Dermatologists

Median salary

$328,730

Average salary

$323,530

Employment

11,370

Projected growth

6.4% growth

Annual openings

400

Typical entry education

Doctoral or professional degree

What Dermatologists Do

Diagnose and treat diseases relating to the skin, hair, and nails. May perform both medical and dermatological surgery functions.

See full salary breakdown & percentiles →

Career Outlook

National employment outlook, 2024–2034.

Related work experience: None
On-the-job training: Internship/residency
Self-employed: 4.8%

Source: BLS Employment Projections — 2024-2034.

How Much Preparation Does This Take?

Job Zone 5 of 5

Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed

Experience: Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience.
Education: Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).
Job training: Employees may need some on-the-job training, but most of these occupations assume that the person will already have the required skills, knowledge, work-related experience, and/or training.

Source: O*NET Job Zones.

Key Knowledge Areas

Subject-matter areas this occupation draws on most, per O*NET.

Medicine and Dentistryimportance 4.8/5
Customer and Personal Serviceimportance 4.6/5
English Languageimportance 4.0/5
Administration and Managementimportance 3.9/5
Education and Trainingimportance 3.8/5
Biologyimportance 3.7/5
Personnel and Human Resourcesimportance 3.5/5
Psychologyimportance 3.5/5

Work Environment

What the day-to-day work setting is like, per O*NET.

Freedom to Make Decisions5.0/5
Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams5.0/5
Contact With Others4.9/5
Deal With External Customers or the Public in General4.8/5
Wear Common Protective or Safety Equipment such as Safety Shoes, Glasses, Gloves, Hearing Protection, Hard Hats, or Life Jackets4.8/5
Determine Tasks, Priorities and Goals4.8/5

Careers With Similar Skills

Occupations whose Transferable Skills profile most closely matches this one — a mathematical comparison, not observed data about people actually moving between these careers.

Tax Examiners and Collectors, and Revenue Agents98% skill match
Special Education Teachers, Secondary School98% skill match
Human Resources Assistants, Except Payroll and Timekeeping98% skill match
Executive Secretaries and Executive Administrative Assistants97% skill match
Special Education Teachers, Preschool97% skill match
Human Resources Specialists97% skill match
Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education97% skill match
Neurologists97% skill match

Transferable Skills

Cross-functional skills this occupation draws on most, per O*NET — the kind that carry over to other careers.

Service Orientationimportance 4.0/5
Social Perceptivenessimportance 3.9/5
Judgment and Decision Makingimportance 3.8/5
Complex Problem Solvingimportance 3.5/5
Coordinationimportance 3.3/5
Persuasionimportance 3.3/5
Instructingimportance 3.3/5
Negotiationimportance 3.1/5

Software & Technologies

Tools and software used in this occupation, per O*NET.

Hot Technologies

Other Software Used

Work Style

Personal work characteristics that matter most for this occupation, per O*NET.

Attention to Detail
Dependability
Cautiousness
Intellectual Curiosity
Integrity
Achievement Orientation
Self-Control

Career Interests

This occupation’s RIASEC interest profile, per O*NET — how strongly it fits each of the six Holland interest types.

InvestigativeHigh
RealisticMedium
SocialMedium
ConventionalMedium
ArtisticLow
EnterprisingLow

This page includes information from the O*NET 30.3 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.