Many in the United States don't agree on the merits and/or dangers of acupuncture. To some, it's a time-proven wonder world of minimally invasive pain relief. To others, it's a bunch of unwitting charlatans ignoring modern science. Because of this divide, the qualifications required of those wishing to practice acupuncture legally (and not in some seedy back-alley clinic) vary wildly from state to state. If you don't know how your state reacts to acupuncture, there are plenty of guides online to, er, guide you.

Typically speaking, an employable needle wizard is looking at a bare minimum of an undergraduate degree, four digits worth of apprentice hours, and some form of exam given by one of the three major licensing regulators in the country. (Those are the ACAOM, CCAOM, and NCCAOM, if you were curious.)

To give you an example of what could be required, and the differences involved, here's a snapshot of the requirements in California (source):

• Eighteen years old
    
• Sixty credit hours of undergraduate studies focusing on the sciences
    
• Graduation from a California Acupuncture Board approved post-graduate school
    
• 3,000 hours of work divided into specific subsections of theory, basic sciences, herb usage, diagnosis, public health, clinical practice, and others
    
• The completion of an exam given by the California Acupuncture Board

Now compare that to this snapshot of Alaska (source):

• Twenty-one years old and of "good moral character" (people who thought Jar Jar Binks was a good idea need not apply)
    
• Completion of a program following the guidelines of the National Council of Acupuncture Schools and Colleges 
    
• Completion of an exam given by NCCAOM

As you've likely noticed by comparing these, you're going to need to do a lot of personal research before getting too deep into planning your personal path to professional needlehood.

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