Pediatric Surgeons vs Cardiologists: Salary, Job Outlook & Education | Career Matchup
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Career comparison

Pediatric Surgeons vs Cardiologists

Compare the evidence side by side. Career Matchup shows the source data without declaring an overall winner.

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01 · Compensation

Pay and employment

Median annual wage

2025

Pediatric Surgeons$559,030
100% relative comparison

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
Release: May 2025 · Reference/year: 2025 · Occupation code: 29-1243

Cardiologists$496,010
89% relative comparison

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
Release: May 2025 · Reference/year: 2025 · Occupation code: 29-1212

Mean annual wage

2025

Pediatric Surgeons$502,050
100% relative comparison

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
Release: May 2025 · Reference/year: 2025 · Occupation code: 29-1243

Cardiologists$454,940
91% relative comparison

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
Release: May 2025 · Reference/year: 2025 · Occupation code: 29-1212

Hourly median wage

2025

Pediatric Surgeons$268.76
100% relative comparison

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
Release: May 2025 · Reference/year: 2025 · Occupation code: 29-1243

Cardiologists$238.47
89% relative comparison

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
Release: May 2025 · Reference/year: 2025 · Occupation code: 29-1212

Hourly mean wage

2025

Pediatric Surgeons$241.37
100% relative comparison

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
Release: May 2025 · Reference/year: 2025 · Occupation code: 29-1243

Cardiologists$218.72
91% relative comparison

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
Release: May 2025 · Reference/year: 2025 · Occupation code: 29-1212

10th percentile annual wage

2025

Pediatric Surgeons$215,410
100% relative comparison

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
Release: May 2025 · Reference/year: 2025 · Occupation code: 29-1243

Cardiologists$107,190
50% relative comparison

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
Release: May 2025 · Reference/year: 2025 · Occupation code: 29-1212

25th percentile annual wage

2025

Pediatric Surgeons$336,380
100% relative comparison

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
Release: May 2025 · Reference/year: 2025 · Occupation code: 29-1243

Cardiologists$274,280
82% relative comparison

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
Release: May 2025 · Reference/year: 2025 · Occupation code: 29-1212

75th percentile annual wage

2025

Pediatric Surgeons$583,200
96% relative comparison

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
Release: May 2025 · Reference/year: 2025 · Occupation code: 29-1243

Cardiologists$610,060
100% relative comparison

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
Release: May 2025 · Reference/year: 2025 · Occupation code: 29-1212

90th percentile annual wage

2025

Pediatric Surgeons$726,660
100% relative comparison

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
Release: May 2025 · Reference/year: 2025 · Occupation code: 29-1243

Cardiologists$712,130
98% relative comparison

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
Release: May 2025 · Reference/year: 2025 · Occupation code: 29-1212

National employment

2025

Pediatric Surgeons1,190
7% relative comparison

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
Release: May 2025 · Reference/year: 2025 · Occupation code: 29-1243

Cardiologists17,290
100% relative comparison

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
Release: May 2025 · Reference/year: 2025 · Occupation code: 29-1212

02 · Outlook

Employment outlook

Bars compare the same metric across the two careers. They are not an overall score.

Projected employment change

2025-2035

Pediatric Surgeons2%
42% relative comparison

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · Employment Projections
Release: 2025-2035 · Reference/year: 2025-2035 · Occupation code: 29-1243

Cardiologists4.8%
100% relative comparison

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · Employment Projections
Release: 2025-2035 · Reference/year: 2025-2035 · Occupation code: 29-1212

Average annual openings

2025-2035

Pediatric Surgeons0k
6% relative comparison

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · Employment Projections
Release: 2025-2035 · Reference/year: 2025-2035 · Occupation code: 29-1243

Cardiologists0.5k
50% relative comparison

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · Employment Projections
Release: 2025-2035 · Reference/year: 2025-2035 · Occupation code: 29-1212

03 · Preparation

Education and training

Typical entry-level education

2025-2035

Pediatric SurgeonsDoctoral or professional degree

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · Employment Projections
Release: 2025-2035 · Reference/year: 2025-2035 · Occupation code: 29-1243

CardiologistsDoctoral or professional degree

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · Employment Projections
Release: 2025-2035 · Reference/year: 2025-2035 · Occupation code: 29-1212

Related work experience

2025-2035

Pediatric SurgeonsNot available

Value missing or suppressed in source.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · Employment Projections
Release: 2025-2035 · Reference/year: 2025-2035 · Occupation code: 29-1243

CardiologistsNot available

Value missing or suppressed in source.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · Employment Projections
Release: 2025-2035 · Reference/year: 2025-2035 · Occupation code: 29-1212

On-the-job training

2025-2035

Pediatric SurgeonsInternship/residency

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · Employment Projections
Release: 2025-2035 · Reference/year: 2025-2035 · Occupation code: 29-1243

CardiologistsInternship/residency

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · Employment Projections
Release: 2025-2035 · Reference/year: 2025-2035 · Occupation code: 29-1212

04 · Context and fit

Work context

Only compatible O*NET scales are compared together. Relative bars preserve the source scale interpretation.

