---

pain management

What pain management Majors Need to Know

Coursework for pain management develop a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that pain management graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

This major prepares you for careers needing pain management emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• Medicine and Dentistry — Importance 4.9 / 5; level 6.4 / 7.
• Biology — Importance 4.6 / 5; level 5.5 / 7.
• English Language — Importance 4.4 / 5; level 4.9 / 7.
• Psychology — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 5.4 / 7.
• Education and Training — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 5.3 / 7.

^{Importance is rated 1–5; level is 1–7. Source: ONET Online — weighted across related occupations.*}

Skills

The skill set built by a pain management program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Reading Comprehension — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 5.0 / 7.
• Critical Thinking — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.
• Active Listening — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• Judgment and Decision Making — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• Speaking — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.

Abilities

The cognitive and physical abilities most relevant to pain management careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Problem Sensitivity — Importance 4.3 / 5; level 5.2 / 7.
• Inductive Reasoning — Importance 4.3 / 5; level 5.2 / 7.
• Oral Expression — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 4.9 / 7.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 5.0 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 5.1 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, pain management graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Assisting and Caring for Others	4.8 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	4.8 / 7
Documenting/Recording Information	4.7 / 7
Getting Information	4.7 / 7
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge	4.6 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	4.5 / 7
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events	4.5 / 7
Processing Information	4.5 / 7
Analyzing Data or Information	4.5 / 7
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships	4.4 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by pain management professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Email software	Electronic mail software	—
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	—
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	—
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	—
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	—
Epic Systems	Medical software	✓
Bizmatics PrognoCIS EMR	Medical software	—
Vitera Healthcare Solutions Vitera Intergy	Medical software	—
GE Healthcare Centricity Practice Solution	Medical software	—
HealthFusion MediTouch	Medical software	—
Cerner PowerWorks Practice Management	Medical software	—
IOS Health Systems Medios EHR	Medical software	—

^{Source: ONET Online technology skills, weighted across related occupations.*}

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for pain management graduates include:

• Physician
• MD (Medical Doctor)
• DO Physician (Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine Physician)
• Hospitalist Physician
• Urologist
• Consultant Physician
• Hospitalist Medical Doctor (Hospitalist MD)
• OB Hospitalist (Obstetrics Hospitalist)
• Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Hospitalist (Neonatal ICU Hospitalist)
• Hospitalist
• Hospitalist Nocturnist Physician
• Nocturnist
• Neurohospitalist
• Pediatric Hospitalist Physician
• Nocturnist Hospitalist

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to pain management graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
Post-doctoral training	54.7%
Doctoral degree	39.1%
First professional degree	3.2%
Bachelor’s degree	1.3%
Master’s degree	0.8%
High school diploma or equivalent	0.4%
Some college courses	0.2%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	0.2%

^{Source: ONET Online education / training / experience requirements.*}

How Much Do pain management Graduates Earn?

Federal data tracks median earnings of pain management graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. Wages typically rise steadily as graduates gain experience and move into mid-career roles.

Years Out	Median Earnings
1 year	$160,729
4 years	$166,630
5 years	$197,894

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $197,894 — roughly 23% above the 1-year mark.

^{Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study earnings tracker.}

Is a Degree in pain management Worth It?

On the earnings side, the federal earnings tracker, pain management graduates earn a median of $166,630 four years after completion — roughly 338% above the national median for workers with only a high school diploma (~$38,000).

^{ROI estimate compares the program’s 4-yr median earnings against the 2023 BLS CPS median earnings for high-school-only workers. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard + BLS Current Population Survey.}

Related Programs

You may also be interested in these closely related fields of study:

Program	CIP Code
Medical Clinical Sciences/Graduate Medical Studies	51.14
Clinical and Translational Science	51.1402
Medical Clinical Sciences/Graduate Medical Studies, Other	51.1499
Medical Science/Scientist	51.1401
Temporomandibular Disorders and Orofacial Pain	51.1404
Tropical Medicine	51.1405

References

The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students and international students. This number is then divided by the total number of students to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS)
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard

More about our data sources and methodologies.