Explore Medical Specialties
Search, sort and compare 29 residency pathways, or explore 31 fellowship careers.
29 profiles
Procedural
Anesthesiology
Perioperative medicine, airway management, physiology and critical decision-making.
Typical Training
3+1 years
Attending Compensation
$557,131
Average Total Compensation
Pediatric & Combined
Child Neurology
Neurologic care for infants, children and adolescents, including epilepsy, development and neurogenetic disease.
Typical Training
3+2 years
Attending Compensation
$309,593
Average Total Compensation
Outpatient
Dermatology
Medical and procedural care for skin, hair, nails and related disease.
Typical Training
3+1 years
Attending Compensation
$497,509
Average Total Compensation
Diagnostic
Diagnostic Radiology
Medical imaging interpretation across organ systems and care settings.
Typical Training
4+1 years
Attending Compensation
$609,684
Average Total Compensation
Acute care
Emergency Medicine
Undifferentiated acute illness, trauma and time-sensitive emergency care.
Typical Training
3–4 years
Attending Compensation
$423,723
Average Total Compensation
Primary care
Family Medicine
Continuity-based care for patients across ages and health conditions.
Typical Training
3 years
Attending Compensation
$325,040
Average Total Compensation
Surgical
General Surgery
Operative care for abdominal, soft-tissue and a range of emergency conditions.
Typical Training
5 years
Attending Compensation
$501,003
Average Total Compensation
Primary care
Internal Medicine
Adult medicine, complex disease management and inpatient or ambulatory care.
Typical Training
3 years
Attending Compensation
$339,274
Average Total Compensation
Pediatric & Combined
Internal Medicine–Pediatrics (Med-Peds)
Combined adult and pediatric care with dual board-eligibility pathways.
Typical Training
4 years
Attending Compensation
$319,995
Average Total Compensation
Diagnostic & Imaging
Interventional Radiology (Integrated)
Image-guided minimally invasive treatment alongside diagnostic imaging training.
Typical Training
5+1 years
Attending Compensation
$634,658
Average Total Compensation
Diagnostic
Medical Genetics & Genomics
Diagnosis and counseling for inherited disorders across childhood and adulthood.
Typical Training
2+1 years
Attending Compensation
$273,826
Average Total Compensation
Surgical
Neurological Surgery (Neurosurgery)
Surgical care for brain, spine and peripheral nervous system disease.
Typical Training
7 years
Attending Compensation
$829,161
Average Total Compensation
Cognitive
Neurology
Diagnosis and management of disorders affecting the brain, spinal cord and nerves.
Typical Training
3+1 years
Attending Compensation
$371,087
Average Total Compensation
Diagnostic & Imaging
Nuclear Medicine
Molecular imaging and radionuclide therapy using radiopharmaceuticals.
Typical Training
2–3+1 years
Attending Compensation
$389,260
Estimated Base Salary
Procedural
Obstetrics & Gynecology
Pregnancy, childbirth, reproductive health and gynecologic care.
Typical Training
4 years
Attending Compensation
$420,859
Average Total Compensation
Procedural
Ophthalmology
Vision and eye disease care combining outpatient diagnosis, microsurgery and longitudinal follow-up.
Typical Training
3+1 years
Attending Compensation
$487,438
Average Total Compensation
Surgical
Orthopaedic Surgery
Operative and nonoperative treatment of musculoskeletal injury and disease.
Typical Training
5 years
Attending Compensation
$696,852
Average Total Compensation
Rehabilitation
Osteopathic Neuromusculoskeletal Medicine
Osteopathic diagnosis and manual management of neuromusculoskeletal complaints.
Typical Training
3 years
Attending Compensation
Estimate Unavailable
Compensation Unavailable
Surgical
Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery (ENT)
Medical and surgical management of ear, nose, throat, airway and head and neck conditions.
