A starting salary for an anesthesiologist depends on a variety of factors including the region where you intend to practice and your medical school, training program and years of experience. Join us to make a difference in the lives of every patient.
Physician and resident compensation is largely determined by specialty, location and years of experience. Several factors are at play in determining anesthesiologist starting salary, as well as how much they earn throughout their career.
The median starting salary for anesthesiologists is around $235,000 annually. It’s important to note that 95% of all anesthesiologist careers take place in the private sector. The position also comes with a full benefits package and comprehensive retirement plan.
Starting Salary For An Anesthesiologist Overview
If you’re thinking about becoming an anesthesiologist, you might be curious about what your salary will look like.
Anesthesiologists are paid well, especially considering the level of education required to become one. The average starting salary for anesthesiologists is around $200,000 per year—which is more than double the median household income in the United States!
The highest-paid anesthesiologists are able to earn as much as $400,000 per year (and sometimes more). That’s because high-paid anesthesiologists tend to work in highly specialized areas such as obstetrics and surgery.
Becoming an anesthesiologist assistant can also be a rewarding career path, but it doesn’t pay quite as well at first. Anesthesia technicians typically earn around $40,000 per year when they start out; this number can increase quickly with experience and additional training.
Anesthesiologist Job Description
Some anesthesiologists administer epidurals or local anesthetics to patients who are awake. Most, however, work exclusively in an operating room. The job of an anesthesiologist begins long before the patient arrives. The day before surgery, an anesthesiologist begins reviewing patient records. The patient may even be contacted by the anesthesiologist to review preparation instructions. The day of surgery, an anesthesiologist meets with patients to discuss the anesthesia and provide reassurance. In addition to administering anesthesia, the anesthesiologist constantly monitors vital signs to ensure the patient is tolerating the surgery. It is the anesthesiologist who is responsible for detecting an emergency during surgery and intervening with life-saving measures, if necessary
Average Anesthesiologist Salary
According to Medscape, the average anesthesiologist salary in 2020 was $398,000.
Yet, when you compare that with the data from the most recent information on the Bureau of Labor Statistics website, there is a significant gap.
According to bls.gov, anesthesiologists’ mean annual wage is only $261,730.
Does this jump in salary for an anesthesiologist cause you some skepticism about the Medscape survey’s accuracy?
Hopefully, you’ll feel more confident when you look at the numbers from other sources.
According to Salary.com, anesthesiologists can make anywhere between $294,328 to $496,263, with the median salary being $395,200. Many other career trend websites have similar numbers.
The Medscape survey reported that 60% of anesthesiologists feel fairly compensated. 89% would stick with their choice of specialty if they could choose again.
This is good news for those who want to become an anesthesiologist. All in all, they are physicians that are reasonably content in their career. (Though, that doesn’t mean that an anesthesiologist can’t improve their situation.
Factors That Affect an Anesthesiologist Salary
An anesthesiologist may be able to review their current situation and make some adjustments that could significantly influence their base salary.
Below are the factors that can affect how much an anesthesiologist makes.
Years of Experience
In early anesthesiology, a resident will earn $63,300 in their first year, according to Medscape’s 2020 Resident Salary and Debt Report.
With each completed year of residency, the salary will increase slightly.
According to compensation data from Payscale.com, anesthesiologists steadily earn more as they gain experience in the field.
The national average salary of an entry-level anesthesiologist is $289,000. After gaining five years of experience, the average salary of an anesthesiologist jumps to $301,000.
An anesthesiologist with over ten years of experience can expect to earn $326,000. An anesthesiologist with more than two decades of experience can earn $337,000 or more.
The average pay of anesthesiologists increases with experience. However, the final numbers are also heavily dependent on location and practice type.
Location
As with all medical positions, the cost of living and demand comes into play when determining an anesthesiologist’s expected earnings. However, specific locations pay a higher wage.
According to the ZipRecruiter, some of the top-paying states for anesthesiologist jobs are:
- Wyoming, averaging $375,867
- Arizona, averaging $350,535
- New York, averaging $343,451
- Ohio, averaging $330,678
- Oklahoma, averaging $298,294
These statistics also show that the lowest-paying states for anesthesiologist jobs are:
- Pennsylvania, averaging $293,495
- Texas, averaging $281,936
- North Carolina, averaging $261,818
Middle-earning states include Alabama, Florida, Maine, Michigan, and New Jersey.
