1. Home: Explore careers
  2. Podiatrist

Podiatrist

Alternative titles for this job include Chiropodist

Podiatrists diagnose and treat foot and ankle problems, improving people's mobility and quality of life.

Average salary (a year)

£25,655 Starter

to

£39,027 Experienced

Typical hours (a week)

38 to 40 a week

You could work

weekends

How to become

Explore the different ways to get into this role.

How to become a podiatrist

You can get into this job through:

  • a university course
  • an apprenticeship
  • working towards this role

University

You'll need to complete a degree in podiatry approved by the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC).

If you already have a degree in a healthcare or science related subject, you can apply for an accelerated degree in podiatry.

You may be able to get additional student financial support through the NHS Learning Support Fund.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • 2 or 3 A levels, or equivalent, including biology for a degree

More Information

Apprenticeship

You can get into this role through a podiatrist degree apprenticeship.

This typically takes 4 years to complete as a mix of workplace learning and academic study at an approved university.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • 2 to 3 A levels, or equivalent, preferably including biology, for a degree apprenticeship

More Information

Work

You could work as a podiatry assistant and study part-time for a degree to qualify as a podiatrist.

Volunteering

You'll find it helpful to get some paid or voluntary experience in the health or care sector before you apply for a course.

You could contact the voluntary services co-ordinator at your local NHS trust for further advice.

More Information

Registration

Professional and industry bodies

You may find it useful to join organisations for professional development and networking opportunities, like:

Further information

You can find out more about careers in this area from Careers in Podiatry.

What it takes

Find out what skills you’ll use in this role.

What it takes

Skills and knowledge

You'll need:

  • knowledge of medicine and how the body works
  • customer service skills
  • thinking and reasoning skills
  • to be thorough and pay attention to detail
  • the ability to learn through your work
  • sensitivity and understanding
  • active listening skills
  • the ability to use your initiative
  • to be able to carry out basic tasks on a computer or hand-held device

Restrictions and Requirements

You'll need to:

What you’ll do

Discover the day to day tasks you’ll do in this role.

What you'll do

Day-to-day tasks

As part of your day-to-day tasks, you could:

  • assess patients feet and lower limbs and diagnose conditions
  • discuss treatment options with patients
  • diagnose and treat sports or dance injuries
  • talk to individual patients about foot health, or give talks to groups
  • share information with other health professionals like GPs
  • carry out treatments and minor surgery using scalpels, chemicals and local anaesthetics
  • screen children for foot problems
  • do admin like keeping patient records, managing appointments and ordering supplies
  • supervise assistants

Working environment

You could work at a GP practice, at a client's home, at a health centre or in an NHS or private hospital.

You may need to wear a uniform.

Career path and progression

Look at progression in this role and similar opportunities.

Career path and progression

You could focus on a specialist area like sports injuries or working with children.

You could join a professional body to get access to training in areas like nail surgery, diabetes and wound care.

You could set up your own practice. Some people combine this with part-time working in the NHS.

You could study for a Master's (MSc) or PhD and move into research or teaching.

Current opportunities

Find apprenticeships, courses and jobs available near you.

Current opportunities

Apprenticeships In England

We can't find any apprenticeship vacancies in England for a podiatrist right now.

The Find an apprenticeship service can help you with your search, send alerts when new apprenticeships become available and has advice on how to apply.

Courses In England

BSc (Hons) Podiatry

  • Provider: NEW COLLEGE DURHAM
  • Start date: 05 September 2022
  • Location: Durham

Access to HE Diploma: Health Science

  • Provider: UNIVERSITY OF DERBY
  • Start date: 06 September 2022
  • Location: Derby
Find courses near you

Jobs In the United Kingdom

The Find a job service can help you with your search for jobs and send alerts when new jobs become available.

Search further careers

Related careers

Skills assessment

Take an assessment to learn more about your skills and the careers that might suit you.

Speak to an adviser

Call 0800 100 900 or use webchat

  • 8am - 8pm Monday - Friday
  • 10am - 5pm Saturday

Is this page useful?

Yes No

Thank you for your feedback.

Thank you for your feedback. Click here if you'd like to let us know how we can improve the service.