Physicians, Pathologists

Median salary

$312,400

Average salary

$285,420

Employment

11,110

Projected growth

4.2% growth

Annual openings

400

Typical entry education

Doctoral or professional degree

What Physicians, Pathologists Do

Diagnose diseases and conduct lab tests using organs, body tissues, and fluids. Includes medical examiners.

See full salary breakdown & percentiles →

Career Outlook

National employment outlook, 2024–2034.

Related work experience: None
On-the-job training: Internship/residency
Self-employed: 4.5%

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
Biologyimportance 4.5/5
English Languageimportance 4.3/5
Education and Trainingimportance 3.4/5
Customer and Personal Serviceimportance 3.4/5
Chemistryimportance 3.2/5
Administration and Managementimportance 3.1/5
Computers and Electronicsimportance 3.1/5

Work Environment

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

Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams5.0/5
E-Mail4.9/5
Time Pressure4.9/5
Importance of Being Exact or Accurate4.9/5
Telephone Conversations4.8/5
Impact of Decisions on Co-workers or Company Results4.8/5

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.

Neurologists95% skill match
Architectural and Engineering Managers95% skill match
Conservation Scientists95% skill match
Agricultural Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary95% skill match
Anthropologists and Archeologists95% skill match
Zoologists and Wildlife Biologists94% skill match
Instructional Coordinators94% skill match
Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers94% skill match

Transferable Skills

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

Complex Problem Solvingimportance 4.0/5
Judgment and Decision Makingimportance 3.9/5
Instructingimportance 3.3/5
Time Managementimportance 3.3/5
Social Perceptivenessimportance 3.1/5
Management of Personnel Resourcesimportance 3.1/5
Coordinationimportance 3.0/5
Persuasionimportance 3.0/5

Software & Technologies

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

Hot Technologies

Other Software Used

Accounts receivables system software
Anatomic pathology software
Antek HealthWare LabDAQ
Aspyra CyberLAB
Aspyra CyberPATH
Blood Bank Computer Systems Blood Bank Control System
Blood bank information systems
CPSI CPSI System

Work Style

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

Intellectual Curiosity
Attention to Detail
Dependability
Integrity
Cautiousness
Achievement Orientation
Stress Tolerance

Career Interests

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

InvestigativeHigh
RealisticMedium
ConventionalMedium
SocialMedium
EnterprisingLow
ArtisticLow

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.