Question
Hi, We have to do a project at school about your dream profession and I chose chiropractor. But I have a few questions, if you'll please be so kind and answer them for me.
1. Do you receive a a good salary (can you maintain a comfortable living)
2. What qualification does one need?
3. What is your opinion on this field of wor? (Strict? difficult or easy to succeed in? time consuming? pressurized? ect)
4. In your opinion, what characteristics does one need to succeed in this field of work?
Thank you for your time :)  

Answer
Thanks for your question.  These are all really great questions that you should consider before choosing a profession.  Keep in mind, I could give you several pages of answers, but the most important thing for you to do right now is research all the types of careers you are interested in so that you can make an informed decision that will make you happy the rest of your life.  Also, ask as many professionals as you can.  Their insight can be very valuable.

1. Do you receive a good salary (can you maintain a comfortable living)?
Salary can vary dramatically.  It can range from substantially less than 搒ix figures?to substantially more than 搒ix figures.? There are a lot of factors that can affect your income.  Chiropractors who make the most money tend to be self-employed with their own practice.  Along with owning your own practice are the drawbacks and benefits of owning your own business.  If you抮e good with money, you will do well financially.  If you抮e not good with money, it will be harder to do well.  There are other factors that affect your financial success, such as where you practice.  You抮e likely to be busier if you practice in an area where there are fewer chiropractors.  Ultimately, it takes time to build a practice and create a name for yourself.  Many patients will not come see you without a referral from a friend or from their doctor.  This being the case, it can take substantial time for you to start initially.  However, once you have built a solid reputation, the referrals come much faster, and the patients you抳e managed well will stick with you over the course of your career.  So initially, the income may be very low, but at some point, you career is likely to take an exponential leap once you reach your 搕ipping point.? Of course, there are variables to all of these things mentioned, but these are the common trends.  There are too many considerations to take into account, so if you抮e interested in the career, the best thing you can do is find a successful chiropractor to mentor you.

2. What qualification does one need?
I noticed you抮e from outside the United States, so I抦 not familiar with your local laws.  In the United States, it generally requires a Bachelor抯 degree for admission to chiropractic school.  Then, the chiropractic program is generally a 4-year program, though there are institutions offering a 3-year accelerated program.  This includes your internship.  Generally, becoming a chiropractor requires about 7-8 years of college.

3. What is your opinion on this field of work? (Strict? difficult or easy to succeed in? time consuming? pressurized?)
As briefly referenced in the first question, most chiropractors consider building your practice the most difficult part.  It takes time (sometimes several years) developing and marketing your name and building a solid reputation.  This commitment that it takes to build your names makes it difficult to move to another community after you抮e established.  It costs money starting your own clinic along with the time commitment.  Additionally, the work is fairly demanding physically.  Chiropractic is a hands-on, manual approach that sometimes requires a small amount of force to adjust the spine.  You also have to lift patients a little bit to assist the adjustment and when their backs go out severely.  These factors place heavy demands on your body.  You may have a doctorate, but be prepared to do a fair amount of manual labor for your work, especially if you have a busy practice.

4. In your opinion, what characteristics does one need to succeed in this field of work?
I personally feel the most important characteristic is being a genuinely good person.  If you sincerely try to help your patients, they will come back and refer their friends and family.  If you are phony or make empty promises, it will cause you to feel empty with your work at the end of the day.  Don抰 go into this profession chasing money.  The process of chasing money as a healthcare provider will negatively change you, and your patients will know your true intentions.  Just take care of your patients as if they are family, and you will do well.  It may take some time, but if you are patient and follow this simple principle, you will succeed no matter where you are.

I hope this helps.  Good luck!
Dr. JR Strecker, DC