What is a Doctor?

Doctors are medical professionals responsible for helping patients get better. They assess patients' conditions using diagnostic tests to identify their problems. They determine the treatment plans available to resolve patients' conditions. They also help healthy patients maintain their health status. The doctor is responsible for keeping patient's information, including their medical history, test results, and reports.

Doctors work in clinics, hospitals, health centers, surgical centers, or offices. They are required to hold a degree in Medicine and undergo five years of residency training (essential). To practice, you need a license from the federal level and state of work. In the United States, you must have completed the Medical Licensing Examination. Doctors need counseling, analytical, organization, time management, communication, leadership, interpersonal, and decision-making skills to excel. Doctors earn as high as $280,705 yearly. It can vary from $112,982 to $448,428 depending on specialization, state of work, employers, etc.

What Does a Doctor Do

There are certain skills that many doctors 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 leadership skills, patience and physical stamina.

Learn more about what a Doctor does

How To Become a Doctor

If you're interested in becoming a doctor, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 35.1% of doctors have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 8.7% of doctors have master's degrees. Even though most doctors have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.

Learn More About How To Become a Doctor
Top Doctor Jobs Near You

Doctor 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 medical officer you might progress to a role such as medical director eventually. Later on in your career, you could end up with the title medical director.

Doctor

Average Salary for a Doctor

Doctors in America make an average salary of $208,582 per year or $100 per hour. The top 10 percent makes over $408,000 per year, while the bottom 10 percent under $106,000 per year.
Average Doctor Salary
$208,582 Yearly
$100.28 hourly
See More Salary Information

What Am I Worth?

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Roles and Types of Doctor

The role of a doctor includes a wide range of responsibilities. These responsibilities can vary based on an individual's specific job, company, or industry.Here are some general doctor responsibilities:

  • Chair dissertation committees serve as the second member of committees manage dissertation quality through service as a university research reviewer. Participation in university
  • Operational excellence utilize sales skills and techniques, as well as exceptional customer service, to drive store sales. Perform all required cash register transactions such as sales
  • Possessing a sense of urgency and comfort level to be able to work in a fast paced environmentbuilding rapport with customersdisplaying a friendly

There are several types of doctor, including:

Physician

Role:

While it may take a lot of schooling, becoming a physician eventually pays off. We mean that literally. The median wage is $208,000 a year. But back to that schooling.

Generally, you'll only need a Bachelor's degree. But depending on your specialty, you'll also need 3-7 years in internship and residency programs. That salary makes it all seem worth it, though, doesn't it?

  • Average Salary: $238,887
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree

Resident Physician

Role:

A resident physician is a medical school graduate who takes part in a graduate medical education (GME) training program in a specialized field of medicine. Throughout their residency program, they work under the direct supervision of a doctor. They undertake duties such as diagnosing conditions, performing medical procedures, recording medical histories, assisting in surgery, and arranging discharge and aftercare. Resident physicians are expected to fully participate in the educational activities of the program.

Resident physicians usually work in hospital departments such as emergency departments, operating rooms, intensive care units and general patient wards. They may choose to specialize in areas like neurology, cardiology, anesthesiology, pediatrics, oncology, or obstetrics. A successful resident physician should be flexible, willing to learn, and detail oriented.

Resident physicians do not have a regular work schedule. They usually work in shifts and are expected to be on call 24/7 in case emergencies arise.

  • Average Salary: $164,598
  • Degree: Doctoral Degree

Cardiologist

Role:

Cardiologists, quite literally, tend to the matters of the heart. They are physicians who specialize in finding, treating, and preventing diseases that affect the heart, the arteries, and the veins. Most cardiologists have an office outside of the hospital but are connected contractually to a hospital nearby.

Their duties in this capacity include sitting with patients and going over their medical history, checking their current irregularities, and discussing possible symptoms. After that, they perform a series of tests such as EKG and x-rays. They then analyze the results and choose an appropriate course of action to treat the condition. Furthermore, in order to become a cardiologist, they have to go through more than ten years in education. They need a four-year bachelor's degree, plus an additional four years of medical school followed by a residency program which may take up to eight years.

