Also called: Hand & Upper Extremity Surgeon
Repairs injured hands, wrists, and arms, including reattaching fingers.
Uses a microscope to sew together nerves and blood vessels thinner than a thread to reattach a severed finger, then fixes a carpal tunnel case and a broken wrist.
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, residency in orthopedics, plastic, or general surgery, then a 1-year hand 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. Microsurgery on nerves and vessels thinner than a thread relies on human skill; AI mostly helps with imaging and planning.
Classes: AP Biology, Anatomy & physiology, AP Chemistry, Studio art or model building.
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.