Medical Illustration/Medical Illustrator

Types of Degrees Medical Illustration/Medical Illustrator Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many medical illustration/medical illustrator graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Master’s Degree	43
Bachelor’s Degree	31

What Medical Illustration/Medical Illustrator Majors Need to Know

O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to medical illustration/medical illustrator and asked them what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. The responses were rated on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being most important.

Knowledge Areas for Medical Illustration/Medical Illustrator Majors

Medical Illustration/Medical Illustrator majors often go into careers in which the following knowledge areas are important:

• Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
• Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Fine Arts - Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
• Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

Skills for Medical Illustration/Medical Illustrator Majors

The following list of skills has been highlighted as some of the most essential for careers related to medical illustration/medical illustrator:

• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Active Learning - Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.

Abilities for Medical Illustration/Medical Illustrator Majors

As you progress with your medical illustration/medical illustrator degree, there are several abilities you should pick up that will help you in whatever related career you choose. These abilities include:

• Originality - The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
• Visualization - The ability to imagine how something will look after it is moved around or when its parts are moved or rearranged.
• Fluency of Ideas - The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
• Visual Color Discrimination - The ability to match or detect differences between colors, including shades of color and brightness.
• Arm-Hand Steadiness - The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.

What Can You Do With a Medical Illustration/Medical Illustrator Major?

People with a medical illustration/medical illustrator degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators	6.8%	$49,380

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Medical Illustration/Medical Illustrator?

The major attracts more women than men. About 90% of the recent graduates in this field are female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of medical illustration/medical illustrator majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	2
Black or African American	2
Hispanic or Latino	3
White	19
International Students	0
Other Races/Ethnicities	5

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Medical Illustration/Medical Illustrator

Some careers associated with medical illustration/medical illustrator require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to medical illustration/medical illustrator have obtained the following education levels.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	27.7%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	0.3%
Some College Courses	37.5%
Bachelor’s Degree	35.6%
First Professional Degree - awarded for completion of a program that: requires at least 2 years of college work before entrance into the program, includes a total of at least 6 academic years of work to complete, and provides all remaining academic requirements to begin practice in a profession.	0.3%

Online Medical Illustration/Medical Illustrator Programs

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	0	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	0	0
Bachelor’s Degree	1	0
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	4	0
Post-Master’s	1	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Majors Related to Medical Illustration/Medical Illustrator

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to medical illustration/medical illustrator.

Major	Number of Grads
Medical Informatics	2,611
Other Medical Illustration and Informatics	4

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020

More about our data sources and methodologies.