If you’ve ever wondered what geographical path a disease takes on its way to becoming a global pandemic—and who hasn’t?—then you might want to consider becoming a disease mapper. Doctors have followed the projected spread of diseases on maps for hundreds of years, but today technological tools exist that show doctors accurate projections of where it may strike next.
Disease mappers use satellite data to glean information about an area’s climate and vegetation. These factors affect the spread of infectious diseases, and they’re combined with infection rate data from area hospitals. The salary for this profession can sometimes reach heights of $150,000 a year.