Typical Training
5 years
Attending Compensation
$549,810
Average Total Compensation
Diagnostic
Pathology (AP/CP)
Laboratory and tissue-based diagnosis, quality assurance and interpretation.
Typical Training
4 years
Attending Compensation
$410,039
Average Total Compensation
Primary care
Pediatrics
Health, development and medical care for infants, children and adolescents.
Typical Training
3 years
Attending Compensation
$273,665
Average Total Compensation
Rehabilitation
Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation (PM&R)
Recovery of mobility, function and participation after neurologic or musculoskeletal disease.
Typical Training
3+1 years
Attending Compensation
$376,234
Average Total Compensation
Surgical
Plastic Surgery (Integrated)
Reconstructive and aesthetic surgery spanning trauma, cancer, congenital disease and elective procedures.
Typical Training
6 years
Attending Compensation
$625,757
Average Total Compensation
Cognitive
Psychiatry
Mental health diagnosis, longitudinal treatment and psychiatric emergencies.
Typical Training
4 years
Attending Compensation
$350,786
Average Total Compensation
Population Health
Public Health & General Preventive Medicine
Disease prevention, epidemiology and health-system improvement at the population level.
Typical Training
2+1 years
Attending Compensation
$265,825
Average Total Compensation
Cancer Care
Radiation Oncology
Cancer treatment with precisely planned radiation delivered over longitudinal courses.
Typical Training
4+1 years
Attending Compensation
$613,837
Average Total Compensation
Surgical
Thoracic Surgery (Integrated)
Cardiothoracic surgery for heart, lungs, mediastinum and great vessels.
Typical Training
6 years
Attending Compensation
$749,707
Average Total Compensation
Surgical
Urology
Surgical and medical treatment of urinary tract disease and male reproductive health.
Typical Training
5 years
Attending Compensation
$566,740
Average Total Compensation
Surgical
Vascular Surgery (Integrated)
Operative, endovascular and longitudinal management of arterial, venous and dialysis access disease.
Typical Training
5 years
Attending Compensation
$600,520
Average Total Compensation
Sources & Data Notes
Reviewed . National attending compensation uses Doximity's 2026 specialty survey (2025 pay) where available, then verified specialty-specific Medscape, Marit or Salary.com estimates. Doximity, Medscape and Marit report total compensation; Salary.com models base salary. Survey averages, modeled salaries and BLS wage medians measure different populations and must not be interpreted as identical metrics. BLS May 2025 state wages are shown separately and exclude self-employed physicians. The ophthalmology BLS category excludes pediatric ophthalmologists. State figures may be missing, top-coded, or suppressed. Job outlook uses BLS 2025–2035 occupational projections; it is not a local vacancy forecast. Resident stipend examples reflect published institutional scales for 2026 to 2027, by postgraduate year, not specialty. Stanford includes housing in its reported base salary; other institutions handle allowances differently.
The Relative Competitiveness Index uses a fixed score of 25 plus 1.75 times the 2024 U.S. MD preferred-specialty unmatched percentage, rounded, then applies the same 1.225 multiplier to every specialty. Neurological Surgery is 98/100; the score is not the applicant's chance of matching. It is not a 2026 estimate or DO-specific score. The MD and DO percentages compare different unadjusted applicant cohorts who ranked that specialty first. They do not account for application strategy, program selection, scores, or geography. Ophthalmology and urology have separate specialty match processes; other pathways may lack suitable NRMP cohorts.
The 1–5 Fellowship Expectation Index is an editorial assessment of customary career paths, not a measured participation rate or requirement. For residency profiles, compact training labels put specialty years before the clinical base or preliminary year; e.g. 3+1 means three specialty years and one clinical base year, even though the clinical year comes first. Fellowship-defined careers are presented in the separate fellowship explorer. Schedules, procedural scope, preparation suggestions, and potential AI effects depend on the program and practice setting; they are qualitative descriptions, not guaranteed outcomes or forecasts of physician replacement.