How to become a doctor

What a doctor does

A doctor diagnoses and treats illness and injury, orders and interprets tests, prescribes treatment, and directs care in clinics, hospitals and patients' homes. Job postings use the word physician, so that is the term to search once you start looking for work.

Two degrees lead to the same job. An MD is a Doctor of Medicine, a DO is a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine, and both qualify for the same unrestricted state license and compete for the same residencies. Physicians and surgeons held about 839,000 US jobs in 2024, and the largest named specialties were family medicine at 116,000, general internal medicine at 73,200 and general pediatrics at 46,400, with another 340,700 filed under the catch-all "physicians, all other" (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2024 data). If you are weighing this against a shorter clinical path, a physician assistant or a nurse practitioner also diagnoses and prescribes; the entry degree there is a graduate nursing or PA degree, not a medical doctorate.

How long it takes to become a doctor

11 years after high school at the fastest: a 4-year bachelor's degree, 4 years of medical school and a 3-year residency in family medicine, internal medicine or pediatrics. Neurosurgery makes it 15. BLS gives a wider range for internship and residency, 3 to 9 years across all specialties, with a fellowship of 1 to 3 years on top for subspecialists.

The degree you need

A medical doctorate: an MD from a school accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education, or a DO from a college accredited by the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation. The LCME directory listed 163 MD programs in July 2026, 151 of them with full accreditation and 3 more full but on probation. AACOM counted 48 colleges of osteopathic medicine teaching at 75 locations in 36 states in July 2026.

54,699 people applied to MD schools for 2025 and 23,440 started, about 43% of them. Total enrollment at MD schools passed 100,000 for the first time that year (AAMC, December 2025). The DO side had 23,114 applicants and 10,297 matriculants in 2025-26 (AACOM, June 2026). Many people apply to both.

The application year costs money before tuition does. The MCAT is $355 for the 2026 testing year, or $145 through the AAMC Fee Assistance Program. AMCAS, the central application for MD schools, charges $180 for the 2027 cycle including one school, then $48 per school after that. For DO schools you apply through AACOMAS instead.

The exams you have to pass

Three licensing exams on each route, spread across medical school and residency: USMLE Steps 1, 2 CK and 3 for MD students, COMLEX-USA Levels 1, 2-CE and 3 for DO students, who may also take the USMLE.

Fees are the 2026 schedule for students and graduates of US medical schools: Steps 1 and 2 CK through NBME, Step 3 through FSMB.

Getting into residency

Residency places are assigned by a national algorithm. You rank programs, programs rank you, and the NRMP runs the Match every March. The 2026 Match offered 44,344 positions, of which 41,126 were first-year (PGY-1), and 38,354 of those PGY-1 places filled, or 93.3%.

Your odds depend on where you trained. Of 48,050 applicants who certified a rank list, 79.8% matched to a PGY-1 position. US MD seniors matched at 93.5% and US DO seniors at 93.2%, while US citizens who trained abroad matched at 70.0% and non-US international graduates at 56.4% (NRMP, 2026).

Getting licensed and board certified

Every state licenses physicians on its own terms, and board certification is a separate step after that. You need the degree from an accredited school, passing exam scores and a period of residency training that the state accepts. 41 state boards issued a training license for residents as of FSMB's 2023 licensure pathway, so you may hold one during residency and apply for the full license later (FSMB).

Board certification comes after residency and is optional. BLS says it may increase employment opportunities. The 24 member boards of the American Board of Medical Specialties certify in 38 specialties and 89 subspecialties as of July 2026, and certification generally requires a completed residency and the board's own exam.

Step by step: how to become a doctor

1. Finish a bachelor's degree in any subject, with the prerequisite biology, chemistry, physics and math courses the schools ask for.
2. Get clinical and research hours while you study. Admissions committees read them as evidence you know what the job is like.
3. Take the MCAT, usually in the spring of your third year or later.
4. Apply through AMCAS for MD schools, AACOMAS for DO schools, a full year before you want to start.
5. Pass Step 1 or COMLEX Level 1 in your second year of medical school, and Step 2 CK or Level 2-CE in your third or fourth.
6. Register with ERAS, the residency application service, and with the NRMP in your final year, interview through the winter and find out where you matched in March.
7. Start residency, take Step 3 or COMLEX Level 3 during it, and apply for your state license when the board says you are eligible.
8. Finish residency, take your specialty board exam if you want certification, and start applying for attending jobs.

What it costs

The median 4-year cost of attendance for the class graduating in 2026 is $297,745 at public schools and $408,150 at private schools, both for in-state students (AAMC). First-year tuition and fees alone ran a median of $43,648 at public schools in state and $74,661 at private schools in 2025-26.

70% of the class of 2025 graduated with education debt, and among those who had it the median was $215,000 (AAMC FIRST fact card, October 2025). Residency comes with a salary while the loans are in repayment or deferral: the median stipend in the first post-MD year was $66,986 in 2025 (AAMC, preliminary).

What doctors earn

At or above $239,200 a year at the median, which is where BLS stops publishing: wages for physicians and surgeons run past the top of its wage scale (May 2024 data). Averages vary widely by specialty. Mean annual wages in May 2024 were $222,340 for general pediatricians, $256,830 in family medicine, $336,640 for anesthesiologists, $432,490 for cardiologists and $450,810 for pediatric surgeons.

CVS Health advertises a primary care physician role at $174,070 to $374,920 a year in our listings, and per diem in-home physician work at $105 an hour (MedJobList, July 2026). BLS projects 3% employment growth for the occupation from 2024 to 2034, with about 23,600 openings a year over the decade.

Where doctors are hiring now

Right now 1,053 openings sit on our physician filter. On July 25, 2026 it held 443 postings tagged as home visits, 238 in clinics and 106 in hospitals.

Titles include Primary Care Physician, Urgent Care Physician, named specialties such as "Physician, Neurosurgeon", and Center Medical Director roles for physicians who move into running a site. Of the 798 on that date, 246 were full time and 312 part time, with per diem work alongside. You can see the current set on our physician jobs page.