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Here is a list of steps you’ll need to follow to become a cardiologist:
Let's break this down step-by-step to give you the best chance of success.
Like any medical specialization, education is of utmost importance when pursuing cardiology. To start, you must complete your undergraduate education and get a bachelor’s degree to be eligible for the next steps.
A bachelor’s degree usually takes four years to complete, and it’s four years well spent. It’ll give you an invaluable opportunity to lay your career’s foundation. Take this time to develop your profile and prepare as much as possible for the future.
Performing well in your courses is essential to building up your knowledge and skills and increasing your chances of getting into medical school. Medical schools are quite competitive. Therefore, you must achieve academic excellence and a top-tier GPA to maximize your chances of getting accepted to medical school.
Once you’ve acquired your bachelor’s degree, you’ll need to continue your education in medical school. To be eligible for that, you’ll need to complete the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) first.
The MCAT is a standardized test required by almost every medical school for admission. The test is composed entirely of multiple-choice questions, and the scores are calculated based on the number of correct answers. MCAT test scores usually need to be less than three years old to be valid for medical school applications.
Curious about what’s on the MCAT? The exam covers the following four main topics:
The MCAT is a challenging test that requires a healthy amount of preparation. Achieving a high score helps you become a more competitive applicant.
You must also get into medical school and complete an MD program to become a cardiologist. This typically takes another four years to complete.
For students aiming to navigate the competitive application process, med school admissions coaching from Inspira Advantage helps aspiring medical students gain entry to top U.S. medical schools.
You should expect challenging, in-depth coursework, a heavy study load, and assignments and examinations during your studies.
In a traditional med school model, the first two years are entirely classroom-based. You’ll take advanced medical and health-related courses such as:
You will also learn medical terminology, make effective medical decisions, and conduct various standard procedures, such as communicating with patients, reviewing medical history, and performing diagnostic tests.
You’ll partake in supervised training in a real hospital in your last two years. This is where you’ll apply what you’ve learned and gain hands-on experience, and participate in a rotation of different medical specialty areas, such as internal medicine, obstetrics, and gynecology.
You must pass the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) to qualify for medical licensure and progress through residency training. This is a three-step examination for medical licensure in the U.S., and each of these steps is taken at different points during your medical school education.
Step 1 of the USMLE is usually taken after your second year. The full testing session lasts eight hours and is divided into seven 60-minute blocks. The number of questions per block is different but will never exceed 40 questions.
Step 1 examines your understanding and ability to apply basic scientific concepts of medical practices. You must have a solid foundation in up-to-date medical procedures and medical and scientific principles learned in the classroom to perform well.
Step 2 is usually taken during your last year of medical school before graduating. It lasts nine hours and is divided into eight different 60-minute blocks. Similar to Step 1, the number of questions in each block is inconsistent but never exceeds 40.
Step 2 examines your ability to apply your medical knowledge, skills, and understanding of basic clinical concepts and practices to provide supervised patient care, emphasizing disease prevention and health improvement. The content of Step 2 covers many different body systems, tasks, and competencies for physicians.
Step 3 is the final part of the USMLE exam. Physicians typically take Step 3 during their first or second year of residency after graduating from medical school. Step 3 evaluates whether you can apply clinical knowledge and medical reasoning to provide unsupervised general medical care.
Passing Step 3 is also an important step toward obtaining an unrestricted medical license.
After graduating from medical school, you must complete a three-year internal medicine residency before you can train as a cardiologist. Internal medicine residency provides broad clinical training in adult medicine and prepares you to manage complex conditions across multiple organ systems.
During residency, you rotate through several specialties, including:
This training builds your foundation in diagnosing and treating chronic and acute illness, managing hospitalized patients, and developing clinical judgment. While you may rotate through cardiology services during residency, most advanced cardiology procedures and specialized training occur during fellowship.
A cardiology fellowship program is the next step after your residency. This hands-on training session is more advanced, with an in-depth focus on cardiology, and takes another three years to finish. You’ve almost made it, so hang on!
During a cardiology fellowship program, you’ll work with physicians and learn about specific concepts, practices, and procedures through on-the-job training. Some of these procedures include:
You will also learn about the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of various cardiac conditions, such as:
Your fellowship program is possibly the most important part of preparing to become a cardiologist. You’ll build upon your knowledge and previous general training to gain an in-depth understanding of cardiology. By the end of your fellowship, you should have learned everything you need to become a cardiologist.
