Pediatricians care for children from birth through adolescence, and they treat the family as much as the patient. General pediatrics is heavily preventive, built around development, immunisation and catching the child who is unwell among many who are not. The specialty opens onto eighteen subspecialties, more than any field other than internal medicine.
This guide covers careers in pediatrics end to end, walking through all eighteen accredited subspecialties, the years of training each one costs you, what the work earns and how competitive the path is.
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Pediatrics opens onto eighteen subspecialties. See the eleven-year path to it, and what the year you are in has to produce.
Every stage from first semester to practising, how long each specialty takes, and what to do in the year you are in now.
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Medical careers in pediatrics
Every path below is a formal, ACGME-accredited subspecialty you enter through a fellowship after pediatrics residency. Together they hold 4,733 physicians in training.
Scroll the table sideways to see every column.
| Career | What the work is | In training |
|---|---|---|
| Neonatal-perinatal medicine | Cares for premature and critically ill newborns in the intensive care nursery. | 847 |
| Pediatric critical care medicine | Runs the paediatric intensive care unit for children with life-threatening illness or injury. | 633 |
| Pediatric cardiology | Diagnoses and treats congenital and acquired heart disease in children. | 516 |
| Pediatric hematology/oncology | Treats childhood cancers and blood disorders, including transplant. | 479 |
| Pediatric emergency medicine | Treats acutely ill and injured children in the emergency department. | 477 |
| Pediatric gastroenterology | Treats digestive, liver and nutritional disorders in children, including endoscopy. | 348 |
| Pediatric endocrinology | Treats diabetes, growth disorders and other hormonal conditions in children. | 252 |
| Pediatric hospital medicine | Cares for children admitted to hospital, coordinating their inpatient stay. | 236 |
| Pediatric pulmonology | Treats asthma, cystic fibrosis and other lung conditions in children. | 194 |
| Pediatric infectious diseases | Diagnoses and treats complex and unusual infections in children. | 178 |
| Pediatric nephrology | Treats kidney disease in children, including dialysis and transplant care. | 139 |
| Developmental-behavioral pediatrics | Diagnoses and manages developmental, learning and behavioural conditions in children. | 114 |
| Pediatric rheumatology | Treats arthritis and autoimmune disease in children. | 101 |
| Adolescent medicine | Cares for teenagers and young adults, covering puberty, mental health, sexual health and chronic illness. | 98 |
| Child abuse pediatrics | Evaluates suspected abuse and neglect, and works alongside child protection and the courts. | 49 |
| Clinical informatics | Builds and improves the health record and data systems clinicians use. | 29 |
| Sports medicine | Diagnoses and manages musculoskeletal injury and exercise-related illness, without operating. | 28 |
| Pediatric transplant hepatology | Cares for children with advanced liver disease and manages them through transplant. | 15 |
Physicians in training as of the 2024-2025 academic year, from the ACGME Data Resource Book. A larger number means a larger field, not an easier one.
Our full guides go deeper on several of these roles, covering neonatologist, pediatric surgeon.
How long does pediatrics training take?
All of the careers in pediatrics on this page run through the same first eight years, and separate afterwards. Residency length is taken from the ACGME Data Resource Book for the 2024-2025 academic year.
- Bachelor's degree, four years. Any major works, as long as you finish the medical school prerequisites and sit the MCAT.
- Medical school, four years. Two years mostly preclinical, two years mostly in the hospital, with USMLE Step 1 and Step 2 along the way.
- Pediatrics residency, three years. Three years of residency after medical school, then optional fellowship of two to three years.
- Fellowship, one to three years. Optional, and the route into the subspecialties listed below.
That is eleven years from starting your bachelor's degree to practising independently, before any fellowship. How long medical school takes covers the middle four in detail.
How much do pediatricians earn?
The Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the median wage for pediatricians, general at $210,040 a year in 2025, across 39,390 people in the occupation.
| Point | A year | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Median | $210,040 | half earn more, half earn less |
| 10th percentile | $91,470 | the lower end, often early career or part time |
| 90th percentile | $338,500 | the upper end |
Figures from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, national estimates, 2025. Wages at the top of the scale are reported as equal to or greater than $239,200 in some categories, so a published median can sit below what practising physicians in the field report.
