Anesthesiology
There are an estimated 25,400 anesthesiologists working in the U.S., comprising 4.4 percent of all medical doctors. The profession holds a median annual salary of $184,880, and an average salary of $164,000. Among non-surgical specialists, only radiologists earn more. Demand is very high in the field, as the number of surgeries has been on the rise, currently totaling more than 40 million a year. The unemployment rate for graduating anesthesiologists is less than 2 percent.