Healthcare Practitioners and Technical · Holland code IRS
Orthopedic Surgeons, Except Pediatric
Diagnose and perform surgery to treat and prevent rheumatic and other diseases in the musculoskeletal system.
Also called: Hand Surgeon, Orthopedic Surgeon, Physician, Surgeon, General Surgeon, Orthopaedic Surgeon.
O*NET 29-1242.00
At a glance
- US median annual pay
- $358,550
- Middle half earn $180,610 to $530,700. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
- 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.
- Analyze patient's medical history, medication allergies, physical condition, and examination results to verify operation's necessity and to determine best procedure.
- Conduct research to develop and test surgical techniques that can improve operating procedures and outcomes related to musculoskeletal injuries and diseases.
- Diagnose bodily disorders and orthopedic conditions, and provide treatments, such as medicines and surgeries, in clinics, hospital wards, or operating rooms.
- Diagnose or treat disorders of the musculoskeletal system.
- Direct and coordinate activities of nurses, assistants, specialists, residents, and other medical staff.
- Examine instruments, equipment, and operating room to ensure sterility.
- Examine patient to obtain information on medical condition and surgical risk.
- Follow established surgical techniques during the operation.
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.
- Realistic68
- Investigative92
- Artistic8
- Social64
- Enterprising23
- 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)
- specialised doctor · DE Facharzt/Fachärztin · FR médecin spécialiste
Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)
- Specialist medical practitioners and consultants (2212)154,900 employed
- Generalist medical practitioners (2211)197,900 employed
- Other health professionals n.e.c. (2259)111,700 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.
| 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.
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