Allergist

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Work Tasks

• Examine, evaluate, and identify problems involving the immune system
• Treat diseases having to do with difficulty breathing, such as sinusitis, asthma, and lung diseases
• Treat people with eye allergies and skin diseases
• Treat allergic reactions to drugs, vaccines, medications, and certain foods and insect stings
• Work in private practice or for hospitals and clinics, health maintenance organizations, medical schools, the government, and industry
• Work with thermometers, stethoscopes, and other medical instruments, x-rays and lab tests, medical histories, reports, and prescriptions for medicine

Salary, Size & Growth

• $219,000 average per year ($105.25 per hour)
• A medium occupation (50,100 workers in 2010)
• Expected to grow rapidly (2.2% per year)

Education/Training

• Minimum for Entry: A 4-year degree, including 4 years of undergraduate school, 4 years of medical school, 3 to 7 years residency in internal medicine or pediatrics, followed by a two-year fellowship in allergy-immunology
• Skills/Courses: College courses include allergy/immunology as a subspecialty of internal medicine.
• Certification/Licensing: Allergists must be board certified.