Career
Audiologists
Diagnose and treat hearing and balance problems.
$95,780
Median pay
+11.0%
Job growth, 2025–35
600
Openings a year
Doctoral or professional degree
Typical education
7–8 years
Typical time after high school
Here's what you actually need to know.
The work
What people in this job do
- Maintain patient records at all stages, including initial and subsequent evaluation and treatment activities.
- Evaluate hearing and balance disorders to determine diagnoses and courses of treatment.
- Fit, dispense, and repair assistive devices, such as hearing aids.
- Administer hearing tests and examine patients to collect information on type and degree of impairment, using specialized instruments and electronic equipment.
- Monitor patients' progress and provide ongoing observation of hearing or balance status.
The outlook
How the forecast changed this year
The deeper question
What kind of person does this path ask you to become?
What this work centers on
O*NET interest profile, scored 1–7.
The work
Do you want most of your days spent on ideas & analysis, then people & care?
Responsibility
Are you willing to be the one responsible for this?
“Maintain patient records at all stages, including initial and subsequent evaluation and treatment activities.”
Development
What would you need to build over the next 5–10 years?
Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Writing, Speaking.
Trade-offs
What does it ask of you in exchange?
7–8 years of education after high school (doctoral or professional degree), for a median of $95,780 a year and 600 openings nationally each year.
Paths in
Degrees that lead here
- Speech and Hearing SciencesSee the degree →
- Communication Sciences and Disorders, GeneralCIP 51.0201
- Audiology/AudiologistCIP 51.0202
- Audiology/Audiologist and Speech-Language Pathology/PathologistCIP 51.0204
- Communication Disorders Sciences and Services, OtherCIP 51.0299
Paths across
Careers that use similar skills
- Hearing Aid Specialists$65,160 · +19.4%
- Optometrists$136,570 · +9.5%
- Pediatric Surgeons$559,030 · +2.0%
- Pediatricians, General$210,040 · +1.5%
- Neurologists$248,560 · +6.4%
Ask anything about this career.
“Would this make sense if I don't want to sit at a desk all day?” Answers will come from the sources on this page, with citations. Coming soon.
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Sources
- BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34 (archived), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- O*NET 31.0 Database (August 2026), National Center for O*NET Development / U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 Crosswalk, NCES and BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-01.