Podiatrists
Diagnose and treat diseases and deformities of the human foot.
Most important skills
- Reading Comprehension
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Critical Thinking
- Active Learning
- Writing
- Monitoring
- Social Perceptiveness
Key knowledge
- Medicine and Dentistry
- Customer and Personal Service
- English Language
- Education and Training
- Computers and Electronics
- Administration and Management
- Biology
- Chemistry
What the work involves
- Diagnose diseases and deformities of the foot using medical histories, physical examinations, x-rays, and laboratory test results.
- Prescribe medications, corrective devices, physical therapy, or surgery.
- Surgically treat conditions such as corns, calluses, ingrown nails, tumors, shortened tendons, bunions, cysts, or abscesses.
- Advise patients about treatments and foot care techniques necessary for prevention of future problems.
- Refer patients to physicians when symptoms indicative of systemic disorders, such as arthritis or diabetes, are observed in feet and legs.
- Correct deformities by means of plaster casts and strapping.
- Make and fit prosthetic appliances.
- Perform administrative duties, such as hiring employees, ordering supplies, or keeping records.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Investigative, Realistic, Social.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- Doctoral Degree (52.9% of respondents)
- Related experience
- Over 2 years, up to and including 4 years (55.7%)
- On-the-job training
- Over 2 years, up to and including 4 years (47.2%)
- 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 Podiatrists 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 88% of occupations compared | 85% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others” |
| Dealing with the public | High | Higher on dealing with the public than 68% of occupations compared | 52% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Teamwork | High | Higher on teamwork than 63% of occupations compared | 55% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | Very high | Higher on freedom to make decisions than 99% of occupations compared | 100% of surveyed respondents chose “A lot of freedom” |
| Time pressure | Very high | Higher on time pressure than 86% of occupations compared | 61% of surveyed respondents chose “Every day” |
| Conflict situations | Very high | Higher on conflict situations than 87% of occupations compared | 32% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a week or more but not every day” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | Very high | Higher on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 88% of occupations compared | 38% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a week or more but not every day” |
| Consequence of error | High | Higher on consequence of error than 79% of occupations compared | 62% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely serious” |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: very high
- Conflict situations: very high
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: very high
- Consequence of error: 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: 0.61%
- Contact with others most of the time: 14.39%
- Constant contact with others: 85%
n = 28, Incumbent 08/2022
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 4.14%
- Fairly important: 20.65%
- Important: 12.09%
- Very important: 11.26%
- Extremely important: 51.87%
n = 28, Incumbent 08/2022
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 0.61%
- Fairly important: 0.61%
- Important: 10.21%
- Very important: 33.24%
- Extremely important: 55.33%
n = 28, Incumbent 08/2022
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 0%
- Very little freedom: 0%
- Limited freedom: 0%
- Some freedom: 0%
- A lot of freedom: 100%
n = 28, Incumbent 08/2022
Time pressure
- Never: 4.14%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 0%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 11.25%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 23.33%
- Every day: 61.28%
n = 28, Incumbent 08/2022
Conflict situations
- Never: 4.14%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 15.55%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 24.81%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 32.38%
- Every day: 23.11%
n = 28, Incumbent 08/2022
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 0%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 13.25%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 25.52%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 37.93%
- Every day: 23.29%
n = 28, Incumbent 08/2022
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 23.84%
- Fairly serious: 10.25%
- Serious: 1.22%
- Very serious: 3.02%
- Extremely serious: 61.67%
n = 28, Incumbent 08/2022
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O*NET-SOC 29-1081.00 · SOC 29-1081 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8