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Medicine

Instructional content is defined in code 51.1201.

Types of Degrees Medicine Majors Are Earning

Students pursuing Medicine have the option of earning degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Master’s Degree	35
Doctor’s Degree	29,702

What Medicine Majors Need to Know

Coursework for Medicine develop a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that Medicine graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

According to O*NET, a major in Medicine emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• Medicine and Dentistry — Importance 4.9 / 5; level 6.3 / 7.
• Biology — Importance 4.4 / 5; level 5.1 / 7.
• English Language — Importance 4.3 / 5; level 4.8 / 7.
• Psychology — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 5.1 / 7.
• Customer and Personal Service — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 5.0 / 7.

^{Importance is rated 1–5; level is 1–7. Source: ONET Online — weighted across related occupations.*}

Skills

Skills emphasized by a Medicine program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Critical Thinking — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.
• Reading Comprehension — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 5.1 / 7.
• Active Listening — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• Judgment and Decision Making — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Speaking — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.

Abilities

The cognitive and physical abilities most relevant to Medicine careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Problem Sensitivity — Importance 4.4 / 5; level 5.4 / 7.
• Inductive Reasoning — Importance 4.4 / 5; level 5.3 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 4.4 / 5; level 5.1 / 7.
• Oral Expression — Importance 4.3 / 5; level 5.0 / 7.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 5.0 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, Medicine graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Assisting and Caring for Others	4.7 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	4.7 / 7
Documenting/Recording Information	4.6 / 7
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge	4.6 / 7
Getting Information	4.6 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	4.4 / 7
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events	4.4 / 7
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships	4.3 / 7
Processing Information	4.3 / 7
Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others	4.2 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by Medicine professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Epic Systems	Medical software	✓
MEDITECH software	Medical software	—
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	—
Email software	Electronic mail software	—
eClinicalWorks EHR software	Medical software	—
Web browser software	Internet browser software	—
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	—
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	—
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	—
Greenway Medical Technologies PrimeSUITE	Medical software	—
Bizmatics PrognoCIS EMR	Medical software	—
Scheduling software	Calendar and scheduling software	—

^{Source: ONET Online technology skills, weighted across related occupations.*}

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for Medicine graduates include:

• Physician
• DO Physician (Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine Physician)
• Medical Doctor (MD)
• Doctor
• MD (Medical Doctor)
• Hospitalist Physician
• Pediatric Hospitalist
• Trauma Doctor
• Pediatric Hospitalist Physician
• Hospitalist
• Intensivist
• Pediatric Emergency Medicine Physician
• Surgeon
• Urologist
• Attending Physician

What Can You Do With a Medicine Degree?

Graduates with a degree in Medicine commonly enter the following occupations:

Occupation	Job Growth	Median Salary	25th–75th Pctile
Hospitalists	0.8%	$114,577	$92,706–$136,447
Pediatricians, General	-1.8%	$69,310	$56,422–$82,197
Urologists	0.5%	$119,720	$95,790–$143,650
General Internal Medicine Physicians	4.7%	$106,490	$86,605–$126,375
Cardiologists	3.8%	$114,867	$94,973–$134,760
Anesthesiologists	10.1%	$78,195	$63,504–$92,887
Obstetricians and Gynecologists	11.0%	$157,243	$126,700–$187,786
Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric	5.2%	$90,102	$73,239–$106,966
Physicians, Pathologists	-4.7%	$120,724	$96,336–$145,113
Emergency Medicine Physicians	-2.4%	$59,902	$49,741–$70,062
Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Physicians	14.6%	$117,397	$92,691–$142,104
Surgeons, All Other	1.8%	$56,955	$48,588–$65,321

^{Job-growth = projected employment change for the parent occupation. Source: ONET / BLS Employment Projections.*}

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to Medicine graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
Post-doctoral training	57.5%
Doctoral degree	34.3%
First professional degree	3.9%
Master’s degree	1.4%
Post-baccalaureate certificate	1.0%
Postsecondary certificate	0.8%
Bachelor’s degree	0.5%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	0.3%
High school diploma or equivalent	0.2%
Some college courses	0.1%

^{Source: ONET Online education / training / experience requirements.*}

Who Is Earning a Degree in Medicine?

Gender Distribution

This field has a relatively balanced gender distribution: 53.1% women and 46.9% men among Medicine graduates.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	15,784	53.1%
Men	13,953	46.9%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of Medicine graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	15,000	50.4%
Asian	6,829	23.0%
Hispanic or Latino	2,963	10.0%
Black or African American	1,814	6.1%
American Indian / Alaska Native	69	0.2%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander	37	0.1%
Two or More Races	1,185	4.0%
Race Unknown	1,506	5.1%
International Students	334	1.1%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do Medicine Graduates Earn?

The U.S. Department of Education tracks median earnings of Medicine graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. Earnings tend to climb steadily as graduates gain experience and move into mid-career roles.

Years Out	Median Earnings
1 year	$65,021
4 years	$106,601
5 years	$171,848

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $171,848 — roughly 164% above the 1-year mark.

^{Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study earnings tracker.}

Is a Degree in Medicine Worth It?

Strictly by the federal earnings tracker, Medicine graduates earn a median of $106,601 four years after completion — roughly 181% above the national median for workers with only a high school diploma (~$38,000).

^{ROI estimate compares the program’s 4-yr median earnings against the 2023 BLS CPS median earnings for high-school-only workers. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard + BLS Current Population Survey.}

Related Programs

You may also be interested in these closely related fields of study:

Program	Annual Degrees Awarded
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing	311,372
Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants	99,987
Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions	90,379
Health and Medical Administrative Services	90,166
Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services	80,693
Public Health	41,086
Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions	33,946
Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions	29,603
Dental Support Services and Allied Professions	24,761
Communication Disorders Sciences and Services	23,250
Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science/Research and Allied Professions	20,443
Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration	18,055

References

The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students and international students. This number is then divided by the total number of students to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS)
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard

More about our data sources and methodologies.