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To become an anesthesiologist in the US, you must earn a bachelor’s degree, graduate from medical school, complete an anesthesiology residency, and obtain a state medical license. Many anesthesiologists also pursue fellowship training and board certification to strengthen career opportunities and qualify for hospital privileges.
There are no specific college programs aspiring anesthesiologists must enroll in. As long as they meet med school course requirements and perform well on the MCAT, they can choose any bachelor’s degree.
However, some majors are particularly helpful for students interested in becoming anesthesiologists:
However, you should pick whichever major interests you most. You can supplement your major with minors and electives to meet med school requirements.
Most US medical schools require the MCAT. You must take the exam and earn a competitive score to qualify for MD or DO programs. Many students spend several months preparing and take the MCAT during or after their junior year.
To become an anesthesiologist, you must get accepted into a US medical school and earn either an MD or DO degree. Medical school admissions are highly competitive. Students need strong academic profiles, meaningful clinical experience, and clear, well-written application narratives.
Many students work with a mentor to strengthen their essays, refine their school list strategy, and maximize their chances of acceptance.
Once you get accepted to medical school, you’ll complete your program in four years. During the first two years, students focus on classroom-based medical sciences such as anatomy, physiology, pathology, and pharmacology. During the final two years, students complete clinical rotations in hospital settings and gain hands-on experience across major specialties, including surgery, internal medicine, pediatrics, and emergency medicine.
To become a licensed physician in the US, medical students must pass national licensing exams. Most MD students take the USMLE, while DO students take COMLEX-USA (and some also take the USMLE to strengthen residency applications).
Below is a common timeline that students taking the USMLE follow:
After medical school, you must complete an anesthesiology residency program, which typically lasts four years (one clinical base year followed by three years of anesthesiology training).
During residency, you learn how to administer anesthesia, manage airways, monitor vital signs, treat pain, and respond to surgical emergencies in operating rooms and hospital settings.
Some of the top anesthesiology residency programs in the US include Massachusetts General Hospital (with Harvard Medical School), Johns Hopkins University, Stanford University, UCSF, and Mayo Clinic.
To practice anesthesiology independently, you must obtain a medical license in the state where you plan to work. Licensing requirements vary by state but generally include completing medical school, completing residency training, and passing required exams.
Many anesthesiologists pursue fellowship training to specialize in a specific area and expand job opportunities.
Fellows can choose among various anesthesiology subspecialties. Some specialties include:
Consider a fellowship for additional schooling that anesthesiologists use to level up their skills and knowledge.
Universities and hospitals seek anesthesiologists who think long-term and have specialized skills. Anesthesia is dependent on new technologies. Anesthesiologists with impressive fellowships and research output can understand and foresee shifts in trends within their specialty.
Most anesthesiologists pursue board certification through the American Board of Anesthesiology (ABA). Board certification is not legally required in every setting, but many hospitals and employers strongly prefer or require it as a standard credential for practicing anesthesiology.
The American Board of Anesthesiology clarified the appeal of certification: “Physicians, healthcare institutions, insurers, and quality organizations look for board certification as a measure of a physician’s ability to provide quality healthcare within a given specialty.”
Becoming an anesthesiologist is challenging because these residency programs offer limited positions and attract a large number of qualified applicants each year.
In the 2025 NRMP Main Residency Match, 3,017 students applied to anesthesiology for 1,805 available PGY-1 positions, and the specialty filled 99.9% of spots, showing strong demand and high competition for residency placement.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the mean annual wage for anesthesiologists is $336,640. However, the annual wage you can expect to earn can be higher or lower depending on where you work.
It takes between 12 and 14 years to become an anesthesiologist. Future anesthesiologists have a fairly standard career route:
Anesthesiologists are doctors who “specialize in anesthesia care, pain management, and critical care medicine.” They evaluate patients before surgery, administer anesthesia, monitor vital signs throughout procedures, and manage recovery and pain control after surgery to ensure patient safety at every stage.
There are several types of anesthesia they administer:
Local anesthetic: This type of anesthesia is used in procedures such as stitching a laceration or setting a bone, and numbs a small portion of your body.
Anesthesiology may be right for you if you enjoy fast-paced clinical decision-making, physiology-based problem-solving, and hands-on patient care in high-stakes situations.
Anesthesiologists play a critical role in surgery by managing anesthesia, monitoring vital signs, responding to emergencies, and controlling pain before and after procedures.
To decide if anesthesiology fits your strengths and interests, explore the specialty early through shadowing, clinical experience, and anesthesiology electives during medical school.
Anesthesiology also offers flexibility through multiple subspecialties, including pain medicine, critical care, pediatric anesthesia, cardiac anesthesia, obstetric anesthesia, and regional anesthesia.
If you want a specialty that combines procedures, teamwork, and real-time medical management, anesthesiology can be a strong fit.
Yes, anesthesiologists are medical doctors. They earn an MD or DO degree, complete a multi-year anesthesiology residency, and obtain a medical license to practice anesthesia and perioperative medicine.
You do not need advanced math to become an anesthesiologist, but you do need strong basic math skills. Anesthesiologists regularly calculate medication dosages, fluid rates, and anesthesia levels, so accuracy and comfort with numbers are essential.
You also need enough math coursework to meet medical school prerequisites, including classes such as calculus or statistics.
Yes, anesthesiology can be stressful because anesthesiologists manage life-critical decisions during surgery and medical procedures. They must respond quickly to emergencies, monitor patients continuously, and maintain focus for long shifts. However, many anesthesiologists find the work rewarding because they play a direct role in patient safety and pain control.
Some of the strongest anesthesiology residency programs in the US are based at top training hospitals such as Massachusetts General Hospital (associated with Harvard Medical School), Johns Hopkins Hospital, Stanford Health Care, UCSF Medical Center, Mayo Clinic, and Cleveland Clinic.
Anesthesiologists need strong clinical judgment, attention to detail, and the ability to stay calm under pressure. They also rely on technical skills for airway management and anesthesia delivery, along with strong communication skills to coordinate care with surgeons, nurses, and patients.
Reviewed by:
Orthopaedic Surgery Resident Physician, Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University
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