There are still a few more things to do before you begin your long-awaited career. Don’t worry, though, because they won’t be too difficult.
After graduating from medical school and progressing through residency, you must obtain a medical license to practice medicine independently in the United States. Medical licensure is granted by state medical boards, and requirements vary slightly by state.
In most cases, physicians apply for full licensure after completing Step 3 and meeting their state’s training requirements, often during residency. Once you earn your medical license, you can legally practice medicine without supervision, although cardiologists still complete fellowship training before practicing independently as specialists.
After completing your residency and cardiology fellowship, you can pursue board certification through the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM). Most cardiologists first become board-certified in Internal Medicine, then complete certification in Cardiovascular Disease.
The ABIM cardiology board certification exam tests your knowledge of cardiovascular medicine, including diagnosis, clinical reasoning, treatment planning, and interpretation of common cardiac testing. Board certification is not legally required to practice, but most hospitals and employers strongly prefer or require it.
Once you complete board certification, you qualify to practice as a fully trained cardiologist.
It is very challenging to become a cardiologist. Cardiology is one of the more difficult and competitive medical specializations. It requires many years of:
A cardiologist often makes critical decisions. The cardiovascular system is very complex, and cardiologists often must deal with situations where someone’s life is on the line. One small mistake can cause severe health problems or even death. Due to such high responsibilities, the requirements to become a cardiologist are lofty.
Furthermore, in addition to excellence in cardiology, being a successful cardiologist requires competence in a wide array of skills, such as:
You’ll need to develop these skills during your training years after medical school.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, a cardiologist’s average annual salary is approximately $432,490. Cardiology is a high-paying specialty.
Below is a table of how much cardiologists make in each state.
Source: ZipRecruiter
A cardiologist’s job is to find, treat, and prevent cardiovascular problems or conditions using close inspection, communication, and performing examinations or diagnostic tests on patients.
Common cardiovascular diseases include:
Even if you’re unfamiliar with cardiology, you’ve probably heard these terms. Unfortunately, these diseases and conditions listed are not just deadly but also common.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, heart failure is the number 1 leading cause of death for people in the U.S, totaling 680,981 deaths. Also, stroke is the fourth leading cause of death.
Cardiovascular health is paramount, and cardiologists play a significant role in people's health. Their ability to diagnose, treat, and prevent cardiovascular diseases is necessary for public health.
The main subspecialties in cardiology include:
Cardiology may be right for you if you feel genuinely interested in the cardiovascular system and enjoy solving complex medical problems. You should pursue cardiology if you want a specialty that combines long-term patient relationships, diagnostic reasoning, and high-impact care for life-threatening conditions.
You may thrive in cardiology if you enjoy communicating with patients, interpreting tests like EKGs and echocardiograms, and managing chronic conditions such as heart failure and coronary artery disease. Cardiology also offers strong earning potential and high professional respect, but it requires a long training path and strong academic performance.
To decide if cardiology fits you, ask yourself:
If the answer is yes, cardiology may be a strong match.
It typically takes 14 years to become a cardiologist after high school. This includes 4 years of undergraduate education, 4 years of medical school, 3 years of internal medicine residency, and 3 years of cardiology fellowship.
Most people become cardiologists in their early to mid-30s, assuming they start college immediately after high school and do not take gap years.
For example, a typical training timeline looks like this:
Many physicians take 1–2 gap years or pursue research during training, so it is also common to become a cardiologist closer to 33–36 years old.
To become a cardiologist, you must complete a 3-year internal medicine residency first.
After residency, you must complete a cardiology fellowship, which adds additional years of specialized training. This is the standard pathway for adult cardiology in the United States.
The career outlook for cardiologists is strong because cardiovascular disease remains one of the leading causes of death and chronic illness. Cardiologists also play a critical role in managing long-term conditions like hypertension, heart failure, and coronary artery disease.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), employment for physicians and surgeons is projected to grow by 3% over the next decade, with about 22,600 job openings per year on average. This category includes cardiologists.
A cardiology fellowship typically lasts 3 years after completing internal medicine residency.
After fellowship, some cardiologists pursue additional subspecialty fellowships, such as:
Because cardiology is competitive, applicants often strengthen their fellowship applications through research publications, strong board scores, and leadership within internal medicine residency programs.
Reviewed by:
Orthopaedic Surgery Resident Physician, Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University
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