Becoming a doctor is a long process with multiple steps and variables. In the US, it can take anywhere from 7-11 years after college, and that’s without any specialization training. Let’s break down all of the different possible paths to becoming a doctor, including how long each training step takes and how to become a doctor in the fastest amount of time.
How Long Does It Take to Become a Doctor
It takes a long, long time to become a doctor. Medical school typically lasts 4 years. After medical school, you’ll have 3 to 7 years of residency. Therefore, it takes anywhere from 7 to 11 years to become a doctor.
Additionally, you may choose to further specialize with a fellowship. This can take anywhere from 1 to 3 years, bringing the total to 8 to 14 years.
Factoring in the college degree that you need in order to apply to medical school, that adds on an additional 4 years of schooling before med school, for a total of up to 12 to 18 years after high school.
Keep in mind this does not factor in any breaks or gap years you might take.
After college, it’s common for students to take a gap year to either give themselves a well-earned break or improve their med school application to ensure an acceptance the first time. During medical school, students may also choose to take a gap year to ease the stress of school or to enhance their residency application. For example, many students decide to take a research year in the later years of medical school to boost their qualifications.
You may also choose to take an additional year to improve your residency application if you are applying to a competitive program, such as plastic surgery or dermatology, or don’t believe you will match into your preferred program.
What’s the Fastest Way to Become a Doctor?
The fastest way to become a fully-credentialed doctor is to take the most straightforward path without subspecializing or taking any gap years.
This means earning a 4-year college degree, immediately gaining an acceptance to medical school, finishing medical school in 4 years, and completing a short residency, such as family medicine and pediatrics, which take 3 years.
Therefore, the fastest you can become a doctor after college is 7 years.
However, if you’re extra eager, you may be able to complete college in fewer than 4 years by taking summer courses or gaining acceptance at a BS/MD program during high school. BS/MD programs are early admission pathways that combine bachelor and MD programs together to streamline the journey from high school to medical school.
Learn more about BS/MD Programs: Options and How to Get In.
How Long It Takes to Become a Doctor by Specialty
The largest determining factor for how long it will take to become a doctor is the length of the residency program you choose.
The length of training varies across different specialties, generally ranging from 3 to 7 years, and is often reflected in the salary a doctor receives; however, this isn’t always the case.
This is how long you can expect residency to take based on popular specialties. In addition to the stated time, remember that fellowships to further specialize can take anywhere from 1 to 3 years.
| Residency Specialty | Residency Length |
|---|---|
| Anesthesiology | 4 Years |
| Child Neurology | 5 Years |
| Dermatology | 4 Years |
| Diagnostic Radiology | 5 Years |
| Emergency Medicine | 3-4 Years |
| Family Medicine | 3 Years |
| General Surgery | 5 Years |
| Genetics and Genomics | 3 Years |
| Internal Medicine | 3 Years |
| Internal Medicine Pediatrics | 4 Years |
| Interventional Radiology | 6 Years |
| Neurosurgery | 7 Years |
| Neurology | 4 Years |
| Nuclear Medicine | 4 Years |
| Obstetrics and Gynecology | 4 Years |
| Ophthalmology | 4 Years |
| Orthopedic Surgery | 5 Years |
| Osteopathic Neuromusculoskeletal Medicine | 3 Years |
| Otolaryngology | 5 Years |
| Pathology | 4 Years |
| Pediatrics | 3 Years |
| Plastic Surgery | 6 Years |
| Preventive Medicine | 3 Years |
| Psychiatry | 4 Years |
| Radiation Oncology | 5 Years |
| Thoracic Surgery | 6-7 Years |
| Urology | 5 Years |
| Vascular Surgery | 5 Years |
How Old Will You Be When You Become a Doctor?
So, what do all of those numbers really mean? You may be looking at that timeline and counting away the years of your life it will take to become a doctor.
Let’s say, for example, you graduate high school at age 18. If you go directly into college without any delays or gap years, you will be 22 by the time you graduate college.
If, again, you go directly into medical school after college and don’t take a gap year when you’re in medical school, you’ll be 26 by the time you finish med school.
That also means you’ll be 26 when you begin residency and finally begin earning a regular salary. Though, keep in mind, at this point in your career, you still won’t be making much. Residents make approximately $60K a year, and you will likely have notable student loans to pay off.
Alright, now you’re in the final stretch. By the time you finish residency and can begin earning a real doctor salary, you will be anywhere from 29 to 33 years old. The difference depends on the specialty you choose to pursue.
The length of training varies across specialties from 3 to 7 years and is often, but not always, reflected in the salary a doctor receives.
For example, residency can be as short as 3 years for internal medicine, pediatrics, family medicine, and emergency medicine. For these specialties, you would be 29 at the end of residency.
