Also called: Hospice Physician
Relieves pain and suffering for people with serious illnesses and helps families make hard decisions.
Meets with a patient with advanced cancer to manage pain, then sits with their family to talk through what matters most. Much of the work is listening. Many say it's the most meaningful job in medicine.
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 12 years after high school. Bachelor's, medical school, a residency, then a 1-year hospice and palliative medicine fellowship.
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). Demand rising quickly as the population ages.
Low risk for 10 years. AI handles paperwork and symptom tracking; sitting with dying patients and families through hard choices stays deeply human.
Classes: AP Biology, Psychology, Chemistry, Philosophy or ethics.
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.