Healthcare Practitioners
Neurologists
Also called: Adult and Pediatric Neurologist, Adult Neurologist, General Neurologist, Neurologist
US median pay
$248,560
per year, 2025
Job growth 2025–35
+6.4%
faster than average
Openings a year (US)
300
11,400 employed
Typical entry education
Doctoral or professional degree
Preparation 5/5 · Extensive preparation
What this job is
Diagnose, manage, and treat disorders and diseases of the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nerves, with a primarily nonsurgical focus.
What they do day to day
- Interview patients to obtain information, such as complaints, symptoms, medical histories, and family histories.
- Examine patients to obtain information about functional status of areas, such as vision, physical strength, coordination, reflexes, sensations, language skills, cognitive abilities, and mental status.
- Perform or interpret the outcomes of procedures or diagnostic tests, such as lumbar punctures, electroencephalography, electromyography, and nerve conduction velocity tests.
- Order or interpret results of laboratory analyses of patients' blood or cerebrospinal fluid.
- Diagnose neurological conditions based on interpretation of examination findings, histories, or test results.
- Prescribe or administer medications, such as anti-epileptic drugs, and monitor patients for behavioral and cognitive side effects.
- Identify and treat major neurological system diseases and disorders, such as central nervous system infection, cranio spinal trauma, dementia, and stroke.
- Develop treatment plans based on diagnoses and on evaluation of factors, such as age and general health, or procedural risks and costs.
- Inform patients or families of neurological diagnoses and prognoses, or benefits, risks and costs of various treatment plans.
- Prepare, maintain, or review records that include patients' histories, neurological examination findings, treatment plans, or outcomes.
Skills and knowledge that matter most
Skills
- Social Perceptiveness4.1/5
- Complex Problem Solving4.1/5
- Judgment and Decision Making4.0/5
- Coordination3.8/5
- Service Orientation3.5/5
- Persuasion3.5/5
- Instructing3.5/5
- Systems Analysis3.4/5
Knowledge
- Medicine and Dentistry4.8/5
- English Language4.2/5
- Psychology4.1/5
- Biology4.1/5
- Therapy and Counseling4.0/5
- Education and Training3.7/5
Importance rated by people working in the job (1 = not important, 5 = extremely important).
Education and preparation
Preparation level 5 of 5 — Extensive preparation. Usually a graduate degree (master's, PhD, MD, JD) and extensive experience.
Typical entry education (BLS): Doctoral or professional degree.
Highest education of people in this job:
- Post-doctoral training64%
- Doctoral degree29%
Who this job suits
Mostly Investigative
Ideas, research and solving problems
Social
Helping, teaching and caring for people
Realistic
Hands-on work with tools, machines, plants or animals
Based on the Holland (RIASEC) interest profile for this occupation.