Although the qualifications required to become a cardiologist may seem daunting, the reward at the end of it is much higher than other professions. The average hourly pay for this position is $121.75, which amounts to $253,240 annually. The career is expected to grow in the near future and create new job opportunities across the United States.

  • Average Salary: $299,848
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree
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States With The Most Doctor Jobs

Mouse over a state to see the number of active doctor jobs in each state. The darker areas on the map show where doctors earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.

Average Salary: Job Openings:

Number Of Doctor Jobs By State

RankStateNumber of JobsAverage Salary
1Texas995$169,168
2Florida861$164,669
3California848$171,150
4Illinois596$157,324
5New York573$156,792
6North Carolina561$178,023
7Pennsylvania561$150,070
8Wisconsin482$180,503
9Minnesota432$159,501
10Georgia423$151,932
11Virginia385$167,183
12Arizona366$136,537
13Ohio354$181,890
14Indiana328$155,516
15Maryland294$172,691
16Michigan294$165,212
17Washington281$157,816
18Massachusetts268$175,526
19South Carolina254$156,542
20Missouri249$179,564
21Tennessee227$171,252
22Louisiana226$165,738
23New Jersey224$170,493
24Kentucky223$165,750
25New Mexico200$157,803
26Alabama186$163,161
27Colorado182$163,471
28Oklahoma170$171,671
29Oregon160$167,003
30Nevada150$163,607
31Iowa139$161,155
32Kansas132$167,869
33Connecticut99$173,770
34New Hampshire98$146,971
35Mississippi97$176,522
36Hawaii97$119,039
37South Dakota88$172,822
38West Virginia86$174,807
39Maine84$160,587
40Montana81$153,515
41Arkansas71$167,289
42North Dakota70$176,815
43Alaska69$170,299
44Utah68$174,997
45Idaho68$155,564
46Nebraska68$154,013
47Vermont46$147,734
48Delaware38$179,136
49Wyoming29$163,918
50Rhode Island27$164,059

Doctor Education

Doctor Majors

Medicine
27.8 %
Biology
8.1 %
Business
7.7 %

Doctor Degrees

Bachelors

35.1 %

Doctorate

30.3 %

Associate

9.7 %

Top Colleges for Doctors

1. Duke University

Durham, NC • Private

In-State Tuition

$55,695

Enrollment

6,596

2. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

In-State Tuition

$55,584

Enrollment

10,764

3. Yale University

New Haven, CT • Private

In-State Tuition

$53,430

Enrollment

5,963

4. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Ann Arbor, MI • Private

In-State Tuition

$15,262

Enrollment

30,079

5. Georgetown University

Washington, DC • Private

In-State Tuition

$54,104

Enrollment

7,089

6. University of California - Los Angeles

Los Angeles, CA • Private

In-State Tuition

$13,226

Enrollment

31,568

7. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Chapel Hill, NC • Private

In-State Tuition

$8,987

Enrollment

18,946

8. University of Virginia

Charlottesville, VA • Private

In-State Tuition

$17,653

Enrollment

16,405

9. Columbia University in the City of New York

New York, NY • Private

In-State Tuition

$59,430

Enrollment

8,216

10. Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, MD • Private

In-State Tuition

$53,740

Enrollment

5,567

Top Skills For a Doctor

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, 33.1% of doctors listed patients on their resume, but soft skills such as leadership skills and patience are important as well.

  • Patients, 33.1%
  • Customer Service, 11.8%
  • Emergency Medicine, 4.7%
  • Surgery, 4.7%
  • DR, 4.0%
  • Other Skills, 41.7%

Choose From 10+ Customizable Doctor Resume templates

Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Doctor templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Doctor resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.

Doctor Resume
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Doctor diversity

Doctor Gender Distribution

Female
Female
54%
Male
Male
46%

After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:

  • Among doctors, 54.2% of them are women, while 45.8% are men.

