Healthcare Practitioners
Anesthesiologists
Also called: Anesthesiologist MD (Anesthesiologist Medical Doctor), Anesthesiology Resident, Attending Anesthesiologist, Cardiothoracic Anesthesiologist
US median pay
$391,490
per year, 2025
Job growth 2025–35
+3.6%
about average or slower
Openings a year (US)
1,100
41,500 employed
Typical entry education
Doctoral or professional degree
Preparation 5/5 · Extensive preparation
What this job is
Administer anesthetics and analgesics for pain management prior to, during, or after surgery.
What they do day to day
- 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.
- Coordinate administration of anesthetics with surgeons during operation.
- Position patient on operating table to maximize patient comfort and surgical accessibility.
- Coordinate and direct work of nurses, medical technicians, and other health care providers.
- Provide and maintain life support and airway management and help prepare patients for emergency surgery.
- Confer with other medical professionals to determine type and method of anesthetic or sedation to render patient insensible to pain.
Skills and knowledge that matter most
Skills
- Judgment and Decision Making4.2/5
- Social Perceptiveness4.0/5
- Complex Problem Solving4.0/5
- Time Management3.9/5
- Operations Monitoring3.6/5
- Service Orientation3.4/5
- Instructing3.4/5
- Coordination3.2/5
Knowledge
- English Language4.8/5
- Biology4.7/5
- Psychology4.7/5
- Mathematics4.5/5
- Customer and Personal Service4.5/5
- Chemistry4.4/5
Importance rated by people working in the job (1 = not important, 5 = extremely important).
Education and preparation
Preparation level 5 of 5 — Extensive preparation. Usually a graduate degree (master's, PhD, MD, JD) and extensive experience.
Typical entry education (BLS): Doctoral or professional degree.
Highest education of people in this job:
- Post-doctoral training69%
- Doctoral degree25%
Who this job suits
Mostly Investigative
Ideas, research and solving problems
Social
Helping, teaching and caring for people
Realistic
Hands-on work with tools, machines, plants or animals
Based on the Holland (RIASEC) interest profile for this occupation.