Career profile for Pediatrician

What does a Pediatrician do?

Pediatricians diagnose, treat, and help prevent diseases and injuries in children.

In addition, Pediatricians may refer patients to specialists for further diagnosis or treatment, as needed.

What kind of tasks does a Pediatrician perform regularly?

Pediatricians are often responsible for overseeing or executing some or all of the following tasks:

Prescribe or administer treatment, therapy, medication, vaccination, and other specialized medical care to treat or prevent illness, disease, or injury in infants and children.
Examine children regularly to assess their growth and development.
Treat children who have minor illnesses, acute and chronic health problems, and growth and development concerns.
Examine patients or order, perform, and interpret diagnostic tests to obtain information on medical condition and determine diagnosis.
Advise patients, parents or guardians, and community members concerning diet, activity, hygiene, and disease prevention.
Explain procedures and discuss test results or prescribed treatments with patients and parents or guardians.
Collect, record, and maintain patient information, such as medical histories, reports, or examination results.
Monitor patients' conditions and progress and reevaluate treatments as necessary.
Direct and coordinate activities of nurses, students, assistants, specialists, therapists, and other medical staff.
Plan and execute medical care programs to aid in the mental and physical growth and development of children and adolescents.
Refer patient to medical specialist or other practitioner when necessary.
Teach residents or medical students about pediatric topics.
Provide consulting services to other physicians.

The above responsibilities are specific to Pediatricians. More generally, Pediatricians are involved in several broader types of activities:

Activities	Importance	Details
Assisting and Caring for Others		Providing personal assistance, medical attention, emotional support, or other personal care to others such as coworkers, customers, or patients.
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge		Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job.
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships		Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.
Making Decisions and Solving Problems		Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
Documenting/Recording Information		Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.

Assisting and Caring for Others

Providing personal assistance, medical attention, emotional support, or other personal care to others such as coworkers, customers, or patients.

Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge

Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job.

Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships

Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.

Making Decisions and Solving Problems

Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.

Documenting/Recording Information

Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.

What is a Pediatrician salary?

The median salary for a Pediatrician is $177,130, and the average salary is $184,570. Both the median and average roughly describe the middle of the Pediatrician salary range, but the average is more easily affected by extremely high or low salaries.

Many Pediatricians earn significantly more or less than the average, due to several factors. About 10% of Pediatricians earn less than $69,470 per year, 25% earn less than $126,930, 75% earn more than $208,000, and 90% earn more than $208,000.

Between the years of 2020 and 2030, the number of Pediatricians is expected to change by -2.0%, and there should be roughly 800 open positions for Pediatricians every year.

Median annual salary: $177,130
Typical salary range: $69,470 - Over $208,000
Projected growth (2020 - 2030): -2.0%

What personality traits are common among Pediatricians?

Interests

Career interests describe a person's preferences for different types of working environments and activities. When a person's interest match the demands of an occupation, people are usually more engaged and satisfied in that role.

Compared to most occupations, those who work as a Pediatrician are usually higher in their Investigative and Social interests.

Pediatricians typically have very strong Investigative interests. Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.

Also, Pediatricians typically have very strong Social interests. Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others.

Values

People differ in their values, or what is most important to them for building job satisfaction and fulfillment.

Compared to most people, those working as a Pediatrician tend to value Achievement, Recognition, and Relationships.

Most importantly, Pediatricians very strongly value Achievement. Occupations that satisfy this work value are results oriented and allow employees to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment.

Second, Pediatricians very strongly value Recognition. Occupations that satisfy this work value offer advancement, potential for leadership, and are often considered prestigious.

Lastly, Pediatricians very strongly value Relationships. Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment.

Psychological Demands

Each occupation brings its own set of psychological demands, which describe the characteristics necessary to perform the job well.

In order to perform their job successfully, people who work as Pediatricians must consistently demonstrate qualities such as concern for others, integrity, and self-control.

Below, you'll find a list of qualities typically required of Pediatricians, ranked by importance:

Demands	Importance	Details
Concern for Others		Job requires being sensitive to others' needs and feelings and being understanding and helpful on the job.
Integrity		Job requires being honest and ethical.
Self-Control		Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.
Dependability		Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
Attention to Detail		Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.

Concern for Others

Job requires being sensitive to others' needs and feelings and being understanding and helpful on the job.

Integrity

Job requires being honest and ethical.

Self-Control

Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.

Dependability

Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.

Attention to Detail

Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.

What education and training do Pediatricians need?

Many Pediatricians have earned a graduate degree. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a doctoral degree, such as a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D..

Pediatricians may need some on-the-job training, but most candidates will already have the required skills, knowledge, work-related experience, and/or training.

Educational degrees among Pediatricians

100.0% earned a doctorate or professional degree

Knowledge and expertise required by Pediatricians

Pediatricians may benefit from understanding of specialized subject areas, such as medicine and dentistry, therapy and counseling, or biology knowledge.

The list below shows several areas in which most Pediatricians might want to build proficiency, ranked by importance.

Knowledge areas	Importance	Details
Medicine and Dentistry		Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
Therapy and Counseling		Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
Biology		Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
Psychology		Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
Customer and Personal Service		Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

Medicine and Dentistry

Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.

Therapy and Counseling

Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.

Biology

Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.

Psychology

Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.

Customer and Personal Service

Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

Important Abilities needed by Pediatricians

Pediatricians must develop a particular set of abilities to perform their job well. Abilities are individual capacities that influence a person's information processing, sensory perception, motor coordination, and physical strength or endurance. Individuals may naturally have certain abilities without explicit training, but most abilities can be sharpened somewhat through practice.

For example, Pediatricians need abilities such as oral comprehension, oral expression, and inductive reasoning in order to perform their job at a high level. The list below shows several important abilities for Pediatricians, ranked by their relative importance.

Abilities	Importance	Details
Oral Comprehension		The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Oral Expression		The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Inductive Reasoning		The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
Written Comprehension		The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
Problem Sensitivity		The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.

Oral Comprehension

The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

Oral Expression

The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.

Inductive Reasoning

The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).

Written Comprehension

The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.

Problem Sensitivity

The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.

Critical Skills needed by Pediatricians

Skills are developed capacities that enable people to function effectively in real-world settings. Unlike abilities, skills are typically easier to build through practice and experience. Skills influence effectiveness in areas such as learning, working with others, design, troubleshooting, and more.

Pediatricians frequently use skills like speaking, critical thinking, and judgment and decision making to perform their job effectively. The list below shows several critical skills for Pediatricians, ranked by their relative importance.

Skills	Importance	Details
Speaking		Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Critical Thinking		Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
Judgment and Decision Making		Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Reading Comprehension		Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
Active Listening		Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.

Speaking

Talking to others to convey information effectively.

Critical Thinking

Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.

Judgment and Decision Making

Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.

Reading Comprehension

Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.

Active Listening

Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.

What is the source of this information?

The information provided on this page is adapted from data and descriptions published by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration under the CC BY 4.0 license. TraitLab has modified some information for ease of use and reading, and the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment, and Training Administration has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.

If you have any questions or suggestions about this information, please send a message.

Career profile Pediatrician

Pediatrician

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