Paediatrics
Last updated · Confirm dates, fees and eligibility on the official website before you apply.
strong private practice
- Route in
- Typically Doctor of Medicine (MD). 1 course lead here
- Where you work
- Multi-specialty and corporate hospitals, Medical colleges, Government health services, Research institutes
What the work involves
Day to day
Treating children from newborns to adolescents, which means diagnosing patients who often cannot describe their symptoms. Alongside illness, a large part of the job is growth monitoring, immunisation and reassuring parents. Neonatal and paediatric intensive care are demanding sub-areas within it.
Who this suits
Fit
People who are genuinely good with children and, just as importantly, with anxious parents. You need patience and an ability to read non-verbal cues. Much of the consultation is spent managing the family, not only the patient.
The honest reality
Read this one
Emotionally the hardest speciality for many doctors, because a child doing badly affects you differently. Consultation fees are typically lower than adult specialities in private practice, and parents expect long appointments. Night calls are frequent, since childhood illness escalates quickly.
The route in, step by step
6 steps from where you are now.
MBBS, internship and registration Required
Five and a half years, then permanent registration.
Clear NEET PG Required
Paediatrics is a popular branch and closes at competitive ranks.
MD Paediatrics Required
Three years. Neonatology, paediatric intensive care, growth and development, immunisation and childhood infections. Communication with frightened parents is as much of the job as the medicine.
Senior residency Required
Three years of supervised independent practice.
Practise Required
Hospital consultant or private clinic. Paediatrics supports independent practice better than most specialities, because families return for years.
Super-speciality through NEET SS Optional
DM in neonatology, paediatric cardiology, paediatric neurology or paediatric intensive care. Three years.
Courses that lead here
1 mapped route into this career.
The roles this becomes
2 lanes out of the same starting point.
Common questions
The ones people actually ask about this work.
What qualification do you need to become a Paediatrics?
The earliest entry point is postgraduate level.
Where does a Paediatrics usually work?
Multi-specialty and corporate hospitals, Medical colleges, Government health services, Research institutes.
What does a Paediatrics earn to start?
80,000 - 300,000+ per month is a typical entry-level range. Pay varies with employer, city and sector.
Does a Paediatrics need a licence or registration?
MANDATORY: registration with the State Medical Council / NMC before practising.
Test this against your own priorities
Pay, hours and entry route matter differently to different people. Compare this against the alternative you are actually weighing, rather than against the average.