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Dermatologist: what the job actually is

A physician who diagnoses and treats conditions of the skin, hair and nails, in clinic and sometimes with small procedures.

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Dermatologist: quick facts

Dermatologist salary in Ontario: Job Bank reports one figure for the whole group of specialists in clinical and laboratory medicine, not for dermatologist alone. For that group the median pay is $295,785 a year (reference period 2023-2024). The group's three-year outlook in Ontario is good. The job usually needs a university degree.

Median pay in Ontario
$295,785 a year
Pay range (low to high)
$110,998 to $599,836 a year
Job outlook, 2025-2027
Good
People working in it in Ontario
14,650
Usually needs
Usually a university degree

Source: Job Bank wages (updated 19 November 2025) and job prospects (updated 10 December 2025), NOC 31100. Pay varies by region and experience.

The work

What this job actually is

  • A medical doctor who specialises in the skin, and in hair and nails. You look, you ask, you examine closely, and you decide whether something is harmless, treatable or needs urgent action.
  • A lot of the diagnosis is visual. You build a trained eye for what a mark looks like, how it is shaped, where it sits and how it has changed, and you pair that with the story the patient tells you.
  • The work mixes medicine and small procedures. Some visits end with a prescription, and some with a minor procedure done in the room.
  • Job Bank reports one pay figure and one outlook for all specialists in clinical and laboratory medicine, not for dermatology alone. The pay on this page is the figure for that whole group.
  • Skin is also what people see about each other, so some of your patients are more worried about how a condition looks than how it feels. Taking that seriously is part of the job.

A Tuesday

What a normal day looks like

Not a good day or a bad one. The ordinary version, which is what you would actually be living.

  1. 8:15 — Review the day's patients. Several are follow-ups, some are new referrals from family doctors.
  2. 8:30 — A new patient with a mark that worries them. You examine it under bright light, magnified, and take your time before you say anything.
  3. 9:15 — A teenager with a skin condition that has made them avoid photographs. You make the plan together, including what to expect and when.
  4. 10:00 — A minor procedure in the room. You explain each step, numb the area and finish quickly and neatly.
  5. 11:00 — Review of someone on a long-term treatment. You check whether it is helping and whether the side effects are acceptable.
  6. 12:15 — Lunch, with the results of a biopsy to read and a letter to write.
  7. 13:30 — Afternoon clinic, with a full schedule of short appointments. Many look similar, and you stay alert for the one that is not.
  8. 15:30 — A call from a family doctor with a photo of a rash and a question you answer as best you can without seeing the person.
  9. 16:45 — Charts and letters.
  10. 17:30 — Home. You will never again look at a stranger's face without noticing their skin.

Honestly

Who loves this, and who should not do it

The second list is the useful one. Nearly every careers page leaves it out, which is why nearly every careers page reads like an advert.

You may like this if
  • You have a good eye for pattern and detail, and you like comparing what you see with what you know.
  • You like medicine you can often do in a clinic, with a mix of talking, looking and small procedures.
  • You are comfortable discussing how a condition looks as well as how it feels.
  • You like seeing the same patients return over months and watching a treatment work, or not.
  • You can make a worried person feel looked at carefully, in a short appointment.
You may hate this if
  • You want a short route. After a bachelor's degree and medical school, Job Bank gives four to five years of specialty residency for this group, and two more years of subspecialty training may be needed.
  • You dislike repetition. Many appointments are for common conditions, and a day can feel like the same few questions asked again.
  • You cannot bear a missed diagnosis. Most marks are harmless, and the one that is not looks a lot like the ones that are.
  • You dislike having to manage expectations. Some conditions do not clear completely, and some patients hoped for more.
  • You do not like waiting lists. People often wait a long time to see a specialist, and some arrive frustrated before you have said a word.
  • You are squeamish about close examination of skin, including skin that is broken, infected or painful.

The route in

How you actually get there in Ontario

  1. Earn a degree and get into medical school

    Job Bank says a bachelor's degree is usually required, then graduation from an approved medical school. Each school sets its own requirements, so read them. Our family physician page lists the Ontario medical schools.

  2. Match into a dermatology residency

    Job Bank gives four to five years of specialty residency for specialists in clinical and laboratory medicine, and says two more years of subspecialty training may be required. We did not read dermatology's own residency page or how places are given out, so ask a medical school and do not assume.

  3. Pass the Royal College examinations

    Job Bank says the certifying examinations of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada are required. The CPSO also asks for the Medical Council of Canada Qualifying Examination, Parts 1 and 2.

  4. Get licensed by the CPSO and choose where to work

    Licensing by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario is compulsory. Job Bank says demand for this group may be greater in rural and northern communities of Ontario, so where you practise is a real choice.

Where this comes from: Job Bank — Specialists in clinical and laboratory medicine, requirements in Ontario · CPSO — Independent practice certificate requirements

The money

Dermatologist salary in Ontario

Job Bank's own figures, quoted rather than summarised, with the period they describe — so you can tell how old they are and go and check them.

$110,998
Low (a year)
$295,785
Median (a year)
$599,836
High (a year)

Ontario, NOC 31100. Reference period 2023-2024, last updated by Job Bank on 19 November 2025. Wages vary a lot by region inside Ontario and by how long you have been doing it — the low figure is roughly where you start, not what the job is worth. Job Bank reports this one by the year rather than by the hour, because the income is commission and the hours behind it are nothing like fixed.

