Emergency Medicine Physicians
Make immediate medical decisions and act to prevent death or further disability. Provide immediate recognition, evaluation, care, stabilization, and disposition of patients. May direct emergency medical staff in an emergency department.
Also called: Attending Emergency Physician, Attending Physician, Critical Care Intensivist, Critical Care Intensivist Physician, Critical Care Physician, Disaster Medicine Physician
Median pay
$335,550
per year, U.S.
Pay range (10th–90th)
$103,610 – $495,910
People employed
32,880
Holland code
ISC
Investigative · Social · Conventional
Updated October 2026 · Data: O*NET 31.0 and BLS OEWS May 2025 · How we match careers
Is this career right for you?
These are the things that stand out in this job compared with other U.S. jobs (O*NET 31.0 work context). Answer honestly.
- 1.Do you want a lot of freedom to make your own decisions?
- 2.Are you happy talking and working with people most of the day?
- 3.Do you enjoy serving customers or the public?
- 4.Do you want to lead or coordinate other people’s work?
- 5.Are you OK with hours that change?
- 6.Do you work well under tight deadlines?
The hard parts
- Exposure to disease or infection
- Mistakes can have serious consequences
- Dealing with conflict is part of the job
Emergency Medicine Physicians pay by state
Highest-paying states
Annual median pay by state (30 states and DC with published data). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025.
What emergency medicine physicians do
- 01Select, request, perform, or interpret diagnostic procedures, such as laboratory tests, electrocardiograms, emergency ultrasounds, and radiographs.
- 02Evaluate patients' vital signs or laboratory data to determine emergency intervention needs and priority of treatment.
- 03Perform emergency resuscitations on patients.
- 04Stabilize patients in critical condition.
- 05Perform such medical procedures as emergent cricothyrotomy, endotracheal intubation, and emergency thoracotomy.
- 06Analyze records, examination information, or test results to diagnose medical conditions.
Skills that matter most
- Active Listening
- Critical Thinking
- Speaking
- Reading Comprehension
- Monitoring
- Writing
Knowledge
- Medicine and Dentistry
- English Language
- Biology
- Psychology
- Therapy and Counseling
Work styles that stand out
- Intellectual Curiosity
- Cooperation
- Achievement Orientation
- Self-Control
- Stress Tolerance
Education and first steps
Share of workers by required education, as reported to O*NET.
How people get started
- Usually needs a graduate degree (O*NET Job Zone 5).
- Related work experience: over 2 years, up to and including 4 years.
- On-the-job training: anything beyond short demonstration, up to and including 1 month.
- A professional certification is often expected.
Most common answers from O*NET 31.0 Education, Training and Experience.
Interest fit (Holland code)
O*NET occupational interest scores, scale 1–7. Take the Free Career Test to compare with your own.
Career changes
Change from emergency medicine physicians
- Paramedics56% · −82%
- Midwives56% · group pay
- Genetic Counselors55% · −70%
- Athletic Trainers54% · −81%
- Nursing Instructors and Teachers, Postsecondary53% · −76%
Majors that lead here
- Medicine
- Osteopathic Medicine/Osteopathy
- Emergency Medicine/Anesthesiology Combined Specialty Program
- Family Medicine/Emergency Medicine Combined Specialty Program
- Internal Medicine/Emergency Medicine Combined Specialty Program
- Internal Medicine/Emergency Medicine/Critical Care Medicine Combined Specialty Program
- Pediatrics/Emergency Medicine Combined Specialty Program
- Critical Care Medicine Fellowship Program
- Wilderness Medicine Fellowship Program
- Emergency Medicine Residency Program
- Disaster Medicine Fellowship Program
- Emergency Medical Services Fellowship Program
From the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk.