Acupuncturist Overview
Working as an Acupuncturist
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being an acupuncturist. For example, did you know that they make an average of $29.11 an hour? That's $60,542 a year!
What Does an Acupuncturist Do
There are certain skills that many acupuncturists have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed dexterity, empathy and interpersonal skills.
When it comes to the most important skills required to be an acupuncturist, we found that a lot of resumes listed 28.9% of acupuncturists included acupuncture services, while 13.1% of resumes included traditional chinese medicine, and 12.2% of resumes included patient care. Hard skills like these are helpful to have when it comes to performing essential job responsibilities.
When it comes to searching for a job, many search for a key term or phrase. Instead, it might be more helpful to search by industry, as you might be missing jobs that you never thought about in industries that you didn't even think offered positions related to the acupuncturist job title. But what industry to start with? Most acupuncturists actually find jobs in the health care and internet industries.
How To Become an Acupuncturist
If you're interested in becoming an acupuncturist, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 11.8% of acupuncturists have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 68.0% of acupuncturists have master's degrees. Even though most acupuncturists have a college degree, it's impossible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Choosing the right major is always an important step when researching how to become an acupuncturist. When we researched the most common majors for an acupuncturist, we found that they most commonly earn master's degree degrees or bachelor's degree degrees. Other degrees that we often see on acupuncturist resumes include doctoral degree degrees or associate degree degrees.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become an acupuncturist. In fact, many acupuncturist jobs require experience in a role such as internship. Meanwhile, many acupuncturists also have previous career experience in roles such as massage therapist or assistant.
What is the right job for my career path?
Tell us your goals and we'll match you with the right jobs to get there.
Acupuncturist Jobs
Acupuncturist Career Paths
In addition to switching up your job search, it might prove helpful to look at a career path for your specific job. Now, what's a career path you ask? Well, it's practically a map that shows how you might advance from one job title to another. Our career paths are especially detailed with salary changes. So, for example, if you started out with the role of owner you might progress to a role such as program director eventually. Later on in your career, you could end up with the title clinical director.
What is the right job for my career path?
Tell us your goals and we'll match you with the rights job to get there.
Average Salary for an Acupuncturist
Best Paying Cities
Recently Added Salaries
Job TitleCompany  | Company | Start Date | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
Novant Health Acupuncturist Acupuncturist | Novant Health Novant Health | 06/13/2020 06/13/2020 | $60,44006/13/2020 $60,440 |
Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center Acupuncturist Acupuncturist | Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center | 04/28/2020 04/28/2020 | $81,39304/28/2020 $81,393 |
Novant Health Acupuncturist Acupuncturist | Novant Health Novant Health | 10/30/2019 10/30/2019 | $80,57910/30/2019 $80,579 |
University of California Acupuncturist Acupuncturist | University of California University of California | 10/28/2019 10/28/2019 | $43,59710/28/2019 $43,597 |
Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration Acupuncturist Acupuncturist | Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration | 10/26/2019 10/26/2019 | $62,23610/26/2019 $62,236 |
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Top Colleges for Acupuncturists
1. Boston University
Boston, MA
2. MCPHS University
Boston, MA
Entry Level Jobs For Becoming An Acupuncturist
Top Skills For an Acupuncturist
The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 28.9% of acupuncturists listed acupuncture services on their resume, but soft skills such as dexterity and empathy are important as well.
- Patient Care, 22.4%
- Acupuncture, 11.0%
- Treatment Plans, 9.9%
- Pain Management, 8.7%
- Mental Health, 4.1%
- Other Skills, 43.9% See All Acupuncturist Skills
Best States For an Acupuncturist
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as an acupuncturist. The best states for people in this position are Oklahoma, Alaska, Minnesota, and North Carolina. Acupuncturists make the most in Oklahoma with an average salary of $101,646. Whereas in Alaska and Minnesota, they would average $101,089 and $97,664, respectively. While acupuncturists would only make an average of $95,614 in North Carolina, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.
1. Oklahoma
$101,646
Avg. Salary
2. Alaska
$101,089
Avg. Salary
3. North Carolina
$95,615
Avg. Salary
How Do Acupuncturist Rate Their Jobs?
Top Acupuncturist Employers
Acupuncturist Videos
