Anesthesiologist Shares Salary Over 12 Years Not Ready For Response

A detailed salary breakdown showing how one physician’s income changed from student years to their high-earning anesthesiologist role has left jaws on the floor across the internet.

The post, written by user Prudent-Jello-6903, lists annual earnings beginning at $10,000 in 2013 while working as a waiter and medical student, rising to $910,000 by 2025 as an attending anesthesiologist.

The breakdown reflects a long training period common in medicine, with early years including modest earnings, such as $5,000 annual scholarships during medical school and wages under $60,000 during residency.

The jump comes after completing training, with income reaching $228,000 in 2021 and climbing sharply in subsequent years.

The OP said the decision to share the figures came after hesitation around transparency in physician pay, writing that the post could give “prospective students and residents an idea of what lies ahead.”

“For those sleepless nights, traumatic calls, and grueling hours, sometimes a look ahead to greener pastures helps make the bad times pass a little faster,” they wrote.

“For those who would say, ‘this is why health care costs so much,’ that is a fallacy. Physician pay doesn’t even crack the top 3 of health care expenditures, much less account for the rising cost of care.”

In an edit, they added that higher earnings were tied to workload, noting they spend most vacation weeks doing additional locum work.

Reddit Reacts

Reddit users’ responses showed a mix of admiration and concern about the demanding path.

One wrote, “I’m starting to think this sub might not be good for my mental health,” to which another replied, “This guy is an anesthesiologist. Years of medical school, residency, and a lot of hard work. If he messes up at work, someone can die.

“I’m never going to hate on doctors for making good money.”

‘Atypical effort, atypical salary’

“For someone to get a bachelor’s degree, medical degree, pass a board certification, then to be a resident for 3-7 years, depending on the specialization, to be finally qualified to do a job means it is worth the extra income,” one contributor pointed out.

The same commenter added, “Atypical effort, atypical salary. Thankful people spend decades to learn everything they can to keep us alive when we need it most.”