Track down a new cough
Learn when the cough began, do an exam, and check past records before deciding whether to test.
Career profile
Family Medicine Physician
Family physicians diagnose new illnesses, manage ongoing conditions, and prevent disease in children and adults.
One patient can stay with the same doctor for years. That history helps you make sense of whatever brings them in today.
A day in the life
Change a plan that isn't working
Review a returning patient's readings and how they feel, then change the treatment and tell them what's next.
Make room for prevention
During a routine checkup, review vaccine records and discuss health habits, even when the patient has no complaints.
Bring in a specialist
Tell the patient why a specialist is needed, then send records and results that frame your question.
Proofread a scribe tool's note
Where your practice uses an artificial intelligence (AI) scribe, read its note and fix errors before signing.
Quick facts
College + medical school + residency
United States
$244,180 median
United States · May 2025
3.3% projected growth
United States · 2025–2035
Quick orientation
Preparation, pay & outlook
Preparation
College + medical school + residencyThe usual path includes a bachelor’s degree, four years of medical school and three years of family medicine residency.
Pay
$244,180 medianAnnual employee wages for family medicine physicians; about $117.39 per hour on a standard full-time equivalent basis.
Outlook
3.3% projected growthAbout 2,900 openings per year are projected nationally, including replacement needs.
Fit, tradeoffs & changing tools
You might like this if…
- You like asking follow-up questions before settling on an explanation.
- You want to learn about many parts of medicine and work with people of different ages.
- You find satisfaction in checking back and seeing whether a plan helped.
Things to weigh
- You make consequential decisions while the appointment schedule keeps moving.
- Some jobs include long days, overnight work or calls outside clinic hours.
Where AI may help
With patient consent, AI scribes can turn a visit conversation into a draft medical note, reducing typing.
What people still lead
You still examine the patient, choose the treatment and check whether the note accurately records the visit.
What we can’t predict yet
How much documentation work these tools remove will depend partly on how much correction their drafts need.
Pay in context
Earnings
Read these figures as employee wages before taxes, not take-home pay or the income of a self-employed practice owner.
The national midpoint and spread
The median was $244,180 a year, equivalent to about $117.39 an hour. The 10th percentile was $76,830 and the 90th was $428,550. These describe the wage distribution, not starting and senior salaries.
Pay differs across workplaces
An older comparison puts annual average wages at $247,040 in physicians’ offices and $240,600 in outpatient care centers. These May 2023 averages are historical context, not current offers.
Compare the work attached to the pay
Ask how a contract pays for clinic work and any hospital coverage. Compare expected workload, paid leave and benefits alongside the salary.
Openings include replacing departing doctors
Employment is projected to grow 3.3% from 2025 to 2035, with about 2,900 openings annually from growth and replacement needs. These are national projections, not a count of jobs available today.
Getting started
Earn a Doctor of Medicine (MD) degree
- What the route involves
- Study medical science and learn patient care through clinical rotations in a medical-school program, typically lasting four years.
- What it can lead to
- The medical degree needed to enter postgraduate physician training, including family medicine residency.
Earn a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) degree
- What the route involves
- Complete a four-year medical curriculum with clinical rotations and additional hands-on training in examining the body’s muscles and joints.
- What it can lead to
- A physician degree that also leads into family medicine residency.
Train in family medicine residency
Typically three years after medical school.Paid
- What the route involves
- Care for patients under experienced physicians, rotate through clinical services and follow your own group of clinic patients over time.
- What it can lead to
- Preparation for family medicine practice and a route to completing specialty board certification requirements.
Two medical degrees lead to the same next step: family medicine residency. Usually, you first complete a bachelor’s degree and medical-school prerequisites, then apply with the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT). Admission is competitive.
After entry
Career paths
This starts where the entry routes leave off: early work, growing capability, and advancement or specialization. This path also has a credential or licensing boundary; see the requirements and limits.
Get established
Build reliable follow-up routines as you get to know the patients who return to your practice.
Develop your judgment
Review how patients respond to treatment and improve how you coordinate complicated care with other clinicians.
Add a focus
Pursue fellowship training in an area such as sports medicine or geriatrics.
- Develop teaching skills and move toward a faculty role training future physicians.
Where you can work
An employed outpatient practice
You share care with other clinicians in a group or health system. The employer sets clinic expectations and may include an after-hours call rotation.
- Indoors
- Office
- On call
A rural clinic
Specialists, equipment and support staff may be harder to reach. You need to handle broad medical concerns while working around those limits.
- Indoors
- Office
An academic medical center
Patient care shares your time with teaching. Faculty work can also include designing lessons, mentoring students and serving on university committees.
- Indoors
- Office
Try it
See whether the job clicks before you commit to the path.
Imagine a fictional patient returning after a treatment change. Write five questions that would help you understand what changed and how the plan fits their daily life. Notice whether you enjoy following someone’s story and identifying what you still need to know.
Stay safe: Use invented details; do not diagnose someone or suggest a treatment.
Sources
- O*NET OnLine. 29-1215.00 — Family Medicine Physicians. Accessed 2026-10-06.
- O*NET OnLine / U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. National Wages: Family Medicine Physicians. Accessed 2026-10-06.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Occupational projections and worker characteristics, 2025–2035. Accessed 2026-10-06.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Physicians and Surgeons. Accessed 2026-10-06.
- American Academy of Family Physicians. Family Medicine Residency and Training Requirements. Accessed 2026-10-06.
- American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine. Osteopathic Medical Education and Accreditation. Accessed 2026-10-06.
- Federation of State Medical Boards. About Physician Licensure. Accessed 2026-10-06.
- American Board of Family Medicine. Resident Entry Process. Accessed 2026-10-06.
- American Academy of Family Physicians. 20 Tips for Using an AI Virtual Scribe to Document Office Visits. Accessed 2026-10-06.
- American Academy of Family Physicians. Family Medicine Career Options and Career Paths. Accessed 2026-10-06.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. May 2023 Occupational Employment and Wages: Family Medicine Physicians. Accessed 2026-10-06.
- American Academy of Family Physicians. Life After Residency: Exploring Practice Options in Family Medicine. Accessed 2026-10-06.