Medical Illustration & Informatics

Types of Degrees Medical Illustration & Informatics Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many medical illustration and informatics graduations there were in 2020-2021 for each degree level.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Master’s Degree	1,507
Graduate Certificate	167
Doctor’s Degree	73

What Medical Illustration & Informatics Majors Need to Know

O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to medical illustration 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 Majors

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

• 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.
• Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
• Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.

Skills for Medical Illustration Majors

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

• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Complex Problem Solving - Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
• 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.

Abilities for Medical Illustration Majors

Some of the most crucial abilities to master while a medical illustration student include the following:

• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
• Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Information Ordering - The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

What Can You Do With a Medical Illustration & Informatics Major?

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

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Business Intelligence Analysts	9.3%	$90,270
Computer and Information Research Scientists	19.0%	$118,370
Data Warehousing Specialists	9.3%	$90,270
Database Architects	9.3%	$90,270
Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators	6.8%	$49,380
Software Developers, Applications	30.7%	$103,620

Who Is Getting a Master’s Degree in Medical Illustration & Informatics?

The major attracts more women than men. About 68% of the recent graduates in this field are female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

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

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	242
Black or African American	234
Hispanic or Latino	117
White	523
International Students	256
Other Races/Ethnicities	135

Geographic Diversity

Medical Illustration appeals to people across the globe. About 17.0% of those with this major are international students. The most popular countries for students from outside the country are:

• India
• China
• Saudi Arabia
• Nigeria
• Nepal

How Much Do Medical Illustration & Informatics Majors Make?

Master’s Degree Starting Salary

According to 2019-2020 data from the U.S. Department of Education, students who graduated with a master’s degree in medical illustration have a median salary of $71,406 during the early years of their career. During this timeframe, most salaries fell between $64,522 (25th percentile) and $78,438 (75th percentile).

It is possible that some of these people may have taken positions that were not related to medical illustration.

Salaries According to BLS

Medical Illustration majors often go into careers where salaries can range from $58,370 to $108,080 (25th to 75th percentile). This range includes all degree levels, so the salary for a person with just a bachelor’s degree may be a little less and the one for a person with an advanced degree may be a little more.

To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Medical Illustration & Informatics

Some careers associated with medical illustration require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. Whatever the case may be, pursuing more education usually means that more career options will be available to you.

Find out what the typical degree level is for medical illustration careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	4.3%
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)	1.1%
Some College Courses	7.3%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	2.2%
Bachelor’s Degree	60.9%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	1.5%
Master’s Degree	17.9%
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%
Doctoral Degree	4.2%
Post-Doctoral Training	0.5%

Online Medical Illustration & Informatics Programs

In the 2020-2021 academic year, 167 schools offered some type of medical illustration and informatics program. 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)	6	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	16	2
Bachelor’s Degree	49	19
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	101	39
Post-Master’s	18	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	20	2
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	1	1
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Is a Degree in Medical Illustration & Informatics Worth It?

The median salary for a medical illustration grad is $93,350 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 134% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $1,069,000 after 20 years!

Majors Related to Medical Illustration & Informatics

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

Major	Number of Grads
Nursing	66,964
Medicine	28,629
Rehabilitation & Therapeutic Professions	24,774
Public Health	19,473
Health & Medical Administrative Services	17,335
Pharmacy/Pharmaceutical Sciences	16,952
Mental & Social Health Services	16,815
Allied Health Professions	12,950
Communication Sciences	10,547
Dentistry	6,770
Bioethics/Medical Ethics	4,684
Chiropractic	2,658
Alternative Medicine & Systems	2,582
Dietetics & Clinical Nutrition Services	2,481
Optometry	1,822
Advanced Dentistry & Oral Sciences	1,762
Health Sciences & Services	1,746
Other Health Professions	1,261
Health/Medical Prep Programs	1,122
Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science	954
Medical Science	909
Allied Health & Medical Assisting Services	462
Dental Support Services	122
Alternative Medical Support Services	80
Movement & Mind-Body Therapies	55
Energy & Biologically Based Therapies	37
Ophthalmic & Optometric Support Services	11
Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants	4
Health Aids/Attendants/Orderlies	0

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.