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Neurologists: Job Description

Diagnose, manage, and treat disorders and diseases of the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nerves, with a primarily nonsurgical focus.

What Tasks Do Neurologists Do?

Typical responsibilities of neurologists cover:

• 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.

Skills and Knowledge

Effective neurologists combine a mix of skills and domain knowledge.

Most Important Skills

The competencies most central to this role, rated on an importance scale of 0 to 5:

Top Knowledge Areas

Types of Neurologists Jobs

This career also goes by job titles like:

• Adult Neurologist
• Adult and Pediatric Neurologist
• Child Neurologist
• Chiropractic Neurologist
• DO Physician (Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine Physician)
• Epileptologist
• General Neurologist
• Headache Specialist

Job Outlook

The U.S. employs around 151,087 neurologists working in the United States today. Demand is forecast to grow by +14.5% over the projection horizon.

Salary for Neurologists

Statistic	Value
Annual median	$159,086
Hourly median	$76.48
10th percentile	$107,679
25th percentile	$133,382
75th percentile	$184,790
90th percentile	$210,493

Compensation varies based on experience, location, and industry.

Pay by State

State	Annual median salary
Massachusetts	$234,660
Tennessee	$228,350
New York	$214,820
New Jersey	$213,200
Florida	$165,860
Pennsylvania	$140,970
California	$124,830

Where Neurologists Earn the Most

Compensation for neurologists shift depending on where you work. These regions lead on median pay:

Region	Median annual wage	Share of U.S. jobs	Location quotient
Middle Atlantic	$190,103	25.9%	2.03
New England	$126,021	9.4%	1.89
Southeast	$65,565	17.6%	1.29

Highest-Paying Metro Areas for Neurologists

Metro area	State	Median annual wage	Employment
Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT	CT	$231,420	80
Worcester, MA	MA	$228,470	60
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH	MA	$228,070	180
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ	NY	$214,820	920

Which Industries Hire Neurologists

The largest employers of neurologists work in these industries:

Industry	Employment	Median annual wage
Health Care and Social Assistance	7,150	n/a
Educational Services	210	$80,090

Below are examples of industries where neurologists work:

Tools and Technology

• Medical software: eClinicalWorks EHR software (hot technology)
• Medical software: Epic Systems (hot technology)
• Spreadsheet software: Microsoft Excel (hot technology)
• Office suite software: Microsoft Office software (hot technology)
• Presentation software: Microsoft PowerPoint (hot technology)
• Word processing software: Microsoft Word (hot technology)

What the Workplace Is Like

Daily working conditions for neurologists tends to involve the following characteristics:

• Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams
• Importance of Being Exact or Accurate
• Freedom to Make Decisions
• Contact With Others
• Impact of Decisions on Co-workers or Company Results

Getting Started in This Career

This occupation sits in Extensive Preparation Needed (Job Zone 5), signaling the level of preparation typically expected.

Other Careers to Consider

Similar Occupations

• Neuropsychologists (Primary-Long)
• Clinical Neuropsychologists (Primary-Long)
• Chiropractors (Supplemental)
• Physician Assistants (Supplemental)
• Nurse Practitioners (Supplemental)
• Anesthesiologists (Supplemental)
• Cardiologists (Primary-Short)
• Dermatologists (Supplemental)

Degree Programs

Students preparing for neurologists often complete programs in:

Health Professions and Related Programs

2 programs across 1 majors

• Medicine

Sources

Data on this page comes from the following authoritative sources:

• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) for employment and wage data by state and industry.
• BLS Employment Projections for total employment and growth forecasts.
• O*NET (Occupational Information Network) for skills, knowledge, tasks, work activities, work context, technology, and education-zone data.

SOC code: 29-1217.00 (Neurologists).