Some of the 4 year residency programs include anesthesiology, dermatology, psychiatry, OB/GYN, neurology, pathology, and ophthalmology, which will make you approximately 30 years of age by the time residency is complete.
5 year residency programs include radiology, urology, general surgery, vascular surgery, and otolaryngology, which puts you at 31 after residency.
Plastic surgery, thoracic surgery, and interventional radiology are 6 year residency programs, which means you’ll finish residency at age 32. Finally, there’s neurosurgery, which is the longest program at 7 years. You’d be around 33 years old by the time you finish neurosurgery residency.
But that may not be all. In addition to these time frames, remember that fellowships to further specialize can take anywhere from 1 to 3 years.
This puts the age range for a subspecialized doctor at 30-36 years old.
Doctor Training Years Explained
College & Your Medical School Application
Provided you don’t take any breaks, college lasts for 4 years, which are broken down into freshman year, sophomore year, junior year, and senior year.
Throughout your time in college, you will need to work at achieving your degree with a respectable GPA, fulfilling all of the prerequisites required for applying to medical school, and preparing your med school application.
The first two years of college focus on building strong study habits and getting good grades. This is also when students need to begin gaining experience in medical-related activities and building strong relationships with their professors and extracurricular supervisors. Experience is required for the med school application Work and Activities section, and deeply developed relationships are needed to obtain strong letters of recommendation.
The third year of college, junior year, is when students hoping to attend medical school immediately after college need to apply. Applications open in late May/early June, and it’s imperative that you submit your primary application as soon as possible to have a fighting chance at acceptance. For example, if you want to go to medical school in September 2025, we recommend you submit your application as soon as they open, in the spring of 2024.
After spending the summer writing your secondary applications, the fourth year of college, senior year, is when you will conduct most of your interviews, likely during the fall and winter.
Medical schools begin sending acceptance letters in October, and you could be contacted any time after that. You can hold multiple acceptances until the middle of May; at that point, you must commit to one school.
Learn how each year of college is broken down.
Medical School
Medical schools, both MD and DO in the US are generally 4 years, and each training year is distinct. The first two years are preclinical, which means you primarily learn in the classroom and have limited clinical exposure. The final two years are clinical, so you’ll spend more time in the hospital learning first-hand from resident doctors and attending physicians.
During the clinical years, you won’t be just studying out of books and taking tests. While that will still take up part of your time, most of it will be spent in the hospital or clinic performing your clinical rotations. MS3 and MS4 are vastly different from your first 2 years, as now the evaluations from the attending physicians you’re working under hold a massive weight in your overall grade.
During your third year (MS3), you’ll complete various rotations, such as family medicine, neurology, internal medicine, psychiatry, and more.
The final year of medical school (MS4), is when you’ll be able to take elective rotations and begin away rotations, also known as audition rotations, where you act as a sub-intern at institutions across the country.
Typically, you’ll have 2 or 3 away rotations that each last a month at institutions where you would like to ultimately match for residency. These are essentially month-long interviews. If you’re going into a specialty like surgery, expect high stress and long hours.
MS4 is also when you’ll apply to residency and, hopefully, match into a residency program. You’ll find out if you matched and where you matched during Match Week, which occurs during the third week of March.
Learn more about the differences between each year of medical school from our Medical School Timeline (All 4 Years Explained).
Residency & Fellowships
During your 3-7 years of residency, you’ll be practicing medicine under the supervision of professional physicians. You are no longer a medical student—you’re a doctor in training being paid to work a job. Before you’re fully licensed, board certified, and can practice on your own without supervision, you need to hone your skills as a resident doctor.
Residency is also the period of training you’ll undertake to become a particular type of doctor, such as a psychiatrist, family doctor, or surgeon.
Following residency, you can choose to further subspecialize with a fellowship. Pursuing a fellowship after residency enables you to become an expert in a particular subspecialty of medicine. Fellowships can last anywhere from 1-3 years.
Learn more: Guide to Understanding Medical Fellowships.
Beginning Your Doctor Journey
Becoming a doctor is a long and tedious process, but by taking it one step at a time with patience and perseverance, you’ll reach your goal eventually. And we’re here to help you each step of the way with tutoring, advising, and editing services for both premeds and medical students.
If you’re applying to medical school or hope to in the future, save our guides: Medical School Application Monthly Schedule and How to Apply to Medical School.
If you’re a medical student (or proactive premed) trying to choose a specialty or subspecialty, check out our So You What to Be… series, which provides insight into what it’s like to pursue different specialties. We have dozens of articles and corresponding Youtube videos. If you don’t see a specialty you’re interested in, leave a comment below to make a request.