Source: Job Bank — Dermatologist wages in Ontario

Where it is heading

The outlook for the next three years

Job Bank publishes a three-year outlook for every job in every province. It is the closest thing to an honest forecast, and it moves, so read it as a weather report rather than a verdict.

Ontario, 2025-2027

Good4 out of 5 stars

  • Employment growth will lead to a moderate number of new positions.
  • A moderate number of positions will become available due to retirements.
  • There are a small number of unemployed workers with recent experience in this occupation.

What that rating means: how many openings Job Bank expects in Ontario for this kind of work against how many people are likely to be looking — not whether it is a good job. A “limited” rating means more competition for each opening; it does not close the door, and it can change before you are ready to walk through it.

What is changing in this work

  • Increased need for health-related services to support the growing and aging population in Ontario
  • Greater demand on the health care system because of the backlog of medical procedures and patient care needs
  • Major investments in health care facilities
  • Initiatives to improve home and community-based patient care services
  • Demand may be greater in rural and northern communities of Ontario

Who hires for it

  • Hospitals
  • Offices of physicians
  • Almost 60% of specialists in clinical and laboratory medicine are self-employed
14,650
people work in this job in Ontario
43%
are women (48% across all jobs)
59%
are self-employed (15% across all jobs)

Source: Job Bank — Specialists in clinical and laboratory medicine job prospects in Ontario (NOC 31100). Outlook updated by Job Bank on 10 December 2025; read by us on 5 October 2026.

Before you leave school

Things you can do now

  • Take senior biology and chemistry and keep your marks strong. Every step on this route asks for them.
  • Practise describing what you see in exact words: colour, shape, edge, size, surface. Dermatology starts with a vocabulary for looking.
  • Take a first-aid course, and learn what an infected wound looks like and when to get help.
  • Read the admission requirements of one Ontario medical school so you know what your university years need to include.

Test it

Do this before you decide anything

Reading about a job tells you almost nothing. This is designed to be done alone, this week, for free.

Describe a surface so someone else could picture it

About 45 minutes
  1. Pick three natural surfaces, for example a leaf, a piece of bark and a stone. Do not use your own or anyone else's skin, and do not try to diagnose anything on a person.
  2. Describe each with a fixed set of words: colour, shape, edge, size, surface, pattern. Write exactly two sentences per object and no more.
  3. Swap in a friend, or read them aloud to yourself later, and see whether someone could pick the object out from your words alone.
  4. Open the Job Bank requirements page for specialists in clinical and laboratory medicine and write the route in order.

What it tells you. If you enjoyed the discipline of looking closely and putting it into exact words, and the length of the route still looked acceptable, dermatology is a real direction and the science and grades are the next step. If it felt dry, or you wanted more of the patient's whole story, family medicine or another specialty may fit better.

Better than any article

Questions for somebody who does this job

Most people say yes to a teenager who asks good questions. These are the ones that get real answers rather than encouragement.

  1. “How much of your day is common conditions and how much is the rare, difficult case?”
  2. “How do you decide a mark is harmless?”
  3. “How do you talk to a patient who is upset about how something looks?”
  4. “What do you wish people knew before they came to see you?”
  5. “What made you choose dermatology over another specialty?”
  6. “What would you tell a student about the length and cost of the training?”

Could you own one of these?

The part other career sites never mention

Often, yes. Job Bank says a large share of specialists in this group are self-employed, and many specialists in clinical medicine work in private practice or in hospitals. Ask a dermatologist how their clinic is set up and what it asks of them.

Business 101 is free and teaches that part

Quick answers

Questions people ask about this job

How much does a dermatologist make in Ontario?

Job Bank reports one figure for the whole group of specialists in clinical and laboratory medicine, not for a dermatologist alone. For that group the median pay is $295,785 a year (reference period 2023-2024, updated 19 November 2025). The range Job Bank publishes runs from $110,998 to $599,836 a year. Pay varies by region, employer and experience.

What is the job outlook for a dermatologist in Ontario?

Job Bank rates the employment outlook for this work in Ontario as good for 2025-2027 (updated 10 December 2025). Employment growth will lead to a moderate number of new positions. A moderate number of positions will become available due to retirements. There are a small number of unemployed workers with recent experience in this occupation. A lower rating means more competition for each opening, not that no one is hiring.

What do you need to become a dermatologist in Ontario?

Job Bank says this work usually needs a university degree. The usual route in Ontario, in order: Earn a degree and get into medical school; Match into a dermatology residency; Pass the Royal College examinations.

Where does a dermatologist work in Ontario?

Hospitals. Offices of physicians. Almost 60% of specialists in clinical and laboratory medicine are self-employed. (Job Bank.)

How many people work as a dermatologist in Ontario, and how many are women?

Job Bank counts about 14,650 people working in this job in Ontario. 43% of them are women, compared with 48% across all jobs. That describes who does the work today, not who can.

Health careers in Ontario: outlook and pay What can you do with your degree?

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Wages and training requirements change. Every figure on this page is linked to the body that publishes it, and the review date above says when we last checked. If you find something out of date, tell us and we will fix it.