Audiologist
Impact: Restoration of hearing, improved communication, and enhanced quality of life for patients with auditory and balance disorders
Diagnose and treat hearing loss, balance disorders, and auditory processing conditions using advanced diagnostic testing, hearing aid fitting, cochlear implant mapping, and auditory rehabilitation programs.
What the day looks like
- People interaction
- Extensive
- Team vs solo
- 55% Team / 45% Solo
- Client facing
- Always
- Impact visibility
- Moderate
- Travel
- Minimal
- Schedule flexibility
- Moderate
- Remote work
- Limited Remote
- Typical work hours
- 38 to 48 hours/week
- Stress level
- Low
At a glance
- Median salary
- $90,000
- Entry-level
- $65,000 - $80,000
- Senior
- $120,000+
- Growth by 2033
- 11% (faster than average; aging population and noise-induced hearing loss driving demand)
- Demand
- Growing
- Freelance potential
- Moderate
- Salary growth potential
- Moderate, with 50 to 80% growth; private practice ownership and cochlear implant specialization increase earnings
- Typical student debt
- $80,000 - $150,000
Skills you'll use
Hard skills
- Audiometric Testing
- Hearing Aid Fitting & Programming
- Cochlear Implant Mapping
- Vestibular Assessment
- Auditory Brainstem Response (ABR) Testing
Soft skills
- Patient Education
- Empathy
- Attention to Detail
- Communication
- Counseling
Technical complexity: High
How to get there
- Minimum education
- Doctoral or Professional Degree
- Licensing
- Yes
- Years to mid-career
- 3 to 5 years
- Years to senior
- 8 to 12 years
- Career switching
- Moderate
Where this career leads
How people arrive here
Where you can go from here
Typical progression
- AuD Student > Clinical Fellow > Staff Audiologist > Senior Audiologist > Audiology Director / Practice Owner
Future outlook
- Automation probability
- 20% moderate risk; AI is being integrated into hearing screening but clinical fitting and counseling remain human-led
- AI disruption risk
- Moderate
- Demand trend
- Growing
How people feel about it
- Overall satisfaction
- 8/10
- Meaning
- 8.5/10
- Work-life balance
- 7.8/10
- Prestige
- 7.8/10
- Social perception
- High