Healthcare Practitioners and Technical · Holland code SIR

Acupuncturists

Diagnose, treat, and prevent disorders by stimulating specific acupuncture points within the body using acupuncture needles. May also use cups, nutritional supplements, therapeutic massage, acupressure, and other alternative health therapies.

Also called: Acupuncture Physician, Acupuncturist, Herbalist, Licensed Acupuncturist (LAC), Acupuncture Doctor, Acupuncture Provider, Chinese Medical Doctor (Chinese MD), Chinese Medicine Doctor.

O*NET 29-1291.00

At a glance

US median annual pay: $76,040; Middle half earn $55,380 to $102,280. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Most common education: Master's Degree; 68% of workers surveyed by O*NET report this level.
Preparation needed: Job Zone 5 of 5; Extensive preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.

What the work involves

The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.

Maintain and follow standard quality, safety, environmental, and infection control policies and procedures.
Treat patients using tools, such as needles, cups, ear balls, seeds, pellets, or nutritional supplements.
Adhere to local, state, and federal laws, regulations, and statutes.
Identify correct anatomical and proportional point locations based on patients' anatomy and positions, contraindications, and precautions related to treatments, such as intradermal needles, moxibustion, electricity, guasha, or bleeding.
Develop individual treatment plans and strategies.
Insert needles to provide acupuncture treatment.
Evaluate treatment outcomes and recommend new or altered treatments as necessary to further promote, restore, or maintain health.
Collect medical histories and general health and lifestyle information from patients.

Skills and knowledge it leans on

Skills

Active Listening3.9 / 5
Critical Thinking3.8 / 5
Speaking3.6 / 5
Reading Comprehension3.3 / 5
Monitoring3.3 / 5
Writing3.1 / 5

Knowledge areas

Customer and Personal Service4.5 / 5
Medicine and Dentistry4.1 / 5
Psychology3.8 / 5
Biology3.7 / 5
English Language3.6 / 5
Administrative3.5 / 5

Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.

Who tends to enjoy it

How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.

Realistic63
Investigative75
Artistic18
Social78
Enterprising10
Conventional34

The same work abroad

Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.

European occupation titles (ESCO)

aromatherapist · DE Aromatherapeut/Aromatherapeutin · FR conseiller en aromathérapie/conseillère en aromathérapie
complementary therapist · DE Therapeut Komplementärmedizin/Therapeutin Komplementärmedizin · FR praticien de médecine alternative/praticienne de médecine alternative
acupuncturist · DE Akupunkteur/Akupunkteurin · FR acupuncteur/acupunctrice
homeopath · DE Homöopath/Homöopathin · FR homéopathe
traditional chinese medicine therapist · DE Therapeut Traditionelle Chinesische Medizin/Therapeutin Traditionelle Chinesische Medizin · FR intervenant en médecine chinoise/intervenante en médecine chinoise
physiotherapist · DE Physiotherapeut/Physiotherapeutin · FR physiothérapeute

Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)

Physiotherapists (2221)73,700 employed
Occupational therapists (2222)56,000 employed
Podiatrists (2256)16,200 employed

Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.

Pay across Europe, for the whole group

Median annual earnings of all employees in “Professionals”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.

Median annual earnings, Professionals, by country
Country	Median pay
Belgium	€61,714
Germany	€59,529
Ireland	€56,877
Austria	€55,374
Netherlands	€53,595
Sweden	€43,567
France	€41,515
Spain	€35,735
Italy	€33,649
Portugal	€26,072
Poland	€14,380

Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.

Is it a fit for you?

Interest is one input, alongside ability, pay and what is hiring near you. The career interests test takes about thirteen minutes and ranks occupations by how closely their profile matches yours.

Take the career interests test