Healthcare
Nurse Anesthetists
Administer anesthesia, monitor patient's vital signs, and oversee patient recovery from anesthesia. May assist anesthesiologists, surgeons, other physicians, or dentists. Must be registered nurses who have specialized graduate education.
Median salary (BLS)
$236,590
10th–90th percentile (BLS)
$155k – $340k
Job outlook
+9% (faster than average)
AI exposure
Early-career check: graduates of the matching programs below typically earn $93,000 ten years after starting college — an early-career figure, vs. the all-experience BLS median above. Source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard.
Plan a path to Nurse Anesthetists
Education
Typical entry: Master's degree
Plan my path to this →Typical progression
Junior Nurse Anesthetists
Entry / Junior
$155,250
~2 yrs to advance
Nurse Anesthetists
Established
$236,590
~3 yrs to advance
Senior Nurse Anesthetists
Senior
$288,045
Key skills
A typical day
- •Manage patients' airway or pulmonary status, using techniques such as endotracheal intubation, mechanical ventilation, pharmacological support, respiratory therapy, and extubation.
- •Respond to emergency situations by providing airway management, administering emergency fluids or drugs, or using basic or advanced cardiac life support techniques.
- •Monitor patients' responses, including skin color, pupil dilation, pulse, heart rate, blood pressure, respiration, ventilation, or urine output, using invasive and noninvasive techniques.
- •Select, order, or administer anesthetics, adjuvant drugs, accessory drugs, fluids or blood products as necessary.
- •Select, prepare, or use equipment, monitors, supplies, or drugs for the administration of anesthetics.
Fields of study
Any field
Top colleges for Healthcare
Explore all- Johns Hopkins University7% admit · $93,000 grad pay
- Harvard University4% admit · $119,000 grad pay
- University of Michigan18% admit · $87,000 grad pay
- Duke University6% admit · $105,000 grad pay
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill19% admit · $73,000 grad pay
Reputation-based selection; stats shown are outcome data per school.