How To Become A Chiropractic Physician: What It Is and Career Path

What is a chiropractic physician and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

Quoted expert

John Colclough

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a chiropractic physician. For example, did you know that they make an average of $72.45 an hour? That's $150,690 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 10% and produce 5,500 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a chiropractic physician?

John Colclough

Professor, Marshall University

Be patient and stay informed. Many performers think their career is about the work in the rehearsal hall or in performance-not so, the real work is in the management of your business. Being an authority of WHO, WHAT and WHERE is key. WHO are the players in your market? The directors, actors, casting people, producing organizations, etc...these are who you need to know-your network. WHAT opportunities exist in your market? The theatres, video companies, universities (if you have an MFA you may be able to teach a class or two), Improvisation groups, any opportunity that allows you to grow your brand is worth your attention. And finally, WHERE are the opportunities-knowing your community and having a sense of how each company fits into the fabric of the community. Having a sense of where the company resides both geographically and virtually (web sites) and having a solid knowledge base of details of each company can inform your marketing tactics as well as provide you with specific details unique to each organization. Careers develop over time and keeping expectations realistic over the first year can be challenging. Be practical and methodical in your approach: save money (there's never enough), find a place to live (the best you can afford), find a side hustle (you're going to need money and routine), find out the lay of the land (WHO, WHAT, and WHERE), develop your skill set (take a class and meet colleagues), go to productions, screenings, workshops, document your growth (keep a journal or calendar to track your progress), celebrate your successes and be patient with your stumbles-Hard knocks are the best teachers!

ScoreChiropractic PhysicianUS Average

Salary

8.9

Avg. Salary $150,690

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

8.3

Growth rate 10%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

2.8

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.25%

Asian 7.20%

Black or African American 2.22%

Hispanic or Latino 6.38%

Unknown 4.11%

White 79.84%

Gender

female 29.47%

male 70.53%

Age - 45

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 45

Stress level

8.3

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

10.0

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

8.9

Work life balance is excellent

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a chiropractic physician

Explore chiropractic physician education requirements

Most common chiropractic physician degrees

Doctorate

55.4 %

Bachelor's

36.0 %

Associate

4.5 %

Start to develop specific chiropractic physician skills

Skills	Percentages
Patients	32.93%
Physical Therapy	8.07%
Rehabilitation	6.93%
Diagnosis	6.41%
Soft Tissue	3.60%

Complete relevant chiropractic physician training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New chiropractic physicians learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a chiropractic physician based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real chiropractic physician resumes.

Research chiropractic physician duties and responsibilities

Utilize medical devices such as traction, interferential, ultrasound, infrare, hot/cold therapeutics for musculoskeletal injuries.
Perform patient history/assessments, complete exams, consult with patients, and developed/implement treatment plans with strong focus on patient education.
Use mechanical traction and electric stimulation for pain.
Implement and educate staff on proper usage of HIPAA guidelines within the facility.

Prepare your chiropractic physician resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your chiropractic physician resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a chiropractic physician resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable chiropractic physician resume templates

Build a professional chiropractic physician resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your chiropractic physician resume.

Apply for chiropractic physician jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a chiropractic physician job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do chiropractic physicians rate their job?

-/5

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Chiropractic physician reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Aug 2019

Pros

Help relieve people’s pain.

Cons

It doesn’t pay well. Waste of an education and tuition. Patient don’t want to pay when they find out chiro is only covered after their deductible is met. Good luck making an income when all your revenue goes to overhead and you have to continuously and exhaustively market yourself at expos for new patients. What other model of healthcare depends on that to acquire patients? It’s a flawed system. Don’t become a chiropractor and expect to earn an income that will allow you to live debt free! Choose another career path!

A zippia user wrote a review on May 2019