduated with data science related degrees in 2023, representing a substantial talent pool for public health agencies seeking to expand their analytic capacity. However, interest in government public health careers remains limited. Using public health graduates as a proxy, the study estimates that between 8.3% and 15.7% may pursue governmental roles, translating to roughly 29,000 to 57,000+ individuals who could be available to enter the workforce.

Even with this potential supply, the authors caution that these estimates likely overstate actual availability. Differences in training, varying job requirements, and strong competition from other industries may reduce the number of graduates who ultimately enter public health roles. As a result, workforce gaps may persist despite the large number of degree holders.

The findings highlight the need for targeted recruitment strategies, investments in workforce development, and stronger alignment between academic training and public health practice. Efforts to upskill the current workforce and modernize curricula will be essential to ensure public health agencies can meet growing data and analytic demands.