The Job Market

[helpabrotherout]

Hey guys. So one of the factors that's always been a part of my wanting to be a doctor is the job availability. It's obviously not the only reason I want to be a doctor, but I wouldn't be putting myself through a decade of rigorous education and debt just to end up unemployed. I've been hearing some rumors about the job market becoming scantier for specialists, especially radiologists (one of the specialties I'm interested in). How true is all this? I didn't really balk at the talk of physician compensation going down, because I don't think quality of life is going to be changed by making 10k less when you're already making above 200k; but a turbulent job market might discourage me from going to medical school. Does anyone have any clarification on all this? I'm not really sure where to find out about this sort of stuff. I plan on practicing in Texas BTW, preferably in the "Texas Triagle."

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[Mad Jack]

Rads is tough to find a job in in the more popular markets right now (Northeast, West Coast, etc) and probably will be for the foreseeable future. You'll need a fellowship if you want to get a job in a good market, but you might be able to get a spot in flyover country fresh out of residency.

 

[helpabrotherout]

Rads is tough to find a job in in the more popular markets right now (Northeast, West Coast, etc) and probably will be for the foreseeable future. You'll need a fellowship if you want to get a job in a good market, but you might be able to get a spot in flyover country fresh out of residency.

Thanks for replying. I literally just updated my post after you replied, saying that I'm in Texas. Is that one of the less popular markets? None of the medical students I know (which isn't that many) seem to be worried about jobs.

 

[Mad Jack]

Thanks for replying. I literally just updated my post after you replied, saying that I'm in Texas. Is that one of the less popular markets? None of the medical students I know (which isn't that many) seem to be worried about jobs.

Most fields are fine right now. Pathology, radiology, and anesthesia are tight markets though. You'll be able to find a job in rads or anesthesia if you are willing to move (hell, you can find a job in anesthesia pretty much anywhere if you're willing to take a bad job). Path is different though- you're looking at a fellowship to even stand a chance of a position, and then likely having to relocate to wherever will take you if you're lucky enough to get an offer.

Every other field out there is pretty solid so far as job outlook though.

 

[helpabrotherout]

Most fields are fine right now. Pathology, radiology, and anesthesia are tight markets though. You'll be able to find a job in rads or anesthesia if you are willing to move (hell, you can find a job in anesthesia pretty much anywhere if you're willing to take a bad job). Path is different though- you're looking at a fellowship to even stand a chance of a position, and then likely having to relocate to wherever will take you if you're lucky enough to get an offer.

Every other field out there is pretty solid so far as job outlook though.

Well that's good. Radiology was just one of my choices, and I'm not really interested in pathology or anesthesia. But I'm still hoping the rads market will improve by the time I have to pick a specialty, so I don't have to just completely eliminate an entire option!

 

[Goro]

First actually get into medical school, then worry about specialty.

 

[freemontie]

Entirely specialty dependent. i.e. the other end of the spectrum is psychiatry, where anyone who's completed residency can find a job in the city of their choice within the week.

The real problem is that a decade is a long time to forecast.

PS- terrible screen name.