Earnings across careers in pediatrics swing more on setting and geography than on the specialty itself. Academic posts sit below private practice, and rural positions often sit above urban ones for the same work.
How competitive is pediatrics?
Most positions filled, with a small number left for the post-match scramble. A low share filled by US MD seniors means the specialty draws heavily on DO and international graduates, so a strong application from any route stands a chance.
| Measure | 2026 | What it counts |
|---|---|---|
| Positions filled | 94.4% | of all positions the specialty offered |
| Filled by US MD seniors | 45.0% | the rest went to DO, international and previous graduates |
Figures from NRMP Results and Data, 2026 Main Residency Match, Table 1A.
Match rates describe the field, not your application. What moves your own odds is your Step 2 score, your clinical grades, your letters and your research, and the odds of getting into medical school covers the stage before any of that.
How careers in pediatrics compare with the other specialties
Training length. Pediatrics residency runs three years. Of the nineteen specialties on this site, three are shorter and six are the same length. The spread across all of them is two years to five.
Earnings. At $210,040, it ranks 13 of 13 on median wage among the specialties here with their own BLS occupation code. The highest is diagnostic radiology at $420,860.
Competition. Nine of the fifteen specialties here that run through the main match fill a higher share of their positions with US MD seniors, which is the closest single proxy for how contested a field is.
Size of the field. BLS counts 39,390 people employed in the pediatricians, general category. A larger field means more posts advertised and more geographic choice about where you practise.
None of these numbers should pick a specialty for you. They are the constraints you are choosing inside, and the choice itself comes down to whether the day-to-day work holds your attention for thirty years.
Skills and requirements for pediatrics
Where the work happens. Outpatient clinic for general pediatrics; children's hospitals for the subspecialties and inpatient work.
Who it suits. People who like working with families, who can take a history from someone who cannot give one, and who are drawn to prevention and development rather than end-stage disease.
How you get in. Three years of residency after medical school, then optional fellowship of two to three years.
Before any of that, the requirements match every other route into medicine. You need a bachelor's degree, the prerequisite coursework, clinical and research experience, an MCAT score, and a complete medical school application.
Common questions about careers in pediatrics
Do pediatricians earn less than other physicians?
General pediatrics sits at the lower end of physician earnings. The Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the median for general pediatricians below most other physician categories, and the subspecialties vary widely around it.
How long do careers in pediatrics take to train for?
Eleven years after you start your bachelor's degree. Four of undergraduate study, four of medical school and three of postgraduate training. Fellowship adds one to three more.
What are the subspecialties of pediatrics?
ACGME accredits eighteen. The largest by number of physicians in training is neonatal-perinatal medicine, with 847. The table above lists all of them.
What is the average salary in pediatrics?
BLS reports a median of $210,040 a year for pediatricians, general in 2025, with the tenth percentile at $91,470. Subspecialty and setting move that figure more than anything else.
Careers in the other specialties
Every specialty on the same figures, so you can compare training length, earnings and match competitiveness side by side. allergy and immunology, anesthesiology, dermatology, diagnostic radiology, emergency medicine, family medicine, internal medicine, medical genetics, neurology, nuclear medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, ophthalmology, pathology, physical medicine and rehabilitation, preventive medicine, psychiatry, surgery, urology.
Final thoughts on careers in pediatrics
People who like working with families, who can take a history from someone who cannot give one, and who are drawn to prevention and development rather than end-stage disease. tend to do well here, and the honest test of fit is whether the day-to-day appeals to you rather than whether the specialty is prestigious. You do not have to decide now. Almost nobody commits before their third-year clerkships, and plenty change their minds during residency.
What you can do now is keep the door open, and that comes down to your MCAT score and your application. Every route on this page starts in the same place.
- Studying for the MCAT now? The live MCAT course runs one cohort at a time with 515+ scorers teaching it.
- Want one-on-one help? MCAT tutoring pairs you with a mentor who scored in the range you are aiming at.
- Building an application rather than a score? Medical school admissions coaching covers the school list, the essays and the interviews.
- Wondering where to apply? The medical school hub lists every state and province with a program, and the specialty rankings cover which schools are strongest in each field.
- Just browsing? The free MCAT resources are a good place to start, and student score stories show what the jumps look like.
- Every accredited residency program in the country is searchable in ACGME's public directory.
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