  • The most common race/ethnicity among doctors is White, which makes up 62.2% of all doctors.

  • The most common foreign language among doctors is Spanish at 55.0%.

Online Courses For Doctor That You May Like

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1. Transgender Medicine for General Medical Providers

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The course is a comprehensive set of didactic lectures surveying fundamentals of transgender medical and surgical treatment. The material is meant to provide the student with core knowledge that is essential for current primary care providers caring for transgender patients. There are 10 modules led by the expert clinical faculty from the pioneering Center for Transgender Medicine and Surgery, located within the Mount Sinai Health System and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New...

2. Trauma Emergencies and Care

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Welcome to Trauma Emergencies and Care. In this course, you will learn about some of the mechanics and physics of trauma on the human body, and how this can cause injury. You will continue to expand your new vocabulary with medical terminology, and learn how to describe the different injuries you may see. You will also learn about the trauma system itself- and when it is important to transport patients to a trauma center. Then we will dive into specific injuries based on what part of the body...

3. Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine Advanced Diploma

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4.4
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A complete program in one course, This Diploma is an Encyclopedia in The Natural Medicine field...

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Best States For a Doctor

Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a doctor. The best states for people in this position are Ohio, Wisconsin, Missouri, and Delaware. Doctors make the most in Ohio with an average salary of $181,890. Whereas in Wisconsin and Missouri, they would average $180,503 and $179,564, respectively. While doctors would only make an average of $179,136 in Delaware, 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. Wisconsin

Total Doctor Jobs: 482
Highest 10% Earn:
$271,000
Location Quotient:
1.93

$180,503

Avg. Salary

View 482 Doctor Jobs In WI

2. North Dakota

Total Doctor Jobs: 70
Highest 10% Earn:
$269,000
Location Quotient:
1.66

$176,815

Avg. Salary

View 70 Doctor Jobs In ND

3. South Dakota

Total Doctor Jobs: 88
Highest 10% Earn:
$266,000
Location Quotient:
1.82

$172,822

Avg. Salary

View 88 Doctor Jobs In SD
Full List Of Best States For Doctors

How Do Doctors Rate Their Jobs?

Working as a Doctor? Share your experience anonymously.
Overall Rating*
Career Growth
Work/Life balance
Pay/Salary

Top Doctor Employers

Most Common Employers For Doctor

RankCompanyAverage SalaryHourly RateJob Openings
1Saint Luke's Health System$364,247$175.126
2General Pump$271,419$130.492
3Western Dental$258,901$124.472
4Bronson Battle Creek Hospital$224,841$108.102
5MyEyeDr$221,467$106.479
6The Polyclinic$217,606$104.622
7At Home Healthcare$215,938$103.822
8iHire$214,069$102.921
9Packaging Corporation of America$210,742$101.321
10Visionworks$210,656$101.282
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Doctor Videos

how much money do doctors make?
Medical Careers : How to Become a Doctor
Doctor: Job Profile

Becoming a Doctor FAQs

Family Nurse Practitioner Vs. Doctor

A family nurse practitioner provides direct medical care to their patients but may not be able to prescribe medications without doctor or physician oversight, while a doctor may prescribe medications freely.

Nurse Vs. Doctor

A nurse is a medical professional that has a wide array of duties in patient care, while a doctor is a more senior medical professional who is informed by patient information gathered by nurses.

How Hard Is It To Become A Doctor?

It is very hard to become a doctor. It can take upwards of 12 years of education and training to become a medical doctor. If you want to be a specialist, you may spend a whopping 14 years in practice and study.

What Are The Pros And Cons Of Being A Military Doctor?

The pros of being a military doctor are no student loans and financial security, while the cons are stress and specialty limitations.

Here is a more detailed look at the pros and cons of being a military doctor:

Have more questions? See all answers to common healthcare practitioner and technical questions.

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Updated April 6, 2023