Should you spend $250,000 and 11 years to become a physician—or $100,000 and 7 years to become a CRNA earning $223,000? Graduate health care programs promise the highest salaries, but the ROI math isn't always what you'd expect. This page ranks bachelor's, master's, and doctoral programs by return on investment.
Editorial Team
Graduate health care education is where the earnings debate gets interesting. An orthopedic surgeon earns $451,000 but needs 13 years and $250,000 in education. A CRNA earns $223,000 after 7 years and $100,000. When ranked by absolute 20-year net earnings, the surgeon's higher salary overcomes the longer training—both land at $2.5M.
This analysis includes bachelor's, master's, and doctoral health care careers—plus 10 physician specialties using BLS mean wages. We use the same 20-year ROI methodology as our main rankings: (earnings − total investment) ÷ total investment, with total investment including tuition plus opportunity cost (forgone wages during training). For physician specialties, we account for residency wages (~$65k/yr), reducing the opportunity cost penalty during those years.
We include physician specialties here using BLS mean wages. Unlike our Highest-Paying rankings (which exclude physicians due to compensation complexity), ROI analysis benefits from the comparison—it shows whether the extra years of training justify the investment.
This is part of our Best ROI Health Care Careers series. Also see: Certificates | Associate's Degrees
Bubble size = overall score. Y-axis = BLS growth rate. X-axis = AI resilience score. Physician specialties cluster at high AI resilience but low growth.
Graduate-level health care careers (bachelor's through doctoral, including physician specialties) with the highest return on educational investment over 20 years.
All bachelor's, master's, doctoral, and physician careers ranked by 20-year net earnings.
| Rank ↑ | Career ↕ | 20-Year Net ↕ | Salary ↕ | Growth ↕ | Education ↕ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
#1 | Orthopedic Surgeon | $2.5M Strong | $451k/yr Exceptional | 3.0% Average | Doctoral Degree | View Details |
#2 | Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) | $2.5M Strong | $223k/yr Exceptional | 9.0% Fast | Doctoral Degree | View Details |
#3 | Emergency Medicine Physician | $2.3M Strong | $321k/yr Exceptional | 3.0% Average | Doctoral Degree | View Details |
#4 | Cardiologist | $2.1M Strong | $432k/yr Exceptional | 3.0% Average | Doctoral Degree | View Details |
#5 | General Surgeon | $2.0M Strong | $355k/yr Exceptional | 3.0% Average | Doctoral Degree | View Details |
#6 | Anesthesiologist | $1.9M Strong | $337k/yr Exceptional | 3.0% Average | Doctoral Degree | View Details |
#7 | Internal Medicine Physician | $1.9M Strong | $263k/yr Exceptional | 3.0% Average | Doctoral Degree | View Details |
#8 | Family Medicine Physician | $1.8M Strong | $257k/yr Exceptional | 3.0% Average | Doctoral Degree | View Details |
#9 | Psychiatrist | $1.7M Strong | $269k/yr Exceptional | 3.0% Average | Doctoral Degree | View Details |
#10 | Nurse Practitioner | $1.6M Strong | $129k/yr Very High | 40.0% Very Fast | Master's Degree | View Details |
#11 | Dermatologist | $1.6M Strong | $281k/yr Exceptional | 3.0% Average | Doctoral Degree | View Details |
#12 | Certified Nurse-Midwife (CNM) | $1.6M Strong | $129k/yr Very High | 11.0% Fast | Master's Degree | View Details |
#13 | Pediatrician | $1.5M Strong | $222k/yr Exceptional | 3.0% Average | Doctoral Degree | View Details |
#14 | Physician Assistant | $1.5M Strong | $130k/yr Very High | 28.0% Very Fast | Master's Degree | View Details |
#15 | Pharmacist (Doctor of Pharmacy) | $1.4M Solid | $136k/yr Very High | 2.4% Below Average | Doctoral Degree | View Details |
#16 | Genetic Counselor | $1.2M Solid | $99k/yr High | 16.0% Very Fast | Master's Degree | View Details |
#17 | Patient Care Coordinator | $1.2M Solid | $63k/yr Above Average | 8.1% Fast | Bachelor's Degree | View Details |
#18 | Occupational Therapist | $1.2M Solid | $97k/yr High | 10.5% Fast | Master's Degree | View Details |
#19 | Speech-Language Pathologist | $1.1M Solid | $89k/yr High | 9.6% Fast | Master's Degree | View Details |
#20 | Physical Therapist | $1.0M Solid | $101k/yr Very High | 14.2% Fast | Doctoral Degree | View Details |
The 20-Year Net Earnings figure is calculated using a year-by-year model starting from enrollment. During education years, income is $0. For physician specialties, residency years earn ~$65k/yr. After training, salary follows a trajectory from entry-level (BLS 25th percentile) through mid-career (50th percentile) to experienced (75th percentile). The net figure is total income minus average education cost over the 20-year window. Physician salaries use BLS OEWS mean wages because the BLS does not publish medians above $239,200.