General surgeons operate on the abdomen, the breast, the endocrine glands, the skin and soft tissue, and they run trauma and emergency surgery in most hospitals. The specialty is also the entry point to fellowship training in vascular surgery, surgical oncology, paediatric surgery and critical care. The training is the longest of the fields on this page and the call is heaviest.

This guide covers careers in surgery end to end, walking through all five accredited subspecialties, the years of training each one costs you, what the work earns and how competitive the path is.

Medical careers in surgery

Every path below is a formal, ACGME-accredited subspecialty you enter through a fellowship after surgery residency. Together they hold 889 physicians in training.

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

Physicians in training as of the 2024-2025 academic year, from the ACGME Data Resource Book. A larger number means a larger field, not an easier one.

Our full guides go deeper on several of these roles, covering trauma surgeon, radiation oncologist, oncologist, plastic surgeon.

How long does surgery training take?

All of the careers in surgery on this page run through the same first eight years, and separate afterwards. Residency length is taken from the ACGME Data Resource Book for the 2024-2025 academic year.

1. Bachelor's degree, four years. Any major works, as long as you finish the medical school prerequisites and sit the MCAT.
2. Medical school, four years. Two years mostly preclinical, two years mostly in the hospital, with USMLE Step 1 and Step 2 along the way.
3. Surgery residency, five years. Five years of residency after medical school, and one to three more if you subspecialise.
4. Fellowship, one to three years. Optional, and the route into the subspecialties listed below.

That is thirteen years from starting your bachelor's degree to practising independently, before any fellowship. How long medical school takes covers the middle four in detail.

How much do surgeons earn?

The Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the median wage for surgeons, all other at $414,010 a year in 2025, across 25,140 people in the occupation.

Figures from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, national estimates, 2025. Wages at the top of the scale are reported as equal to or greater than $239,200 in some categories, so a published median can sit below what practising physicians in the field report.

Earnings across careers in surgery swing more on setting and geography than on the specialty itself. Academic posts sit below private practice, and rural positions often sit above urban ones for the same work.

How competitive is surgery?

Every position offered was filled, which puts it among the most competitive fields in the match. A high share filled by US MD seniors means the field is drawing its residents from the domestic MD pool, which tightens the odds for everyone else.

Figures from NRMP Results and Data, 2026 Main Residency Match, Table 1A.

Match rates describe the field, not your application. What moves your own odds is your Step 2 score, your clinical grades, your letters and your research, and the odds of getting into medical school covers the stage before any of that.

How careers in surgery compare with the other specialties

Training length. Surgery residency runs five years. Of the nineteen specialties on this site, seventeen are shorter and one are the same length. The spread across all of them is two years to five.

Earnings. At $414,010, it ranks 2 of 13 on median wage among the specialties here with their own BLS occupation code. The highest is diagnostic radiology at $420,860.

Competition. Four of the fifteen specialties here that run through the main match fill a higher share of their positions with US MD seniors, which is the closest single proxy for how contested a field is.

Size of the field. BLS counts 25,140 people employed in the surgeons, all other category. A larger field means more posts advertised and more geographic choice about where you practise.

None of these numbers should pick a specialty for you. They are the constraints you are choosing inside, and the choice itself comes down to whether the day-to-day work holds your attention for thirty years.

Skills and requirements for surgery

Where the work happens. Operating rooms, surgical wards, the intensive care unit and clinic for pre- and post-operative care.

Who it suits. People who want to fix a problem with their hands, who tolerate long hours and high stakes, and who want decisions with immediate and visible consequences.

How you get in. Five years of residency after medical school, and one to three more if you subspecialise.

Before any of that, the requirements match every other route into medicine. You need a bachelor's degree, the prerequisite coursework, clinical and research experience, an MCAT score, and a complete medical school application.