Healthcare Practitioners and Technical · Holland code IRS

Podiatrists

Diagnose and treat diseases and deformities of the human foot.

Also called: Doctor of Podiatric Medicine (DPM), Doctor Podiatric Medicine (DPM), Podiatric Surgeon, Podiatrist, Attending Physician, Doctor of Podiatric Medicine and Surgery (DPM and Surgery), Foot and Ankle Surgeon, Physician.

O*NET 29-1081.00

At a glance

US median annual pay: $160,300; Middle half earn $103,730 to $225,910. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Most common education: Doctoral Degree; 53% 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.
US employment outlook, 2024 to 2034: +2% · Slower than average; 9,700 jobs in 2024, projected 9,900. BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, which groups this with similar roles as "Podiatrists".

What the work involves

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

Treat bone, muscle, and joint disorders affecting the feet and ankles.
Diagnose diseases and deformities of the foot using medical histories, physical examinations, x-rays, and laboratory test results.
Advise patients about treatments and foot care techniques necessary for prevention of future problems.
Prescribe medications, corrective devices, physical therapy, or surgery.
Surgically treat conditions such as corns, calluses, ingrown nails, tumors, shortened tendons, bunions, cysts, or abscesses.
Refer patients to physicians when symptoms indicative of systemic disorders, such as arthritis or diabetes, are observed in feet and legs.
Make and fit prosthetic appliances.
Correct deformities by means of plaster casts and strapping.

Skills and knowledge it leans on

Skills

Reading Comprehension4.0 / 5
Active Listening4.0 / 5
Speaking4.0 / 5
Critical Thinking4.0 / 5
Active Learning4.0 / 5
Writing3.9 / 5

Knowledge areas

Medicine and Dentistry5.0 / 5
Customer and Personal Service4.6 / 5
English Language4.6 / 5
Education and Training4.1 / 5
Computers and Electronics3.8 / 5
Administration and Management3.8 / 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.

Realistic72
Investigative80
Artistic12
Social66
Enterprising19
Conventional38

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)

homeopath · DE Homöopath/Homöopathin · FR homéopathe
specialist dentist · DE Fachzahnarzt/Fachzahnärztin · FR dentiste spécialiste
physiotherapist · DE Physiotherapeut/Physiotherapeutin · FR physiothérapeute
orthoptist · DE Orthoptist/Orthoptistin · FR orthoptiste
chiropractor · DE Chiropraktiker/Chiropraktikerin · FR chiropracteur/chiropractrice
specialist chiropractor · DE Fachchiropraktiker/Fachchiropraktikerin · FR chiropracteur spécialiste/chiropractrice spécialiste

Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)

Occupational therapists (2222)56,000 employed
Podiatrists (2256)16,200 employed
Dental practitioners (2253)34,800 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.

Exposure to AI

This occupation sits in the middle third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of +0.63. The scores are standardized across those occupations, so 0 is the average and a score of 1 is about one standard deviation above it.

Our note on reading it: the dataset links AI applications to the abilities that occupations require, so the score reflects overlap between the two. It is a comparison between occupations, not a forecast about jobs. It does not say whether exposure means tasks are replaced or workers get more done with the tools, and it says little about one employer or one role.

Source: Felten, E., Raj, M., & Seamans, R. (2021). Occupational, industry, and geographic exposure to artificial intelligence: A novel dataset and its potential uses. Strategic Management Journal, 42(12), 2195-2217. Matched to this page by 6-digit SOC code (29-1081).

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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