Healthcare Practitioners and Technical · Holland code ISR

Anesthesiologists

Administer anesthetics and analgesics for pain management prior to, during, or after surgery.

Also called: Anesthesiologist MD (Anesthesiologist Medical Doctor), Anesthesiology Resident, Pediatric Anesthesiologist, Physician, Attending Anesthesiologist, Cardiothoracic Anesthesiologist, Critical Care Anesthesiologist, Medical Doctor (MD).

O*NET 29-1211.00

At a glance

US median annual pay: $391,490; Middle half earn $207,000 to $490,530. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Most common education: Post-Doctoral Training; 69% of workers surveyed by O*NET report this level.
Preparation needed: Job Zone 5 of 5; Extensive preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.

What the work involves

The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.

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.

Skills and knowledge it leans on

Skills

Critical Thinking4.6 / 5
Reading Comprehension4.1 / 5
Monitoring4.1 / 5
Active Listening4.0 / 5
Writing4.0 / 5
Speaking4.0 / 5

Knowledge areas

Medicine and Dentistry5.0 / 5
English Language4.8 / 5
Biology4.7 / 5
Psychology4.7 / 5
Mathematics4.5 / 5
Customer and Personal Service4.5 / 5

Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.

Who tends to enjoy it

How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.

Realistic70
Investigative79
Artistic3
Social71
Enterprising25
Conventional45

The same work abroad

Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.

European occupation titles (ESCO)

specialised doctor · DE Facharzt/Fachärztin · FR médecin spécialiste
anaesthetic technician · DE Anästhesietechnischer Assistent/Anästhesietechnische Assistentin · FR infirmier anesthésiste/infirmière anesthésiste

Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)

Specialist medical practitioners and consultants (2212)154,900 employed
Health associate professionals n.e.c. (3219)36,300 employed
Generalist medical practitioners (2211)197,900 employed

Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.

Japan

Japan classifies jobs in its own way. The closest category that names the same work is “医師”, which may be narrower or broader than this occupation.

Median monthly pay: ¥971,300; Middle half earn ¥666,600 to ¥1,338,000 a month.
Workers in the category: 145,170; Regular employees in firms of ten or more.

Scheduled monthly pay before tax, excluding overtime and bonuses, so it is not comparable to the annual figures above. Source: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Basic Survey on Wage Structure 2025, via e-Stat, under the Japanese Government Standard Terms of Use. The category match was made by hand.

Pay across Europe, for the whole group

Median annual earnings of all employees in “Professionals”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.

Median annual earnings, Professionals, by country
Country	Median pay
Belgium	€61,714
Germany	€59,529
Ireland	€56,877
Austria	€55,374
Netherlands	€53,595
Sweden	€43,567
France	€41,515
Spain	€35,735
Italy	€33,649
Portugal	€26,072
Poland	€14,380

Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.

Is it a fit for you?

Interest is one input, alongside ability, pay and what is hiring near you. The career interests test takes about thirteen minutes and ranks occupations by how closely their profile matches yours.

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