Physician: main tradeoff

Extremely long training and high opportunity cost are balanced by durable demand and a projected national physician shortage.

Nurse Practitioner: main tradeoff

One of the fastest-growing occupations with strong compensation and a large national workforce, but it requires graduate nursing education and state-dependent practice rules.

Which should you choose?

Nurse Practitioner has the higher projected 2024–2034 growth rate. The larger decision is whether you prefer the training path, work style, and occupation-specific tradeoffs of Physician or Nurse Practitioner.