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Physicians, Pathologists

Typical education: Doctoral or professional degreeHigh pressure

What they do

Diagnose diseases and conduct lab tests using organs, body tissues, and fluids. Includes medical examiners.

Kinds of work

  • Investigative: Science, research, figuring out how things work and solving complex problems.
  • Realistic: Hands-on work with tools, machines, plants or animals, often outdoors.
  • Conventional: Organizing information, following clear procedures and working with data and details.

High pressure: How much pressure workers in this job report: deadlines, conflict, dealing with upset people, the cost of mistakes, responsibility for others' safety, competition and long hours. It varies a lot from one employer to the next. Source: U.S. Department of Labor worker surveys.

Pay, tasks and more

Salary

United States $312,400 Median per year · $150.19/hr Most earn $92,540–$449,970

BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, 2025.

What you might do

  • Identify the etiology, pathogenesis, morphological change, and clinical significance of diseases.
  • Educate physicians, students, and other personnel in medical laboratory professions, such as medical technology, cytotechnology, or histotechnology.
  • Testify in depositions or trials as an expert witness.
  • Develop or adopt new tests or instruments to improve diagnosis of diseases.
  • Obtain specimens by performing procedures, such as biopsies or fine needle aspirations (FNAs) of superficial nodules.
  • Diagnose diseases or study medical conditions, using techniques such as gross pathology, histology, cytology, cytopathology, clinical chemistry, immunology, flow cytometry, or molecular biology.

Job outlook

United States
5% more jobs by 2035, faster than average · about 300 openings a year

Openings include new jobs and jobs left by workers who retire or change careers. Projections: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. "Bright Outlook": U.S. Department of Labor.

Where they work

  • Offices of physicians34.1%
  • Medical and diagnostic laboratories26.6%
  • General medical and surgical hospitals17.8%
  • Colleges, universities, and professional schools6.2%
  • Local government, excluding education and hospitals4.5%

Share of all workers in this career. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Employment Matrix.

Experience before this job: 4 to 6 years

Career path

How people usually get into this career, from school to their first job and beyond.

Typical education: Doctoral or professional degreeExperience before this job: 4 to 6 years

Pathologist is not an entry-level job. Most people spend about 12 years after high school on a bachelor's degree, medical school, and a residency before they can practice on their own.

  1. Bachelor's degree in biology, chemistry, or a related science

    4 years

    You build a strong science base and take the courses medical schools require, while keeping your grades high and getting some lab or clinical experience.

  2. Medical school (MD or DO degree)

    4 years

    You study medicine in classrooms and hospitals, then take licensing exams, which leads to a residency where you train in the specialty.

  3. Pathology residency

    4 years

    You train in a hospital or lab under experienced pathologists, examining tissue, blood, and other samples and learning to diagnose disease, which prepares you to become a pathologist.

  4. Pathologist

    Ongoing career

    You diagnose diseases through lab tests on organs, tissues, and fluids, and some pathologists also work as medical examiners.

Where it can lead

  1. Laboratory Medical Director

    Several years as a practicing pathologist of experience first

    You oversee a hospital or regional lab's quality, staff, equipment, and test menu, and take on more leadership and management duties.

  2. Pathology Department Chair

    Many years of practice and leadership experience of experience first

    You lead an entire pathology department, guiding its teaching, research, budgets, and the pathologists who work within it.

What you can do now

Ideas for high school and college students.

In high school

  • Take biology and chemistry, and add anatomy or AP sciences if your school offers themStrong science classes build the foundation you will need for a pre-medical bachelor's degree later.
  • Volunteer at a hospital, clinic, or nursing homeHands-on time in a health setting shows you what medical work feels like and looks good on future applications.
  • Join a science club or science fairDoing your own experiments teaches the careful observation and recordkeeping that pathologists use every day.
  • Get a starter job, such as a part-time job at a pharmacy or as a lab aideAny job where you work carefully and follow procedures builds responsibility and gives you early exposure to healthcare.
  • Read about how diseases are diagnosedLearning how doctors use tissue and blood tests helps you decide early whether pathology sounds interesting to you.

In college

  • Major in biology, chemistry, or another scienceA science major covers the coursework medical schools expect and prepares you for later pathology training.
  • Take courses in pathology-related subjects like cell biology, histology, or microbiologyThese classes teach you how tissues and cells change in disease, which is the core of pathology work.
  • Get a campus job in a research labWorking in a lab lets you practice careful sample handling and see how test results are produced and interpreted.
  • Volunteer or shadow at a hospital lab or with a pathologistSeeing the work up close helps you confirm your interest and gives you a reference for medical school applications.
  • Join a pre-health or pre-medical student organizationThese groups share advice on applying to medical school, studying for entrance exams, and finding clinical experiences.

Tips for getting started

  • Take biology, chemistry, and math seriously now, since medical schools look closely at science grades and how you handle hard coursework.
  • Look for ways to see the lab side of medicine, such as volunteering at a hospital or shadowing a doctor, so you know whether the work of studying tissue and disease suits you.
  • Track how many years the whole path takes so you can plan money and time, and talk with a school counselor about a realistic timeline.

Related jobs that often lead here

Education, experience and related careers: U.S. Department of Labor. The step-by-step path, where it can lead and what you can do now were written by AI as typical examples; many people take other ways.

College majors that lead here

Majors: U.S. Department of Education and BLS (CIP–SOC crosswalk). Earnings and debt: College Scorecard, typical across U.S. colleges.

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