Vocational Index

Career

Pediatricians, general

Care for the health of children.

$210,040
Median pay
+1.5%
Job growth, 2025–35
1,000
Openings a year
Doctoral or professional degree
Typical education
7–8 years
Typical time after high school

Here's what you actually need to know.

The work

What people in this job do

  • Prescribe or administer treatment, therapy, medication, vaccination, and other specialized medical care to treat or prevent illness, disease, or injury in infants and children.
  • Examine children regularly to assess their growth and development.
  • Treat children who have minor illnesses, acute and chronic health problems, and growth and development concerns.
  • Examine patients or order, perform, and interpret diagnostic tests to obtain information on medical condition and determine diagnosis.
  • Advise patients, parents or guardians, and community members concerning diet, activity, hygiene, and disease prevention.

The outlook

How the forecast changed this year

2024–34 edition+0.8%2025–35 edition+1.5%
Projected 10-year growth in last year's and this year's BLS projections. 1,200 → 1,000 openings a year.

The deeper question

What kind of person does this path ask you to become?

What this work centers on

People & care
6.6
Ideas & analysis
6.2
Objects & tools
3.6
Information & systems
3.6
Persuasion & leadership
2.5
Creation & expression
1.9

O*NET interest profile, scored 1–7.

The work

Do you want most of your days spent on people & care, then ideas & analysis?

Responsibility

Are you willing to be the one responsible for this?

“Prescribe or administer treatment, therapy, medication, vaccination, and other specialized medical care to treat or prevent illness, disease, or injury in infants and children.”

Development

What would you need to build over the next 5–10 years?

Judgment and Decision Making, Critical Thinking, Speaking, Reading Comprehension.

Trade-offs

What does it ask of you in exchange?

7–8 years of education after high school (doctoral or professional degree), for a median of $210,040 a year and 1,000 openings nationally each year.

Paths in

Degrees that lead here

  • MedicineCIP 51.1201
  • Osteopathic Medicine/OsteopathyCIP 51.1202
  • Internal Medicine/Pediatrics Combined Specialty ProgramCIP 61.0115
  • Pediatrics/Anesthesiology Combined Specialty ProgramCIP 61.0119
  • Pediatrics/Emergency Medicine Combined Specialty ProgramCIP 61.0120
  • Pediatrics/Medical Genetics and Genomics Combined Specialty ProgramCIP 61.0121

Paths across

Careers that use similar skills

Ask anything about this career.

“Would this make sense if I don't want to sit at a desk all day?” Answers will come from the sources on this page, with citations. Coming soon.

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Sources

  1. BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
  2. BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34 (archived), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
  3. O*NET 31.0 Database (August 2026), National Center for O*NET Development / U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
  4. CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 Crosswalk, NCES and BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-01.