Neurologists
Diagnose, manage, and treat disorders and diseases of the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nerves, with a primarily nonsurgical focus.
Most important skills
- Active Listening
- Reading Comprehension
- Speaking
- Critical Thinking
- Social Perceptiveness
- Complex Problem Solving
- Writing
- Monitoring
Key knowledge
- Medicine and Dentistry
- English Language
- Psychology
- Biology
- Therapy and Counseling
- Education and Training
- Computers and Electronics
- Chemistry
What the work involves
- Participate in neuroscience research activities.
- Provide training to medical students or staff members.
- Participate in continuing education activities to maintain and expand competence.
- Supervise medical technicians in the performance of neurological diagnostic or therapeutic activities.
- Counsel patients or others on the background of neurological disorders including risk factors, or genetic or environmental concerns.
- Interpret the results of neuroimaging studies, such as Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT), and Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scans.
- Refer patients to other health care practitioners as necessary.
- Advise other physicians on the treatment of neurological problems.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Investigative, Social, Realistic.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- Post-Doctoral Training (63.7% of respondents)
- Related experience
- Over 4 years, up to and including 6 years (27.6%)
- On-the-job training
- None or short demonstration (20.8%)
- 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 Neurologists 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 93% of occupations compared | 91% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others” |
| Dealing with the public | Very high | Higher on dealing with the public than 81% of occupations compared | 65% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Teamwork | High | Higher on teamwork than 77% of occupations compared | 72% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | Very high | Higher on freedom to make decisions than 98% of occupations compared | 92% of surveyed respondents chose “A lot of freedom” |
| Time pressure | Very high | Higher on time pressure than 80% of occupations compared | 54% of surveyed respondents chose “Every day” |
| Conflict situations | High | Higher on conflict situations than 62% of occupations compared | 39% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a week or more but not every day” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | High | Higher on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 76% of occupations compared | 33% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a month or more but not every week” |
| Consequence of error | Very high | Higher on consequence of error than 97% of occupations compared | 75% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely serious” |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: very high
- Conflict situations: high
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: high
- 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: 8.85%
- Constant contact with others: 91.15%
n = 21, Incumbent 07/2012
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 2.49%
- Fairly important: 8.85%
- Important: 16.6%
- Very important: 6.63%
- Extremely important: 65.43%
n = 21, Incumbent 07/2012
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 4.95%
- Fairly important: 0%
- Important: 0%
- Very important: 23.5%
- Extremely important: 71.55%
n = 21, Incumbent 07/2012
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 0%
- Very little freedom: 0%
- Limited freedom: 0%
- Some freedom: 7.66%
- A lot of freedom: 92.34%
n = 21, Incumbent 07/2012
Time pressure
- Never: 0%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 5.18%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 16.61%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 23.77%
- Every day: 54.45%
n = 21, Incumbent 07/2012
Conflict situations
- Never: 10.68%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 35.5%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 4.93%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 38.74%
- Every day: 10.15%
n = 20, Incumbent 07/2012
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 7.29%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 13.86%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 32.96%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 30.82%
- Every day: 15.08%
n = 20, Incumbent 07/2012
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 0%
- Fairly serious: 9.66%
- Serious: 0%
- Very serious: 14.94%
- Extremely serious: 75.4%
n = 20, Incumbent 07/2012
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O*NET-SOC 29-1217.00 · SOC 29-1217 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8