Also called: Surgeon
Operates on the abdomen, skin, and soft tissue: appendixes, gallbladders, hernias, trauma, and cancers.
Scrubs in at 7 a.m. for a gallbladder removal through tiny camera incisions, then a hernia repair. Afternoons are clinic visits with patients before and after surgery. When on call, may be woken at 2 a.m. for a burst appendix.
BLS top-codes many physician wages; figures are estimates for attending physicians after residency (residents earn about $65k-$80k while training).
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Professional degree (MD, JD, DVM…), about 13 years after high school. Bachelor's, medical school, then a 5-year surgical residency.
Ways in: 4-year college, Professional school. Training cost: Over $150k.
Majors to look at: Biology, Chemistry, Biochemistry, Neuroscience, Pre-Medicine.
Growing about average (about 3% over 10 years).
Low risk for 10 years. Surgical robots and AI imaging assist, but the surgeon still decides and operates; robots extend hands rather than replacing them.
Classes: AP Biology, AP Chemistry, Anatomy & physiology, Art or sculpture (hand skills).
Official data: O*NET occupation 29-1249.
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.