hi - I am not a pediatric cardiologist, but some of my best friends are....
Pedi card is a specialty of pediatrics and therefore one enters a fellowship in it after completing 3 years of pediatric residency. In general, like other pediatric fellowships, one applies for it during your second year of residency. There is no match, but you will interview, etc for programs.
Pedi cardiology is largely based within the academic pediatric community. That means that most pediatric cardiologists work for medical schools as faculty rather than strictly being in private practice. As such, the salary, although reasonable for a specialist, is not as high as in some specialties and not nearly as high, for example, as a cardio-thoracic surgeon.
Most of a pedi cardiologists life is spent dealing with children who have congenital heart disease. This includes inpatient care, outpatient management and pre-and post-op management related to repair of the defects. There are some pedi cardiologists who become experts in particular types of problems such as arrhythmias.
Pedi card can be very rewarding in terms of watching very ill patients get better. It is a very complex and rapidly changing field. It can be somewhat competitive to get into the best programs. Increasing numbers of pedi cardiologists are engaged in both basic science and clinical research as this is a part of the fellowship training.
Good luck
"oldbear"
