Herbalists
Overview
Introduction
Herbalists are health care professionals who practice healing through the use of herbs. The same term applies to individuals who grow and collect herbs. Herbs are plants or plant parts—roots, bark, leaves, flowers, or berries—that are used for their aromatic, savory, or medicinal qualities. Herbs are sometimes called botanicals. They are the fastest growing category in drugstores because of the public's steadily increasing interest in herbal preparations.
The field of herbalism is expanding and changing rapidly. Prof...
Quick Facts
Median Salary
Employment Prospects
Minimum Education Level
Experience
Skills
Personality Traits
Earnings
Earnings vary according to an herbalist's specialty. For self-employed herbalists, income is usually closely related to the number of hours worked and the rates charged.
Salary.com reports that herbalists earned average salaries of $56,044 in February 2020. Earnings ranged from $46,292 to $69,172 or more.
Glassdoor.com reported the median annual salary f...
Work Environment
Herbalists who specialize in Oriental herbal medicine or naturopathy usually work indoors in clean, quiet, comfortable offices. Since most are in private practice, they define their own surroundings. Private practitioners set their own hours, but many work some evenings and weekends to accommodate their patients' schedules. They usually work without supervision and must have a lot of self-disci...
Outlook
With the American public's rapidly increasing interest in alternative health care and natural health remedies, herbalists will remain in demand in the 21st century. Mainstream magazines and newspapers, television, and the Internet are full of articles and advertisements conveying the virtues and successes of herbal therapies.
Retail sales of herbal supplements have increased dramaticall...
