Chiropractors
Assess, treat, and care for patients by manipulation of spine and musculoskeletal system. May provide spinal adjustment or address sacral or pelvic misalignment.
Most important skills
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Reading Comprehension
- Critical Thinking
- Social Perceptiveness
- Complex Problem Solving
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Service Orientation
Key knowledge
- Medicine and Dentistry
- Customer and Personal Service
- Biology
- Therapy and Counseling
- Administration and Management
- English Language
- Administrative
- Education and Training
What the work involves
- Perform a series of manual adjustments to the spine or other articulations of the body to correct the musculoskeletal system.
- Evaluate the functioning of the neuromuscularskeletal system and the spine using systems of chiropractic diagnosis.
- Diagnose health problems by reviewing patients' health and medical histories, questioning, observing, and examining patients and interpreting x-rays.
- Maintain accurate case histories of patients.
- Advise patients about recommended courses of treatment.
- Obtain and record patients' medical histories.
- Analyze x-rays to locate the sources of patients' difficulties and to rule out fractures or diseases as sources of problems.
- Counsel patients about nutrition, exercise, sleeping habits, stress management, or other matters.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Social, Realistic, Investigative.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- Doctoral Degree (82.1% of respondents)
- Related experience
- Over 2 years, up to and including 4 years (29.2%)
- On-the-job training
- Over 6 months, up to and including 1 year (25.8%)
- Preparation level
- O*NET job zone 5: Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed
- Licensing
- Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.
Check before planning
- Licensing for Chiropractors is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.
Limits
- Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
- Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0
Work environment
How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).
Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.
| Condition | Level | Compared with other occupations | Most common answer (O*NET survey) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contact with others | Very high | Higher on contact with others than 80% of occupations compared | 74% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others” |
| Dealing with the public | Very high | Higher on dealing with the public than 89% of occupations compared | 85% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Teamwork | Very low | Lower on teamwork than 98% of occupations compared | 44% of surveyed respondents chose “Not important at all” |
| Freedom to make decisions | Very high | Higher on freedom to make decisions than 94% of occupations compared | 88% of surveyed respondents chose “A lot of freedom” |
| Time pressure | Low | Lower on time pressure than 79% of occupations compared | 34% of surveyed respondents chose “Every day” |
| Conflict situations | High | Higher on conflict situations than 65% of occupations compared | — |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | Moderate | Higher on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 52% of occupations compared | — |
| Consequence of error | Very high | Higher on consequence of error than 83% of occupations compared | — |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: low
- Conflict situations: high
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: moderate
- Consequence of error: very high
Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.
Full answer distributions
Contact with others
- No contact with others: 0%
- Occasional contact with others: 0%
- Contact with others about half the time: 0%
- Contact with others most of the time: 26.44%
- Constant contact with others: 73.56%
n = 18, Incumbent 08/2026
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 12.33%
- Fairly important: 2.06%
- Important: 0%
- Very important: 0.68%
- Extremely important: 84.93%
n = 18, Incumbent 08/2026
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 43.97%
- Fairly important: 1.39%
- Important: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Very important: 18.3%
- Extremely important: 20.86%
n = 18, Incumbent 08/2026
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 0%
- Very little freedom: 0.69%
- Limited freedom: 11.04%
- Some freedom: 0%
- A lot of freedom: 88.27%
n = 17, Incumbent 08/2026
Time pressure
- Never: 27.9%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 1.39%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 2.74%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 33.67%
- Every day: 34.29%
n = 18, Incumbent 08/2026
Conflict situations
- Never: 13.74%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 18.88%
- Once a month or more but not every week: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Once a week or more but not every day: 18.82%
- Every day: 16.15%
n = 18, Incumbent 08/2026
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 2.06%
- Once a year or more but not every month: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Once a month or more but not every week: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Once a week or more but not every day: 16.84%
- Every day: 0%
n = 18, Incumbent 08/2026
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 10.97%
- Fairly serious: 16.18%
- Serious: 2.84%
- Very serious: 20.86%
- Extremely serious: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
n = 18, Incumbent 08/2026
Is this career right for me? Find jobs with conditions you prefer
Where people with this background could move
- Analyze
Acupuncturists
Closeness 92/100
- Analyze
Exercise Physiologists
Closeness 92/100 · job zone -1
- Analyze
Athletic Trainers
Closeness 91/100
- Analyze
Midwives
Closeness 90/100
- Analyze
Health Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary
Closeness 90/100
- Analyze
Recreation and Fitness Studies Teachers, Postsecondary
Closeness 90/100
Find more alternativesCompare skills with another job
O*NET-SOC 29-1011.00 · SOC 29-1011 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8