How do you determine whether you are qualified for a position that's not necessarily in the exact field you have experience in? Is it better to shoot high with a good cover letter or settle for a lower-level job and work your way up?

Sorry if this question is inappropriate for the sub, or if it's too specific. I'm estranged from my family and most of my friends work min-wage jobs so I don't really have anyone to turn to for career advice. This sub has been super helpful so far but I just have a few questions.

Some context, if you are interested. I am graduating in August with a BA in Public Health from a well-known state university. Now, a BA is almost useless for actual public health work (it's stupid: you gotta get a Master's to get work in the field, but then to get into good Master's programs you need experience in the field) so most people get entry level jobs at hospitals, clinics, or nonprofits. However, unlike many of my peers, I am a nontraditional student who has been working since age 16, so I have almost 10 years of overall work experience, 6 years of which is in the healthcare sector (4 years of experience in reception/office management for a v small private family medicine practice, 2 years experience in upper-level patient services for a busy nonprofit clinic). Last Autumn, I got a hefty grant that allowed me to quit my job in patient services and focus on my studies, do a study abroad program, and take on a (volunteer) leadership role for a student organization. I also got an on-campus student assistant job unrelated to my field that pays very little but is super accommodating of my class, volunteer, and leadership schedule. I've been very happy to work this job as I dedicate more of my time to the things I am passionate about, although I'm wondering if I should worry about this decision because instead of my resume reflecting "progressive responsibility", I actually have been working a lower-paying, less responsibility job for the past 9 months or so....

Anyways, I'm currently looking for jobs for post-graduation. My timeline is that I need a job by fall, preferably September or October. I don't particularly want to go back to patient services or lower-level reception/admin work. It wasn't horrible, it was just a combination of lots of emotional labor, tedious & detail oriented busy work, and mind-numbingly easy. Where I really want to work is somewhere I am challenged intellectually and that is a little more focused on addressing public and community health at the more upstream level— so institutional, community, or policy level work.

I've been applying for jobs that I don't necessarily have experience in but I feel like I have a lot of passion, education, and transferable skills that would work well. To give you an example of places I've been looking, some roles I've applied to are Volunteer Coordinator and Advocacy Coordinator for some local nonprofits working for housing justice and racial health equity; Executive Assistant for a political advocacy group, Equity & Diversity Program Assistant at a teaching hospital, Clinic Administrator for a health equity nonprofit). I started applying to jobs about 3 weeks ago, and I haven't heard back from most places (before you say anything, yes I've been sending follow-up emails 1-2 weeks after sending in application materials).

I vacillate wildly between feeling confident and experienced enough to apply for the jobs I really want even if I don't technically have the specific type of experience they're asking for, and feeling under qualified and starry-eyed. Again, I'm not totally opposed to going back into healthcare services work that I was doing before, but I feel like the whole reason I went to the trouble of going back to school was so I wouldn't feel trapped in a field I didn't care about, in positions with limited room for growth. Also, the job that I land will hopefully help me get experience and determine my public health specialization, something that is crucial for applying for MPH programs, and which I intend to do a few years down the line.

TL;DR: Does anyone have tips on changing fields? How do you determine whether you are qualified for a position that's not necessarily in the exact field you have experience in? Is it better to shoot high with a good cover letter or settle for a lower-level job and work your way up?

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