What are the Different Kinds of Jobs in Pediatrics?

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When it comes to finding a job you love, there’s no straightforward path to happiness. As a mentor once said to me, “My path to my current role was nonlinear, but ultimately, I was able to create a life for myself as a physician that I love.” I felt that this statement nicely summarized what life is like for so many physicians—we’ve worked so hard, should be able to enjoy our careers wholeheartedly!

My First Jobs in Pediatrics

When I was out there applying for jobs in pediatrics, I felt I was ultimately searching for a position that had kind, supportive supervisors, colleagues, and staff. Luckily, I was able to find all of those things at my first position at PM Pediatrics. My experience there was wonderful—my supervising physicians and manager were absolutely fantastic, as were all my colleagues and the staff.

And yet, while it was a great job and I loved the people I worked with, I felt like something was missing. I’d always been passionate about education and mentorship, so I wanted to find a position with teaching opportunities. This led me to my current role precepting medical students at New York Medical College and the Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine. I also have teaching privileges at New York Medical College. I love these roles, and couldn’t be happier now that I’m doing some teaching!

Furthermore, I remain per diem at PM Pediatrics and have the opportunity to work in a fast-paced environment with my wonderful manager/medical director, colleagues, and staff stabilizing acutely ill children, which I enjoy as well.

It took a while for me to find the right combination of jobs in pediatrics, but I eventually did, and now I feel like I’ve built the life I always wanted. And you can, too!

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The 7 Kinds of Jobs in Pediatrics

Now, let’s talk about some of the different jobs in pediatrics that are out there. Do any of the following roles sound like a good fit for you?

1. General Pediatrics

General pediatrics primary care is a common choice. This involves seeing newborns to young adults up to roughly 21 years of age. You’ll follow patients longitudinally and practice preventative medicine, in addition to addressing acute and chronic illnesses. Be ready for lots of bread and butter cases along with more complex ones as well!

If you find fulfillment in treating patients and families over many years and seeing children grow over time, this might be the perfect fit for you.

2. Pediatric Urgent Care Medicine

In urgent care medicine, you see sick patients only. You’ll stabilize acutely ill children and see cases that are often unique to the urgent care setting.

You may be a good fit for urgent care medicine if you like working in fast-paced, high-volume settings, doing procedures, and are efficient. Some emergency medicine trained physicians later work in urgent care.

3. Academic Medicine

Academic pediatrics involves working in an academic center (or being affiliated with an academic center or medical school). It entails mentoring and teaching medical students, as well as producing research and scholarly works.

These settings are well-suited to those who enjoy teaching, working with medical students, and performing research. Often, academic pediatricians have a particular area of interest in their scholarly work. So, for those who are passionate about a particular topic in medicine, this may be a good fit!

4. Newborn Nursery Physicians

These physicians exclusively see patients in the newborn nursery. This would be a great fit for someone who enjoys working with newborns only and speaking to new parents/mothers that have just given birth.

5. Fellowships

There are a variety of fellowships you can pursue after a pediatrics residency, including but not limited to emergency medicine, rheumatology, cardiology, etc.

If you’re particularly interested in one field of medicine and comfortable with a few years of extra training, fellowships are a great choice.

6. Non-clinical Roles

As with any other field in medicine, there are non-clinical roles for pediatricians. These include working with pharmaceutical companies, becoming a medical director or medical liaison, or entering the field of medical education.

Furthermore, you can be a consultant and/or pursue additional education, even becoming a Master in Business Administration (MBA). You can work in the nonprofit sector or travel abroad and work in global health. Plus, if you work in a non-clinical role, you can continue to work part-time in the clinic!

Ultimately, these roles are a great choice for those who have expanded interests beyond medicine.

7. Entrepreneurial Jobs in Pediatrics

Many young physicians also start their own companies, such as for scrubs, private admissions counseling, podcasts, etc. Some have written books, created new devices, or products. Others pursue careers on social media as influencers or thought leaders.

If you’re a creative person or want to develop alternate revenue streams, this might be a good choice for you.

Final Thoughts

My final advice would be to keep searching until you find the right fit for you, and look for jobs that align with your values and passions. Think carefully about what practice setting would be the right fit for you, identify your areas of interest, and pursue them in your job search.

In the end, I was able to find the perfect fit for me when it came to teaching, primary care, and urgent care…but it definitely took some time. Don’t be discouraged and carve the right path for yourself—you deserve to be happy after all the hard work you put in!

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By Sonia Pothraj, MD

Sonia is a board certified general pediatrician and pediatric urgent care physician. She is a passionate tutor and mentor. She has tutored doctors for the General Pediatrics Board Certifying Exam starting in January 2023.

She received the merit-based Rice Trustee Distinguished Scholarship to attend Rice University where she graduated in three years with numerous grants and the Spanish and Portuguese Cervantes Award for outstanding seniors. Sonia was an SAT tutor and college and medical school admissions counselor for a private company for four years, where she enjoyed guiding students. Over 95% of her students received admission to their top choice schools. Sonia received her MD from Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School where she graduated with numerous clinical honors distinctions as well as nominations for Gold Humanism Honor Society and house officer.

Sonia graduated pediatrics residency from Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. She received nominations for resident of the month as a senior resident by the Divisions of Hospitalist Medicine, the Chief of the Division of Emergency Medicine, the Medical Student Clerkship Director, and the class of interns she supervised for her professionalism, leadership skills, and teaching. She also received the David H. Carver Teaching Award upon her residency graduation. In her current role as a general pediatrician, she precepts medical students from Touro College of Middletown and New York Medical College and has a teaching role at New York Medical College. As a pediatric urgent care physician, she also sees patients in a fast-paced setting, and stabilizes acutely ill children. Finally, she volunteers with Breakthrough Collaborative, a program for gifted, underserved students where she mentors pre-med students and keeps in touch with old students she taught years ago as well.