Overview
Anesthesiology trains 4 years and reaches ~$400K attending income. Most anesthesiologists practice in settings that do NOT qualify for PSLF (AMC contract groups, private-practice groups), so aggressive payoff and refinancing usually dominate.
Physician salary & compensation
Median salary
$400K
Range
$350K – $500K
Source
MGMA 2025 / Doximity 2025
Residency training timeline
Training years
4y
PGY-1 salary
$65K
Annual growth
2.0%
Fellowship
Optional
Not baked into training
Most anesthesiology trainees follow a 4-year track. PGY-1 pay starts around $65K with roughly 2.0% annual raises.
PSLF & forgiveness strategy
The dominant employment models (AMC contract groups, private anesthesia groups) are for-profit and NOT PSLF-qualifying. Academic anesthesiology is the exception.
Our pick · Aggressive payoff or refinance
Repayment recommendation
High attending salary + typical 4-year residency + rare PSLF qualifying = refinance to 4% and pay off in 3–5 years is usually the winning move.
Run your numbers for AnesthesiologyKey takeaways
- Pain-management fellowship adds 1 year; usually doesn't change PSLF math materially
- Hospital W-2 employed anesthesia (less common) may qualify for PSLF
- Refinance competitive rates for anesthesiologists start around 4%
Ready to model your debt strategy?
Compare PSLF, refinancing, and aggressive payoff for your Anesthesiology scenario — pre-filled with the salary and training defaults from this page.
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