An anesthesiologist and nurse anesthestist are different, they do much less schooling. CRNA gets a masters degree, so you can punch that out in 6 years and make upwards of $120k in Utah which is really good for the medical profession outside of being a doctor. Nurses in Utah start out making about $45k which isn't bad compared to some professions but still not great for a bachelor's degree (some places don't require BSN yet so it's just an RN). I'm currently in FNP school and hope to make about $80k right out of school which isn't bad for a masters degree in healthcare either.

An anesthesiologist probably does 4 more years of school than a CRNA, so that's quite the difference, hence they're paid more. CRNA is an option for people that are already nurses that don't want to go back and do 2 additional years of chemistry and 2 years of physics just to start medical school all the way from the beginning and tack on 8 additional years of schooling. It's only 2-3 additional years, which for most people to triple your income is an excellent route compared to the time and money invested in school. I will get my masters degree with only about $40k in student debt, compared to hundreds of thousands for medical school. I'm not saying either is a better thing, I'm just saying they're completely different career trajectories based on where you started out.