People see the CRNA and anesthesiologist salaries. They don’t always see the years of school, ICU experience, medical school, residency, debt, call shifts, lost income, and lifestyle changes it took to get there. This isn’t about which path is better. It’s about opportunity cost. One path usually starts earning earlier as a nurse, gains ICU experience, then returns to anesthesia training. The other delays earning longer, goes through medical school, then completes anesthesiology residency. Diffe