Vocational Index

Career

Anesthesiologists

Keep patients safe and pain-free through surgery.

$391,490
Median pay
+3.6%
Job growth, 2025–35
1,100
Openings a year
Doctoral or professional degree
Typical education
7–8 years
Typical time after high school

Here's what you actually need to know.

The work

What people in this job do

  • Examine patient, obtain medical history, and use diagnostic tests to determine risk during surgical, obstetrical, and other medical procedures.
  • Administer anesthetic or sedation during medical procedures, using local, intravenous, spinal, or caudal methods.
  • Record type and amount of anesthesia and patient condition throughout procedure.
  • Monitor patient before, during, and after anesthesia and counteract adverse reactions or complications.
  • Decide when patients have recovered or stabilized enough to be sent to another room or ward or to be sent home following outpatient surgery.

The outlook

How the forecast changed this year

2024–34 edition+3.2%2025–35 edition+3.6%
Projected 10-year growth in last year's and this year's BLS projections. 1,300 → 1,100 openings a year.

The deeper question

What kind of person does this path ask you to become?

What this work centers on

Ideas & analysis
5.7
People & care
5.2
Objects & tools
5.2
Information & systems
3.7
Persuasion & leadership
2.5
Creation & expression
1.2

O*NET interest profile, scored 1–7.

The work

Do you want most of your days spent on ideas & analysis, then people & care?

Responsibility

Are you willing to be the one responsible for this?

“Examine patient, obtain medical history, and use diagnostic tests to determine risk during surgical, obstetrical, and other medical procedures.”

Development

What would you need to build over the next 5–10 years?

Critical Thinking, Judgment and Decision Making, Reading Comprehension, Monitoring.

Trade-offs

What does it ask of you in exchange?

7–8 years of education after high school (doctoral or professional degree), for a median of $391,490 a year and 1,100 openings nationally each year.

Paths in

Degrees that lead here

  • MedicineCIP 51.1201
  • Osteopathic Medicine/OsteopathyCIP 51.1202
  • Emergency Medicine/Anesthesiology Combined Specialty ProgramCIP 61.0103
  • Internal Medicine/Anesthesiology Combined Specialty ProgramCIP 61.0108
  • Pediatrics/Anesthesiology Combined Specialty ProgramCIP 61.0119
  • Anesthesiology Residency ProgramCIP 61.0401

Paths across

Careers that use similar skills

Ask anything about this career.

“Would this make sense if I don't want to sit at a desk all day?” Answers will come from the sources on this page, with citations. Coming soon.

Not sure this fits who you are? Start with Vocational Finder →

Sources

  1. BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
  2. BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34 (archived), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
  3. O*NET 31.0 Database (August 2026), National Center for O*NET Development / U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
  4. CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 Crosswalk, NCES and BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-01.