Physician vs Physician Assistant: $271K vs $136K Median Pay

Physician vs Physician Assistant: what changes?

Consider Physician if you want to diagnose and provide nonsurgical treatment for a wide range of diseases and injuries of internal organ systems. Consider Physician Assistant if you would rather provide healthcare services typically performed by a physician, under the supervision of a physician. Entry credentials differ: Physician, medical degree and residency; Physician Assistant, master's degree.

Try this next: Compare three local entry-level postings for Physician and Physician Assistant. 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.

The labor-market benchmark for Physician covers the broader BLS group Physicians (29-1210). It does not isolate this specialty.

Compare the practical differences

Physician

National median pay (2025): $271,090
Route into the job: A bachelor's degree and medical degree are followed by internship and residency training. Specialty requirements and state licensing affect the full route into practice.
Prior related experience: Prior experience requirements need verification for this occupation.
Training and licensing: Verify the specialty's training, licensing, and full preparation time with an accredited program or employer.
Work to investigate: Analyze records, reports, test results, or examination information to diagnose medical condition of patient.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 20,800

Know before you choose

Exposure to illness or infection is a recurring part of the work context, even when safety procedures are followed.

See the full Physician brief

Physician Assistant

National median pay (2025): $135,880
Route into the job: Master's degree
Prior related experience: No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
Training and licensing: BLS does not list a separate on-the-job training requirement. Employers may still provide orientation and role-specific training.
Work to investigate: Make tentative diagnoses and decisions about management and treatment of patients.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 11,500

Know before you choose

Exposure to illness or infection is a recurring part of the work context, even when safety procedures are followed.

See the full Physician Assistant brief

How the national numbers differ

Physician Assistant has the edge on projected growth

Physician Assistant is at 21.1% projected growth, compared with 3.6% projected growth for Physician.

Physician has the edge on annual openings

Physician is at 20,800 annual openings, compared with 11,500 annual openings for Physician Assistant.

Physician has the edge on median pay

Physician is at $271,090, compared with $135,880 for Physician Assistant.

68.7/ 100

Physician

74.2/ 100

Physician Assistant

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