Diagnose, treat, manage, and prevent diseases or conditions of the cardiovascular system. May further subspecialize in interventional procedures (e.g., balloon angioplasty and stent placement), echocardiography, or electrophysiology.
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Licensing, certifications and working conditions
State licensing. Cardiologists is licensed or registered in 52 of 57 states and territories, as reported by each state to CareerOneStop. Federal credentials are listed as well. A license often applies only to certain roles within a career, and records were last updated between 2010 and 2024, so confirm requirements with the state licensing board.
Certifications. CareerOneStop directly links 7 professional certifications to Cardiologists. 1 of them are in CareerOneStop's "Core" group, for example: Certified EKG Technician (CET). Certifications are voluntary credentials offered by the organizations named; listing one is not an endorsement.
Sources: CareerOneStop (licenses and certifications), part of the CareerOneStop suite of web products, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (working conditions, wages). MajorPays has reorganized this information; these agencies have not approved or endorsed it. See it interactively, with state-by-state detail →
More data on this career
Where the jobs are, and what they pay by industry. Nationwide, the industries that employ the most cardiologists are Offices of Physicians (62% of the jobs counted, median pay $516,940), General Medical and Surgical Hospitals (28% of the jobs counted, median pay $446,020), Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (5% of the jobs counted), Outpatient Care Centers (3% of the jobs counted, median pay $239,200 or more) (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025). Among large industries, the highest median pay is in Offices of Physicians ($516,940), General Medical and Surgical Hospitals ($446,020). Pay differs by industry for many reasons, including the mix of jobs and where employers are located.
Injury and illness rates. For the broader group "Physicians", which includes this career (BLS did not publish enough cases for this exact occupation), employers reported 15.5 nonfatal injury and illness cases with days away from work per 10,000 full-time workers, compared with 94.6 for all U.S. workers; the median case kept the worker away 6 days (all workers: 8) (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2023-2024). Rates reflect the work setting as well as the occupation.
Union membership. In the broad group "Healthcare practitioners and technical", which includes this career, 12.0% of wage and salary workers belong to a union (all U.S. workers: 10.0%); median weekly pay is $1,605 for union members and $1,521 for workers not in a union (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey, 2025). This is a group figure, not specific to cardiologists.
Wages employers offered H-1B workers. For cardiologists, employers filed 483 certified Labor Condition Applications for H-1B workers covering 483 worker positions in FY2025, with a median lower-bound wage offered of $454,000 (the middle half ran from $275,000 to $552,500) (U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Foreign Labor Certification). These are wages named in employers' applications to hire temporary foreign workers, usually in jobs that need at least a bachelor's degree. They are not what every worker in the occupation earns. The Department of Labor has not endorsed this presentation.
Employer benefits. In the broad group "Professional and related", which includes this career, 86% of civilian workers had access to an employer retirement plan, 85% had access to employer medical care benefits, and 92% had paid sick leave, 73% paid vacation and 78% paid holidays (all civilian workers: 75%, 74%, 83%, 77% and 79%) (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Compensation Survey, March 2026). This is a group figure, not specific to cardiologists, and having access to a benefit does not mean every worker uses it. The Bureau of Labor Statistics has not endorsed this presentation. Employers spent about $74.42 per hour worked on total compensation for the occupational group "Professional and related" in June 2026 ($50.37 in wages and salaries and $24.06 in benefits, 32.3% of the total; all civilian workers: $49.46, with 31.6% in benefits) (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employer Costs for Employee Compensation).
Related careers. O*NET lists these occupations as similar to cardiologists in the work done and the skills used: Pediatric Surgeons, General Internal Medicine Physicians, Anesthesiologists, Urologists, Emergency Medicine Physicians, Radiologists, Neurologists, Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric (O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Dept. of Labor, ETA, CC BY 4.0).
Compare cardiologists with other careers (pay, growth, openings and education side by side).
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2024 PUMS (MajorPays' own estimates from the survey; Census is credited as the source of the original data and has not endorsed them); BLS Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses; BLS Current Population Survey; BLS National Compensation Survey (employee benefits); HRSA National Center for Health Workforce Analysis; U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Foreign Labor Certification (LCA disclosure data, FY2025). MajorPays has selected and reorganized these figures; these agencies have not approved or endorsed them. See it interactively →
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