Healthcare
Acupuncturists
Diagnose, treat, and prevent disorders by stimulating specific acupuncture points within the body using acupuncture needles. May also use cups, nutritional supplements, therapeutic massage, acupressure, and other alternative health therapies.
Median salary (BLS)
$76,040
10th–90th percentile (BLS)
$39k – $161k
Job outlook
+7% (faster than average)
AI exposure
Early-career check: graduates of the matching programs below typically earn $93,000 ten years after starting college — an early-career figure, vs. the all-experience BLS median above. Source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard.
Plan a path to Acupuncturists
Education
Typical entry: Master's degree
Plan my path to this →Typical progression
Junior Acupuncturists
Entry / Junior
$38,830
~2 yrs to advance
Acupuncturists
Established
$76,040
~3 yrs to advance
Senior Acupuncturists
Senior
$118,755
Key skills
A typical day
- •Maintain and follow standard quality, safety, environmental, and infection control policies and procedures.
- •Treat patients using tools, such as needles, cups, ear balls, seeds, pellets, or nutritional supplements.
- •Adhere to local, state, and federal laws, regulations, and statutes.
- •Identify correct anatomical and proportional point locations based on patients' anatomy and positions, contraindications, and precautions related to treatments, such as intradermal needles, moxibustion, electricity, guasha, or bleeding.
- •Develop individual treatment plans and strategies.
Fields of study
Any field
Top colleges for Healthcare
Explore all- Johns Hopkins University7% admit · $93,000 grad pay
- Harvard University4% admit · $119,000 grad pay
- University of Michigan18% admit · $87,000 grad pay
- Duke University6% admit · $105,000 grad pay
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill19% admit · $73,000 grad pay
Reputation-based selection; stats shown are outcome data per school.