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Role hub · Anesthesiologists

Anesthesiologist: what the job is, what it pays, and how to get hired.

The work, the skills that matter, the tools in demand and the pay range, from U.S. government data, plus every TryHired page for the role.

Maid DizdarevicCareer coach · 8x LinkedIn Top Voice
Updated Oct 24, 2026 · Data: BLS OEWS May 2025 · O*NET 31.0
Pay ladder · select a percentile
Median percentile pay

Half of anesthesiologists earn more than this and half earn less.

Annual
$391,490
Hourly
$188.22
Source
BLS May 2025
Quick answer

Anesthesiologists administer anesthetics and analgesics for pain management prior to, during, or after surgery. The median pay is $391,490 a year ($188.22 an hour) (BLS, May 2025). The most commonly reported education requirement is post-doctoral training (69% of workers surveyed by O*NET).

Median pay
$391,490
BLS May 2025
Employed in the U.S.
38,760
BLS May 2025
Preparation
Job Zone 5 of 5
extensive preparation
Most common education
Post-Doctoral Training
69% of workers
Explore the role

Every page for Anesthesiologists

SalaryAnesthesiologist salary

Pay by percentile, state and metro, with a negotiation script.

Open →How to becomeAnesthesiologist how to become

Education, training and the skills to build first.

Open →Career changeAnesthesiologist career change

Where these skills transfer, with skill match and pay change.

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Parsed text, evidence per bullet, fixes first.

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The work

What anesthesiologists do day to day

Data Core tasks rated most important by workers in the role (O*NET).

  1. Examine patient, obtain medical history, and use diagnostic tests to determine risk during surgical, obstetrical, and other medical procedures.
  2. Administer anesthetic or sedation during medical procedures, using local, intravenous, spinal, or caudal methods.
  3. Record type and amount of anesthesia and patient condition throughout procedure.
  4. Monitor patient before, during, and after anesthesia and counteract adverse reactions or complications.
  5. Decide when patients have recovered or stabilized enough to be sent to another room or ward or to be sent home following outpatient surgery.
  6. Coordinate administration of anesthetics with surgeons during operation.
  7. Position patient on operating table to maximize patient comfort and surgical accessibility.
  8. Coordinate and direct work of nurses, medical technicians, and other health care providers.
Skills that matter

Ranked by importance to the job

Data O*NET importance ratings. The first three are core.

Critical ThinkingcoreJudgment and Decision MakingcoreReading ComprehensioncoreMonitoringSocial PerceptivenessComplex Problem SolvingActive ListeningWritingSpeaking

Knowledge areas: English Language, Biology, Psychology, Mathematics, Customer and Personal Service, Chemistry.

Tools and technology

Software anesthesiologists use

Data Examples reported for the role; employer demand flags from O*NET.

  • Epic SystemsMedical softwareIn demand
  • MEDITECH softwareMedical softwareHot technology
  • AetherPalm InfusiCalcMedical software
  • Anesthesia machine softwareMedical software
  • Drug database softwareMedical software
  • EDImis Anesthesia ManagerMedical software
  • Electronic medical record EMR softwareMedical software
  • Healthpac Medical BillingBilling and invoicing software
  • Medical calculator softwareMedical software
  • Skyscape 5-Minute Clinical ConsultMedical software
  • Skyscape AnesthesiaDrugsMedical software
  • Microsoft AccessData base user interface and query softwareHot technology

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

Method

How this page is built

Tasks, skills, tools, education and related roles come from O*NET 31.0. Pay and employment come from the BLS OEWS May 2025 national estimates. The skill-match score is our calculation: Skill match is the correlation between the two occupations' skill profiles: for each of 35 O*NET skills (10 essential, 25 transferable) we multiply importance by level, subtract the average across all occupations, and correlate the two profiles. 100 means identical shape; 0 or below means unrelated. Only occupations that O*NET itself lists as related are compared.

What this page can't tell you
  • How a specific employer defines the job.
  • Pay for self-employed workers (OEWS covers employees).
  • Your own chances: data describes the occupation, not you.
Sources
  1. O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. TryHired selected, ranked and combined the data; O*NET is not responsible for these pages.
  2. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 estimates (public domain).