Anesthesiologists vs Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons: $391K vs $352K Median Pay

Anesthesiologists vs Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons: what changes?

Consider Anesthesiologists if you want to administer anesthetics and analgesics for pain management prior to, during, or after surgery. Consider Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons if you would rather perform surgery and related procedures on the hard and soft tissues of the oral and maxillofacial regions to treat diseases, injuries, or defects. Both list doctoral or professional degree; compare training and prior experience separately.

Try this next: Compare three local entry-level postings for Anesthesiologists and Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. List the duties, credentials, prior experience, and paid training each employer actually asks for. Try a supervised class or sample project from each field before choosing a program.

BLS 2025 wages and 2025–2035 projections. National medians are not starting offers. Occupation size is not a count of vacancies. View the BLS data.

Compare the practical differences

Anesthesiologists

National median pay (2025): $391,490
Route into the job: Doctoral or professional degree; Internship or residency follows qualifying education. Check its duration, pay, and licensing requirements
Prior related experience: No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
Training and licensing: Internship or residency follows qualifying education. Check its duration, pay, and licensing requirements.
Work to investigate: Monitor patient before, during, and after anesthesia and counteract adverse reactions or complications.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 1,100

Know before you choose

Training continues through internship/residency after the degree path.

See the full Anesthesiologists brief

Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons

National median pay (2025): $352,220
Route into the job: Doctoral or professional degree; Internship or residency follows qualifying education. Check its duration, pay, and licensing requirements
Prior related experience: No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
Training and licensing: Internship or residency follows qualifying education. Check its duration, pay, and licensing requirements.
Work to investigate: Administer general and local anesthetics.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 200

Know before you choose

Training continues through internship/residency after the degree path.

See the full Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons brief

How the national numbers differ

Anesthesiologists has the edge on annual openings

Anesthesiologists is at 1,100 annual openings, compared with 200 annual openings for Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons.

Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons has the edge on projected growth

Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons is at 5.6% projected growth, compared with 3.6% projected growth for Anesthesiologists.

Anesthesiologists has the edge on median pay

Anesthesiologists is at $391,490, compared with $352,220 for Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons.

52/ 100

Anesthesiologists

50.8/ 100

Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons

Each available metric is ranked from 0 to 100 against the careers on ChooseField. The weighted average uses this profile: pay 30%, growth 25%, openings 30%, preparation level 15%. Missing values are not scored as zero; their weights are redistributed across available metrics. Occupation size has zero weight: employment is not accessible vacancies. Preparation categories do not measure admission difficulty or years without earnings. The score summarizes national measures; local opportunities and personal fit still need separate consideration.

Detailed evidence

Anesthesiologists vs Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons

Dimension	Anesthesiologists	Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
Median pay (2025)	$391,490	$352,220
Pay percentile	99.8 percentile	99.7 percentile
Projected growth (2025–2035)	3.6%	5.6%
Annual openings (2025–2035)	1,100	200
2025 employment	41,500	5,600
How you qualify	Doctoral or professional degree; Internship or residency follows qualifying education. Check its duration, pay, and licensing requirements	Doctoral or professional degree; Internship or residency follows qualifying education. Check its duration, pay, and licensing requirements
O*NET preparation group	Job Zone 5	Job Zone 5
Related work experience	No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.	No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
On-the-job training	Internship or residency follows qualifying education. Check its duration, pay, and licensing requirements.	Internship or residency follows qualifying education. Check its duration, pay, and licensing requirements.

The table reports national benchmarks and reviewed work descriptions. It does not rate personal suitability, job security, or physical safety.

Read Anesthesiologists brief Read Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons brief

Anesthesiologists vs Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons: what changes?

The facts most likely to affect your decision

Anesthesiologists

Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons

How the national numbers differ

Anesthesiologists has the edge on annual openings

Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons has the edge on projected growth

Anesthesiologists has the edge on median pay

Anesthesiologists vs Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons

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