Your income is also highly dependant on where you live. A dentist in New York City is going to make a lot more than a dentist in Fayettville, Arkansas.
I disagree with the second sentence here.
Rural areas can be goldmines.
I like bringing up two old posts on salary threads, although they don't directly relate.
_______________________________________
Armorshell, on a long-dead thread, posted some great stuff. I'll repost it here:
Someone a few years back did their due diligence and looked at the AMA and ADA salary surveys from 2003 and calculated the hourly wages. You'll find Derm nestled snugly below 6 dental specialties and slightly above general dentistry:
Salary/Hours
1. Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon 336/36 = $179.5/hr
2. Endodontist 303.9/36 = $162.4/hr
3. Pedodontiac Dentist 294.4/36 = $157.1/hr
4. Orthodontist 279.4/36 = $149.0/hr
5. Orthopedic Surgeon 335.8/54.1 = $119.4/hr
6. Periodontist 216.4/36 = $115.4/hr
7. Pathologist 246.5/41.6 = $114.0/hr
8. Rad (Diag)/Rad Onc 327.7/58.5 = $107.7/hr
9. Prosthodontist 190.9/36 = $102.0/hr
10. Opthalomologist 229.2/43.7 = $100.9/hr
11. Dermatologist 219.5/42 = $100.5/hr
12. EM 220/45 = $94.0/hr
13. General Dentist 173.1/36 = $92.4/hr
14. Neurosurgery / Plastic Surgery 275.2/59.6 = $88.8/hr
15. Urologist 264.5/57.4 = $88.6/hr
16. Surgeon (gen) 263.7/58.2 = $87.1/hr
17. Anesthesiologist 244.7/58.7 = $80.2/hr
18. ENT 214.5/52.1 = $79.2/hr
19. OB/GYN 227/55.7 = $78.4/hr
20. Neurologist 183.1/53.7 = $65.6/hr
21. Psychiatrist 145.7/44 = $63.7/hr
22. IM 164.1/55.6 = $56.8/hr
23. FP 146.5/50.7 = $55.6/hr
24. Pediatrician 137.8/49.4 = $53.6/hr
http://www.ada.org/ada/prod/survey/p...rts.asp#income
Survey of Dental Practice. c. 2003 Edition, American Dental Association
http://medicine.wustl.edu/~residenc...pec/byspec.html
Physician Socioeconomic Statistics. c. 2003 Edition, American Medical Association
_______________________________________
Gary Ruska, in the same ancient thread, posted the more current stuff here:
Here are some more recent numbers, (c) ADA 2006 (income survey from 2005), for full-time practitioners (1600 hours or more/year)
1. OMFS: $408,570 for 1920 hours/year
2. Endo: $362,700 for 1824 hours/year
3. Pedo: $337,800 for 1728 hours/year
4. Ortho: $309,970 for 1728 hours/year
5. Perio: $295,630 for 1824 hours/year
6. Prosth: $232,310 for 1920 hours/year
7. General: $210,280 for 1728 hours/year
Hourly income (estimated):
1. OMFS: $213
2. Endo: $199
3. Pedo: $195
4. Ortho: $179
5. Perio: $162
6. Prosth: $121
7. General: $122