Healthcare Practitioners and Technical · Holland code IRC

Physicians, Pathologists

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

Also called: Anatomic Pathologist, Dermatopathologist, Forensic Pathologist, Pathologist, Cytopathologist, Hematopathologist, Neuropathologist, Oral Pathologist.

O*NET 29-1222.00

At a glance

US median annual pay: $312,400; Middle half earn $186,300 to $372,780. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Most common education: Post-Doctoral Training; 62% 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.

Examine microscopic samples to identify diseases or other abnormalities.
Diagnose diseases or study medical conditions, using techniques such as gross pathology, histology, cytology, cytopathology, clinical chemistry, immunology, flow cytometry, or molecular biology.
Write pathology reports summarizing analyses, results, and conclusions.
Communicate pathologic findings to surgeons or other physicians.
Identify the etiology, pathogenesis, morphological change, and clinical significance of diseases.
Read current literature, talk with colleagues, or participate in professional organizations or conferences to keep abreast of developments in pathology.
Consult with physicians about ordering and interpreting tests or providing treatments.
Analyze and interpret results from tests, such as microbial or parasite tests, urine analyses, hormonal assays, fine needle aspirations (FNAs), and polymerase chain reactions (PCRs).

Skills and knowledge it leans on

Skills

Reading Comprehension4.3 / 5
Writing4.1 / 5
Critical Thinking4.1 / 5
Active Listening4.0 / 5
Science4.0 / 5
Active Learning4.0 / 5

Knowledge areas

Medicine and Dentistry4.8 / 5
Biology4.5 / 5
English Language4.3 / 5
Education and Training3.4 / 5
Customer and Personal Service3.4 / 5
Chemistry3.2 / 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.

Realistic64
Investigative100
Artistic6
Social43
Enterprising13
Conventional62

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
specialist biomedical scientist · DE Experte Biomedizinische Wissenschaften/Expertin Biomedizinische Wissenschaften · FR médecin d’études cliniques
biomedical scientist advanced · DE Wissenschaftlicher Experte Biomedizinische Forschung/Wissenschaftliche Expertin Biomedizinische Forschung · FR ingénieur de recherche biomédicale/ingénieure de recherche biomédicale
geneticist · DE Genetiker/Genetikerin · FR généticien/généticienne
immunologist · DE Immunologe/Immunologin · FR immunologiste
specialised doctor · DE Facharzt/Fachärztin · FR médecin spécialiste

Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)

Biochemists and biomedical scientists (2113)68,000 employed
Specialist medical practitioners and consultants (2212)154,900 employed
Natural and social science professionals n.e.c. (2119)36,500 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.

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