Healthcare Practitioners and Technical · Holland code SIC

Family Medicine Physicians

Diagnose, treat, and provide preventive care to individuals and families across the lifespan. May refer patients to specialists when needed for further diagnosis or treatment.

Also called: Family Physician, Family Practice Physician (FP Physician), Medical Doctor (MD), Physician, Board Certified Family Physician, Family Medicine Physician, Family Practice Medical Doctor (FP MD), Family Practitioner.

O*NET 29-1215.00

At a glance

US median annual pay: $244,180; Middle half earn $162,420 to $334,270. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Most common education: Doctoral Degree; 59% 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.

Prescribe or administer treatment, therapy, medication, vaccination, and other specialized medical care to treat or prevent illness, disease, or injury.
Order, perform, and interpret tests and analyze records, reports, and examination information to diagnose patients' condition.
Collect, record, and maintain patient information, such as medical history, reports, or examination results.
Monitor patients' conditions and progress and reevaluate treatments as necessary.
Explain procedures and discuss test results or prescribed treatments with patients.
Advise patients and community members concerning diet, activity, hygiene, and disease prevention.
Direct and coordinate activities of nurses, students, assistants, specialists, therapists, and other medical staff.
Refer patients to medical specialists or other practitioners when necessary.

Skills and knowledge it leans on

Skills

Critical Thinking4.4 / 5
Reading Comprehension4.3 / 5
Active Listening4.3 / 5
Writing4.1 / 5
Speaking4.1 / 5
Active Learning4.0 / 5

Knowledge areas

Medicine and Dentistry5.0 / 5
English Language4.7 / 5
Therapy and Counseling4.6 / 5
Psychology4.5 / 5
Biology4.5 / 5
Customer and Personal Service3.7 / 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.

Realistic46
Investigative85
Artistic8
Social87
Enterprising22
Conventional49

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)

physiologist · DE Physiologe/Physiologin · FR physiologiste
general practitioner · DE Arzt für Allgemeinmedizin/Ärztin für Allgemeinmedizin · FR médecin généraliste
specialised doctor · DE Facharzt/Fachärztin · FR médecin spécialiste
chiropractor · DE Chiropraktiker/Chiropraktikerin · FR chiropracteur/chiropractrice
nuclear medicine radiographer · DE Medizinisch-technischer Assistent Nuklearmedizin/Medizinisch-technische Assistentin Nuklearmedizin · FR technologue en médecine nucléaire
family planning counsellor · DE Familienplanungsberater/Familienplanungsberaterin · FR chargé d’information de planning familial/chargée d’information de planning familial

Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)

Social workers (2461)139,800 employed
Probation officers (2462)11,900 employed
Youth work professionals (2464)10,200 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.

Japan

Japan classifies jobs in its own way. The closest category that names the same work is “医師”, which may be narrower or broader than this occupation.

Median monthly pay: ¥971,300; Middle half earn ¥666,600 to ¥1,338,000 a month.
Workers in the category: 145,170; Regular employees in firms of ten or more.

Scheduled monthly pay before tax, excluding overtime and bonuses, so it is not comparable to the annual figures above. Source: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Basic Survey on Wage Structure 2025, via e-Stat, under the Japanese Government Standard Terms of Use. The category match was made by hand.

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