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Pulmonary medicine isn't considered one of the best-paying specialties, but industry surveys indicate that it may be one of the fastest growing when it comes to compensation, thanks in part to rising demand for critical care and sleep medicine subspecialty services. Take the 2007 AMGA Medical Group Compensation and Financial Survey (which is based on 2006 data), for example. Pulmonologists earned a median compensation of $265,907, increasing 11.5% from $238,450 the previous year. That was the only year-to-year double-digit increase recorded in the survey.