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Debating pros and cons of different medical careers and places to settle down,, and the income of physicians and CRNA/DNP folks I know seems inconsistent with online estimates. Could you share your income, and if comfortable, where one earns that amount?

I’m a CAA. Practiced in privately owned group and hospital Owned.
The private group paid for the last two years of education their new anesthesiologists came from to entice them to sign on. With an option to become partner after a certain amount of years. Their bonuses were more than my salary at the end of the year. So it’s something to consider whether the group you would join as an anesthesiologist has a way to lessen the burden of cost. Given that they were private they wouldn’t qualify for PLSF. They didn’t give any reimbursement to us midlevels.
Given that anesthesiologists are in high demand at the moment due to a shortage. By the time you graduate I can see groups doing more for student loans to entice.
You also have the option to do pain and own and operate your own practice as well. But you also have opportunities as a CRNA or DNP.
Both have opportunities to do locum work as well if you want to travel.
The salaries you listed aren’t accurate for anesthesiologists and anesthetists. Something to consider as well.
Bottom line. Its what you will enjoy doing. You could do med school specialize in OMFS and make an ungodly amount of money or IR.
Talk to DNP/CRNAs that practice independently or group based. Talk to physicians. You’ll be able to recoup your student loans pretty easy either way.

I think that you should pursue the DNP/CRNA route over the MD/DO route since you are already a RN. Both DNP/CRNA and MD/DO program routes will be challenging to get in due to admissions competitiveness. With MD/DO programs, you will need more than 7 years. You will need to make sure that you took all of the premed prequisites and study for the MCATs. Hence, you will need additional time to complete a postbacc program (formal premed program or DIY) or SMP (which you probably do not need). If you do decide the MD/DO route and can get into medical school, your medical specialty residency training will depend on what you can get into based on your medical school performance, USMLE/COMLEX, interviews / networking, and medical school extracuriculars (eg. research, etc....). The desireable medical and surgical specialities, such as ROAD specialties (Radiology, Ophthalmology, Anesthesiology, Dermatology) and surgical subspecialities (Vascular Surgery, Orthopedic Surgery, Urology, Cardiothoracic Surgery, Plastic Surgery, ENT, etc....) residency training can be very difficult to get into. Surgical residencies are usually 5 or more years of residency training. Lets say that your medical school grades and your USMLE / COMLEX performance were less than spectacular and you match into Family Practice, Neurology, or Internal Medicine, you will need to do fellowship training if you want to get into some of lucrative medical subspecialty training, such as Cardiology, Non-surgical Sports Medicine, Gastroenterology, Pain / Interventional Neurology, etc...
With the DNP/CRNA route, you know that you will become a CRNA and make great money if you can get into the program. As you said, you will need to get some critical care experience before applying for DNP/CRNA programs. If you cannot get into DNP/CRNA schools, you still have options to practice medicine as mid level / advanced practitioner level via MSN/NP or MS/PA routes as backup option. I am not going into the pros and cons between the NP and PA routes. I have RN colleagues that have pursued both routes for different reasons. For example, if you really want to be in OR, you are better off with the PA route since its curriculum resembles more of medical school curriculum and there are programs that emphasizes surgical PA route. The DNP/CRNA route will be much cheaper route overall. I know that PA programs are covered under the $200,000 student loan cap under the OBBBA. Right now, MSN/DNP are currently covered under the $100,000 student loan cap, but there are current actions trying to move the MSN/DNP programs to be covered under the $200,000 student loan cap. Overall, I think that you should pursue the DNP/CRNA route (if you can get in) since it will be cheaper and faster.

MD/DO vs DNP/CRNA

Debating pros and cons of different medical careers and places to settle down,, and the income of physicians and CRNA/DNP folks I know seems inconsistent with online estimates. Could you share your income, and if comfortable, where one earns that amount?

I’m a CAA. Practiced in privately owned group and hospital Owned.
The private group paid for the last two years of education their new anesthesiologists came from to entice them to sign on. With an option to become partner after a certain amount of years. Their bonuses were more than my salary at the end of the year. So it’s something to consider whether the group you would join as an anesthesiologist has a way to lessen the burden of cost. Given that they were private they wouldn’t qualify for PLSF. They didn’t give any reimbursement to us midlevels.
Given that anesthesiologists are in high demand at the moment due to a shortage. By the time you graduate I can see groups doing more for student loans to entice.
You also have the option to do pain and own and operate your own practice as well. But you also have opportunities as a CRNA or DNP.
Both have opportunities to do locum work as well if you want to travel.
The salaries you listed aren’t accurate for anesthesiologists and anesthetists. Something to consider as well.
Bottom line. Its what you will enjoy doing. You could do med school specialize in OMFS and make an ungodly amount of money or IR.
Talk to DNP/CRNAs that practice independently or group based. Talk to physicians. You’ll be able to recoup your student loans pretty easy either way.

I think that you should pursue the DNP/CRNA route over the MD/DO route since you are already a RN. Both DNP/CRNA and MD/DO program routes will be challenging to get in due to admissions competitiveness. With MD/DO programs, you will need more than 7 years. You will need to make sure that you took all of the premed prequisites and study for the MCATs. Hence, you will need additional time to complete a postbacc program (formal premed program or DIY) or SMP (which you probably do not need). If you do decide the MD/DO route and can get into medical school, your medical specialty residency training will depend on what you can get into based on your medical school performance, USMLE/COMLEX, interviews / networking, and medical school extracuriculars (eg. research, etc....). The desireable medical and surgical specialities, such as ROAD specialties (Radiology, Ophthalmology, Anesthesiology, Dermatology) and surgical subspecialities (Vascular Surgery, Orthopedic Surgery, Urology, Cardiothoracic Surgery, Plastic Surgery, ENT, etc....) residency training can be very difficult to get into. Surgical residencies are usually 5 or more years of residency training. Lets say that your medical school grades and your USMLE / COMLEX performance were less than spectacular and you match into Family Practice, Neurology, or Internal Medicine, you will need to do fellowship training if you want to get into some of lucrative medical subspecialty training, such as Cardiology, Non-surgical Sports Medicine, Gastroenterology, Pain / Interventional Neurology, etc...
With the DNP/CRNA route, you know that you will become a CRNA and make great money if you can get into the program. As you said, you will need to get some critical care experience before applying for DNP/CRNA programs. If you cannot get into DNP/CRNA schools, you still have options to practice medicine as mid level / advanced practitioner level via MSN/NP or MS/PA routes as backup option. I am not going into the pros and cons between the NP and PA routes. I have RN colleagues that have pursued both routes for different reasons. For example, if you really want to be in OR, you are better off with the PA route since its curriculum resembles more of medical school curriculum and there are programs that emphasizes surgical PA route. The DNP/CRNA route will be much cheaper route overall. I know that PA programs are covered under the $200,000 student loan cap under the OBBBA. Right now, MSN/DNP are currently covered under the $100,000 student loan cap, but there are current actions trying to move the MSN/DNP programs to be covered under the $200,000 student loan cap. Overall, I think that you should pursue the DNP/CRNA route (if you can get in) since it will be cheaper and faster.

MD/DO vs DNP/CRNA