Osteopathic Medicine
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Types of Degrees Osteopathic Medicine Majors Are Getting
The following table lists how many osteopathic medicine graduations there were in 2018-2019 for each degree level.
Education Level | Number of Grads |
---|---|
Doctor’s Degree | 6,700 |
What Osteopathic Medicine Majors Need to Know
O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to osteopathic medicine and asked them what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. The responses were rated on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being most important.
Knowledge Areas for Osteopathic Medicine Majors
This major prepares you for careers in which these knowledge areas are important:

- Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
- Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
- Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
- Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
- Therapy and Counseling - Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
Skills for Osteopathic Medicine Majors
osteopathic medicine majors are found most commonly in careers in which the following skills are important:

- Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
- Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
Abilities for Osteopathic Medicine Majors
A major in osteopathic medicine will prepare for your careers in which the following abilities are important:

- Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
- Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
- Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
- Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
- Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
What Can You Do With a Osteopathic Medicine Major?
Below is a list of occupations associated with osteopathic medicine:
Job Title | Job Growth Rate | Median Salary |
---|---|---|
Family and General Practitioners | 14.3% | $201,100 |
Physicians and Surgeons | 11.4% | $200,890 |
How Much Do Osteopathic Medicine Majors Make?
Salaries According to BLS
Average salaries range from $203,880 to $211,780 (25th to 75th percentile) for careers related to osteopathic medicine. This range includes all degree levels, so you may expect those with a more advanced degree to make more while those with less advanced degrees will typically make less.
To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.
Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Osteopathic Medicine
Some careers associated with osteopathic medicine require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. Whatever the case may be, pursuing more education usually means that more career options will be available to you.
How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to osteopathic medicine have obtained the following education levels.

Education Level | Percentage of Workers |
---|---|
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level. | 3.5% |
Doctoral Degree | 65.4% |
Post-Doctoral Training | 31.1% |
Online Osteopathic Medicine Programs
In 2018-2019, 35 schools offered a osteopathic medicine program of some type. The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.
Degree Level | Colleges Offering Programs | Colleges Offering Online Classes |
---|---|---|
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year) | 0 | 0 |
Certificate (1-2 years) | 0 | 0 |
Certificate (2-4 Years) | 0 | 0 |
Associate’s Degree | 0 | 0 |
Bachelor’s Degree | 0 | 0 |
Post-Baccalaureate | 0 | 0 |
Master’s Degree | 0 | 0 |
Post-Master’s | 0 | 0 |
Doctor’s Degree (Research) | 0 | 0 |
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice) | 35 | 0 |
Doctor’s Degree (Other) | 0 | 0 |
Is a Degree in Osteopathic Medicine Worth It?
The median salary for a osteopathic medicine grad is $203,880 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.
This is 411% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $3,279,600 after 20 years!

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Majors Related to Osteopathic Medicine
You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to osteopathic medicine.
References
- College Factual
- College Scorecard
- National Center for Education Statistics
- O*NET Online
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020
- Image Credit: By V. Jack Ruther under License
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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