04 · Context and fit

Skills

Only compatible O*NET scales are compared together. Relative bars preserve the source scale interpretation.

04 · Context and fit

Work styles

Only compatible O*NET scales are compared together. Relative bars preserve the source scale interpretation.

Dependability

Pediatric Surgeons2.9 raw · WI scale
99% relative

Source: O*NET Resource Center · O*NET Database
Release: 31.0 · Reference/year: August 2026 · Occupation code: 29-1243.00

Cardiologists2.9 raw · WI scale
99% relative

Source: O*NET Resource Center · O*NET Database
Release: 31.0 · Reference/year: August 2026 · Occupation code: 29-1212.00

Attention to detail

Pediatric Surgeons3 raw · WI scale
100% relative

Source: O*NET Resource Center · O*NET Database
Release: 31.0 · Reference/year: August 2026 · Occupation code: 29-1243.00

Cardiologists3 raw · WI scale
100% relative

Source: O*NET Resource Center · O*NET Database
Release: 31.0 · Reference/year: August 2026 · Occupation code: 29-1212.00

Stress tolerance

Pediatric Surgeons3 raw · WI scale
100% relative

Source: O*NET Resource Center · O*NET Database
Release: 31.0 · Reference/year: August 2026 · Occupation code: 29-1243.00

Cardiologists2.7 raw · WI scale
95% relative

Source: O*NET Resource Center · O*NET Database
Release: 31.0 · Reference/year: August 2026 · Occupation code: 29-1212.00

Cooperation

Pediatric Surgeons2.5 raw · WI scale
91% relative

Source: O*NET Resource Center · O*NET Database
Release: 31.0 · Reference/year: August 2026 · Occupation code: 29-1243.00

Cardiologists2.2 raw · WI scale
87% relative

Source: O*NET Resource Center · O*NET Database
Release: 31.0 · Reference/year: August 2026 · Occupation code: 29-1212.00

Explore your next step

Pediatric Surgeons

Read the full profile, preparation, skills and source details.

Cardiologists

Read the full profile, preparation, skills and source details.

  • Use the career comparison checklist

Sources

Each side retains the source release, reference period, occupation code, and file hash used for the comparison.

Pediatric Surgeons

Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics

Source-backed

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Release May 2025 · Reference 2025

Occupation code 29-1243 · SHA-256 b5855a37f3e03e779f6fbf173d3bbc94aeeff33426aef32fa95ce6d025bab1af

Employment Projections

Source-backed

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Release 2025-2035 · Reference 2025-2035

Occupation code 29-1243 · SHA-256 a7d060f0576f7d4f5b829b9a0bb4a6c11a12766d159ebb0e07aab5bd2e7583c5

O*NET Database

Source-backed

O*NET Resource Center

Release 31.0 · Reference August 2026

Occupation code 29-1243.00 · SHA-256 c63ad00a8e45f3d3ef8e1529fcf8864d2279f2dfcb98737436818f5664781b04

Cardiologists

Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics

Source-backed

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Release May 2025 · Reference 2025

Occupation code 29-1212 · SHA-256 b5855a37f3e03e779f6fbf173d3bbc94aeeff33426aef32fa95ce6d025bab1af

Employment Projections

Source-backed

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Release 2025-2035 · Reference 2025-2035

Occupation code 29-1212 · SHA-256 a7d060f0576f7d4f5b829b9a0bb4a6c11a12766d159ebb0e07aab5bd2e7583c5

O*NET Database

Source-backed

O*NET Resource Center

Release 31.0 · Reference August 2026

Occupation code 29-1212.00 · SHA-256 c63ad00a8e45f3d3ef8e1529fcf8864d2279f2dfcb98737436818f5664781b04

Read the data in context

Career Matchup does not declare an overall winner. National estimates can hide local variation, and O*NET relative values describe the named construct rather than whether a career is better.

Career Matchup is an independent comparison tool.

Data sourcesData availabilityAboutFree guideContactPrivacyTermsData: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and O*NET® Database.