Physicians, Pathologists
Diagnose diseases and conduct lab tests using organs, body tissues, and fluids. Includes medical examiners.
Most important skills
- Reading Comprehension
- Writing
- Critical Thinking
- Active Listening
- Science
- Active Learning
- Complex Problem Solving
- Speaking
Key knowledge
- Medicine and Dentistry
- Biology
- English Language
- Education and Training
- Customer and Personal Service
- Chemistry
- Administration and Management
- Computers and Electronics
What the work involves
- Review cases by analyzing autopsies, laboratory findings, or case investigation reports.
- Manage medical laboratories.
- Read current literature, talk with colleagues, or participate in professional organizations or conferences to keep abreast of developments in pathology.
- Develop or adopt new tests or instruments to improve diagnosis of diseases.
- Educate physicians, students, and other personnel in medical laboratory professions, such as medical technology, cytotechnology, or histotechnology.
- Perform autopsies to determine causes of deaths.
- Plan and supervise the work of the pathology staff, residents, or visiting pathologists.
- Identify the etiology, pathogenesis, morphological change, and clinical significance of diseases.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Investigative, Realistic, Conventional.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- Post-Doctoral Training (62% of respondents)
- Related experience
- Over 4 years, up to and including 6 years (47%)
- On-the-job training
- Over 1 month, up to and including 3 months (31%)
- 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 Physicians, Pathologists 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 | Low | Lower on contact with others than 70% of occupations compared | 47% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others” |
| Dealing with the public | Very low | Lower on dealing with the public than 85% of occupations compared | 41% of surveyed respondents chose “Not important at all” |
| Teamwork | Moderate | Higher on teamwork than 54% of occupations compared | 64% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | Very high | Higher on freedom to make decisions than 88% of occupations compared | 85% of surveyed respondents chose “A lot of freedom” |
| Time pressure | Very high | Higher on time pressure than 99% of occupations compared | 91% of surveyed respondents chose “Every day” |
| Conflict situations | Moderate | Lower on conflict situations than 58% of occupations compared | 32% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a month or more but not every week” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | Low | Lower on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 67% of occupations compared | 53% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a year or more but not every month” |
| Consequence of error | Very high | Higher on consequence of error than 96% of occupations compared | 73% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely serious” |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: very high
- Conflict situations: moderate
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: low
- 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: 10.73%
- Contact with others about half the time: 15.21%
- Contact with others most of the time: 27.3%
- Constant contact with others: 46.76%
n = 24, Incumbent 08/2020
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 41.32%
- Fairly important: 14.37%
- Important: 22.92%
- Very important: 10.73%
- Extremely important: 10.66%
n = 24, Incumbent 08/2020
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 1.53%
- Fairly important: 2.3%
- Important: 21.06%
- Very important: 11.31%
- Extremely important: 63.8%
n = 24, Incumbent 08/2020
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 0%
- Very little freedom: 7.71%
- Limited freedom: 7.71%
- Some freedom: 0%
- A lot of freedom: 84.59%
n = 24, Incumbent 08/2020
Time pressure
- Never: 0%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 0%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 1.33%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 7.71%
- Every day: 90.97%
n = 24, Incumbent 08/2020
Conflict situations
- Never: 16.98%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 25.59%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 32.36%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 19.71%
- Every day: 5.35%
n = 22, Incumbent 08/2020
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 8.35%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 53.16%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 18.63%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 19.87%
- Every day: 0%
n = 23, Incumbent 08/2020
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 7.71%
- Fairly serious: 0%
- Serious: 7.71%
- Very serious: 12.03%
- Extremely serious: 72.56%
n = 24, Incumbent 08/2020
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O*NET-SOC 29-1222.00 · SOC 29-1222 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8