About the numbers

The quick-pick US incomes are the Census Bureau’s 2025 figures (pre-tax household money income, released September 2026); the “single” figure is the median for nonfamily households, mostly people living alone. Job salaries are rounded U.S. medians from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS, May 2024) unless marked otherwise. Physician figures are rounded averages from recent compensation surveys and swing widely with region and practice ownership. Sports figures are league minimums, so they count the guy at the end of the bench. The typical workloads (patients a day, miles a week) are rules of thumb, and every one is editable under a job’s assumptions.

The math under each job adds what it costs to get in and stay in: rounded U.S. ballparks for tuition (total cost of attendance), exams, licenses, gear and insurance, plus self-employment tax where you’d be your own boss. “Income you’d give up” is your own income for every year spent training, minus whatever the training pays. Some costs, like malpractice insurance, are often covered by an employer.

Per-unit figures are net: what’s left after the cost of doing the thing, before income tax. None of it accounts for the years of training, the capital at risk, the weather, or the cows having their own plans for the day. This is for perspective and entertainment, not career advice.