Nurse Practitioner / Physician Assistant

Also known as: NP, PA, Nurse Practitioner, Physician Assistant, PA-C, APRN, Mid-Level Provider

Healthcare & BiotechMaster's DegreeStrong Growth

Diagnose illnesses, prescribe medications, and manage patient care independently or alongside physicians in clinics and hospitals.

Salary Range

Entry Level

$105K

Starting salary

→

Top Level

$190K

Top salary

Lead PA (Surgical Specialty)

The highest-paid specialization or seniority level for nurse practitioner / physician assistants.

About 1 in 200 reaches this level

About 162,700 PAs (BLS 29-1071, May 2024); surgical PAs are the highest-paid PA specialty (AAPA: cardiovascular ~$171K), and senior leads in cardiac/neuro/ortho subspecialties reach ~$190K total comp (~0.5%). PA Program Director is an academic role paying less (~$120K).

Salary data based on 2025 BLS, Glassdoor, and industry reports. Actual compensation varies by location, experience, and employer.

How to Become One

This career typically requires a master's degree. Here are the top colleges for it:

Explore all colleges →

AI Risk Assessment

Moderate Risk (Level 2/5)How we score ›

AI assists meaningfully with documentation and diagnostic support, but demand growth far outpaces those gains. BLS projects NP employment up 35% from 2024-2034 (among the three fastest-growing occupations in the entire economy, ~32,700 annual openings) and PA employment up 20% (~12,000 openings/year). Ambient scribes are now widely adopted — a 2026 Wolters Kluwer survey found 56% of PAs use AI daily and 48% use ambient scribe tools — but the productivity gain is modest: a JAMA study of 1,800 clinicians published in 2026 found AI scribes save about 16 minutes per 8-hour shift and enable roughly one additional patient every two weeks. That is not nearly enough to offset 20-35% demand growth driven by an aging population and a 3M+ healthcare worker shortfall.