Chiropractor job description: duties, skills and qualifications.

Core duties

12

O*NET task statements

Preparation

Job Zone 5 of 5

extensive preparation

Typical entry education

Doctoral or professional degree

BLS 2025–35

Median pay

$79,200

BLS May 2025

1. Perform a series of manual adjustments to the spine or other articulations of the body to correct the musculoskeletal system. importance 5.0 of 5
2. Obtain and record patients' medical histories. importance 4.8 of 5
3. Diagnose health problems by reviewing patients' health and medical histories, questioning, observing, and examining patients and interpreting x-rays. importance 4.8 of 5
4. Evaluate the functioning of the neuromuscularskeletal system and the spine using systems of chiropractic diagnosis. importance 4.8 of 5
5. Maintain accurate case histories of patients. importance 4.8 of 5
6. Consult with or refer patients to appropriate health practitioners when necessary. importance 4.6 of 5
7. Advise patients about recommended courses of treatment. importance 4.5 of 5
8. Counsel patients about nutrition, exercise, sleeping habits, stress management, or other matters. importance 4.5 of 5
9. Provide guidance to patients on exercises they can perform to improve mobility. importance 4.4 of 5
10. Analyze x-rays to locate the sources of patients' difficulties and to rule out fractures or diseases as sources of problems. importance 4.3 of 5
11. Recommend and arrange for diagnostic procedures, such as blood chemistry tests, saliva tests, x-rays, or other imaging procedures. importance 4.1 of 5
12. Suggest and apply the use of supports such as straps, tapes, bandages, or braces if necessary. importance 3.8 of 5

Work activities O*NET rates most important here: Assisting and Caring for Others, Performing General Physical Activities, Documenting/Recording Information, Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards and Making Decisions and Solving Problems.

Knowledge areas: Medicine and Dentistry, Customer and Personal Service, Biology, Therapy and Counseling and Administration and Management.

Software O*NET lists for this occupation: Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office software, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Word, ACOM Solutions RAPID EMR, Acrendo A.I.med. These are examples O*NET records for the job, not a list of tools every employer uses or a checklist of what you must know.

• Education: BLS lists a doctoral or professional degree as the typical entry-level education.
• Experience: BLS lists no work experience in a related occupation as typical to enter.
• Training on the job: BLS lists no typical on-the-job training once hired.
• Preparation: O*NET places the job in Job Zone 5 of 5 (extensive preparation). Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations.
• Licenses and certifications: not listed here. A license is a legal requirement set by a state; a certification is a credential from a private or professional body. Rules vary by state and employer, and a missing entry on this page does not mean none is required: check with your state's licensing board and see how to become a chiropractor.

Most chiropractors surveyed by O*NET (82%) name a doctoral degree as the education the job requires.

Job title: Chiropractor
[Company] · [City, State] · [Full-time or part-time] · [Pay range, where your state requires one]

About the role
[Company] is hiring a Chiropractor to assess, treat, and care for patients by manipulation of spine and musculoskeletal system.
[One sentence on your team and why this role matters.]

What you will do
- Perform a series of manual adjustments to the spine or other articulations of the body to correct the musculoskeletal system.
- Obtain and record patients' medical histories.
- Diagnose health problems by reviewing patients' health and medical histories, questioning, observing, and examining patients and interpreting x-rays.
- Evaluate the functioning of the neuromuscularskeletal system and the spine using systems of chiropractic diagnosis.
- Maintain accurate case histories of patients.
- Consult with or refer patients to appropriate health practitioners when necessary.
- Advise patients about recommended courses of treatment.
- Counsel patients about nutrition, exercise, sleeping habits, stress management, or other matters.

What we are looking for
- [Education: BLS lists a doctoral or professional degree as typical for this occupation; set the level this role truly needs]
- [Experience: BLS lists no related work experience as typical to enter; set what this role needs]
- Strength in active listening, speaking and social perceptiveness
- Working knowledge of Medicine and Dentistry and Customer and Personal Service
- [Software your team uses, e.g. Microsoft Excel or Microsoft Office software]
- [Any license or certification your state or company requires]

[Schedule, benefits and how to apply]

Illustrative: every name, employer, school, date and number in these samples is fictional or a bracketed placeholder. Replace each bracket with your own true details; never copy a result you did not achieve.

Not a real job posting. This template is TryHired's illustration built from government occupational data. It is not an opening at any employer, and no employer wrote it.

The median annual wage was $79,200 in May 2025. The median hourly wage was $38.08. BLS estimates about 39,630 jobs in this occupation in the U.S.

BLS projects employment of chiropractors to grow 8.7% from 2025 to 2035, with about 2,600 openings a year over that period, including openings to replace workers who leave.

See the full chiropractor salary breakdown by percentile, state and metro.

• Read a real chiropractor posting next to the core duties above. Duties it repeats, such as “Perform a series of manual adjustments to the spine or other…”, tell you what that employer weighs most; anything it adds is specific to that team.
• Tailor your resume to the posting, not to this page: describe only chiropractor work you have actually done, with your own results.
• Prepare a story for each of the top-rated skills (active listening and speaking); chiropractor interview questions turns them into practice questions.