Intensivist
Impact: Direct Life-Saving
Manage life support, diagnose and treat complex medical conditions, and coordinate care with other specialists for critically ill patients in the intensive care unit.
What the day looks like
- People interaction
- Extensive
- Team vs solo
- Team-oriented
- Client facing
- Always
- Impact visibility
- High
- Travel
- None
- Schedule flexibility
- Rigid
- Remote work
- On-site Only
- Typical work hours
- 60+
- Stress level
- High
At a glance
- Median salary
- $350,000
- Entry-level
- $250,000
- Senior
- $450,000
- Growth by 2033
- Average
- Demand
- Stable
- Freelance potential
- Low
- Salary growth potential
- High
- Typical student debt
- $200,000 - $300,000
Skills you'll use
Hard skills
- Advanced Life Support
- Diagnostic Interpretation
- Pharmacology
- Procedural Skills
- Ventilator Management
- ECMO Management
Soft skills
- Critical Thinking
- Communication
- Empathy
- Decision-Making
- Resilience
Technical complexity: Very High
How to get there
- Minimum education
- Doctoral or Professional Degree
- Licensing
- Yes
- Years to mid-career
- 10
- Years to senior
- 15
- Career switching
- Very Hard
Where this career leads
How people arrive here
Where you can go from here
Typical progression
- Fellowship training, attending physician, medical director of ICU, academic positions, research
Future outlook
- Automation probability
- Low
- AI disruption risk
- Moderate
- Demand trend
- Stable
How people feel about it
- Overall satisfaction
- 4/10
- Meaning
- 4/10
- Work-life balance
- 3/10
- Prestige
- 9/10
- Social perception
- Very High