Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between general practitioners and specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a general practitioner, becoming a specialist takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a general practitioner has an average salary of $172,831, which is higher than the $58,013 average annual salary of a specialist.
The top three skills for a general practitioner include patients, diagnosis and internal medicine. The most important skills for a specialist are patients, customer service, and work ethic.
| General Practitioner | Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $172,831 | $58,013 |
| Hourly rate | $83.09 | $27.89 |
| Growth rate | 7% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 64,698 | 358,433 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Doctoral Degree, 50% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Average age | 48 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 2 |
A General Practitioner provides primary and continuing medical care for patients within their community. They are responsible for diagnosing patients, checking patients results, and providing treatment as required.
Specialists are employees who are responsible for specific tasks or activities in the department they are assigned to. The actions or tasks they work on are related to their educational background or work experiences. They are usually highly skilled in specializations related to the work they are assigned to. Specialists are also highly trained on the competencies that are required of their specialty. As such, they are focused on the skills and competencies that are needed to enhance their experience in their specific field further.
General practitioners and specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| General Practitioner | Specialist | |
| Average salary | $172,831 | $58,013 |
| Salary range | Between $85,000 And $347,000 | Between $32,000 And $104,000 |
| Highest paying City | Oklahoma City, OK | Jersey City, NJ |
| Highest paying state | Mississippi | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | Altru Health System | The Citadel |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | - |
There are a few differences between a general practitioner and a specialist in terms of educational background:
| General Practitioner | Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Doctoral Degree, 50% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Most common major | Medicine | Business |
| Most common college | Duke University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between general practitioners' and specialists' demographics:
| General Practitioner | Specialist | |
| Average age | 48 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 60.9% Female, 39.1% | Male, 47.5% Female, 52.5% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 5.2% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 9.7% Asian, 19.1% White, 61.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 11.4% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.4% Asian, 10.5% White, 55.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 13% | 11% |