Health
What you can do with Pre-Med / Pre-Health
The path to medical, dental, optometry and other professional schools. Usually built on biology or chemistry.
- Careers
- 4
- Early career
- $45,000
- Mid-career
- $83,000
- Growing fast
- 3 of 4
How these numbers work: A major does not have its own salary. Early and mid-career pay is what people who hold this degree earn at the start of their careers and midway through them. Career pay comes from the 4 careers a Pre-Med / Pre-Health degree commonly leads to, and counts everyone in those jobs, including people who have been doing them for thirty years. The two answer different questions, which is why they do not match.
The New York Fed does not report Pre-Med / Pre-Health on its own. Its early and mid-career figures here are for Biology, the broader group it places this major in.
64% of people with this degree go on to a graduate degree, so the higher-paying careers below usually mean more school after the bachelor's.
3 of 4 careers this degree leads to are projected to grow faster than average from 2024 to 2034. Of those, Chiropractor has the most openings, about 2,800 a year.
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4 careers this degree leads to
Psychiatrist
$281,870Diagnose and treat mental illness as a physician, combining psychotherapy, medication management, and medical insight.
- Middle half of workers
- $154,150 to $362,740
- Growth
- Faster than average
- Openings a year
- 900
Work-life66Remote2- Psychiatric Assessment
- Psychopharmacology
- Active Listening
- Critical Thinking
Physician (Family Medicine)
$244,180Serve as the front line of medicine: diagnosing, treating, and coordinating lifelong preventive care for patients of every age.
- Middle half of workers
- $162,420 to $334,270
- Growth
- About average
- Openings a year
- 3,300
Work-life78Remote2- Clinical Diagnosis
- Patient Care
- Critical Thinking
- Communication
Optometrist
$136,570Examine eyes, diagnose vision problems and eye disease, prescribe corrective lenses, and manage ongoing eye health.
- Middle half of workers
- $109,400 to $165,120
- Growth
- Much faster than average
- Openings a year
- 2,400
Work-life72Remote1- Clinical Diagnosis
- Patient Care
- Critical Thinking
- Attention to Detail
Chiropractor
$79,200Treat musculoskeletal and spine conditions through hands-on adjustment and rehabilitation, typically in independent practice.
- Middle half of workers
- $60,070 to $105,050
- Growth
- Much faster than average
- Openings a year
- 2,800
Work-life80Remote1- Spinal Manipulation
- Patient Assessment
- Anatomy
- Communication
Related majors
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Where these pay figures come from
Early and mid-career pay is the median annual wage of full-time workers who hold a bachelor's degree in that major, ages 22 to 27 and ages 35 to 45, from 2024 data. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (IPUMS). Published as Outcomes by Major by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
Career pay is the annual wage of everyone working in that occupation, not only recent graduates, so it includes people who have done the job for decades. The middle half is the 25th to the 75th percentile. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and O*NET OnLine (median and percentile annual wages May 2025; employment projections 2024-2034).
All figures are national. What you earn depends on where you work, who you work for, and how far you take the degree.