Pediatricians, General
Diagnose, treat, and help prevent diseases and injuries in children. May refer patients to specialists for further diagnosis or treatment, as needed.
- Median pay
- $210,040
- Doing it now
- 42,200
- By 2035
- Up 1.5%
- Usually needs
- Doctoral or professional degree
a year
across the country
1,000 openings a year
to get in
What the work involves
- Examine patients or order, perform, and interpret diagnostic tests to obtain information on medical condition and determine diagnosis.
- Examine children regularly to assess their growth and development.
- Prescribe or administer treatment, therapy, medication, vaccination, and other specialized medical care to treat or prevent illness, disease, or injury in infants and children.
- Collect, record, and maintain patient information, such as medical history, reports, or examination results.
- Advise patients, parents or guardians, and community members concerning diet, activity, hygiene, and disease prevention.
- Treat children who have minor illnesses, acute and chronic health problems, and growth and development concerns.
- Explain procedures and discuss test results or prescribed treatments with patients and parents or guardians.
What to study
The fields of study the Department of Education links to this occupation, most widely taught first.
- MedicineSee 3 colleges that teach it
Who it suits
O*NET scores every occupation on six interest dimensions. This one leans hardest on these three.
Helping and teaching
Analytical and curious
Hands-on and practical
Careers like this one
Where this comes from: the description and the task list are O*NET, which the Department of Labor maintains. Pay, workforce size, outlook and the education normally needed are the Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections programme, 2025 wages and 2025 to 2035 projections. Half of them earn more than $210,040 a year, which means half earn less, and what you would earn depends on where you work and how long you have been doing it. The fields of study come from the National Center for Education Statistics crosswalk.