Also called: Lung Specialist, Pulmonary & Critical Care Physician
Treats lung and breathing diseases like asthma, COPD, and lung cancer.
Reads a CT scan of a smoker's lungs, then guides a flexible scope into an airway to biopsy a spot. Many pulmonologists also cover the ICU, managing patients on ventilators.
BLS top-codes physician pay; estimate for attending physicians after residency/fellowship.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Professional degree (MD, JD, DVM…), about 14 years after high school. Bachelor's, medical school, internal medicine residency, then a 2-3 year pulmonary (often pulmonary-critical care) fellowship.
Ways in: 4-year college, Professional school. Training cost: Over $150k.
Majors to look at: Biology, Biochemistry, Chemistry.
Growing about average. Tracks physicians and surgeons overall (about 3% over 10 years); shortages in many regions.
Low risk for 10 years. AI reads lung CTs and suggests ventilator settings; bronchoscopies, ICU care and hard family talks stay with the doctor.
Classes: AP Biology, AP Chemistry, AP Physics, Anatomy & physiology.
Official data: O*NET occupation 29-1229.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.