Administrative positions in the medical field?

[xnfs93hy]

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Hey, I am seriously considering going into the medical field as a neurosurgeon, or an orthopedic surgeon, but am not completely set on what I want to do. Actually, my mom who was a dental assistant long ago (not that this has anything to do with my question) said that doctors who are "head" or "chief" neurosurgeon will get paid much much more because they are practicing and looking over all the physicians in that discipline in the hospital (I assume). Then she said there are people with like a business degree who get administrative positions in the hospital who get paid millions, again this is just in the hospital and I didn't really catch everything my mom said but this was basically it, so I would appreciate it if anyone could broaden this a bit, you know, go into more detail.

 

[xnfs93hy]

Also, I hope this is in the right forum/section.

 

[piss ant]

Bless you my son. Prepare for the onslaught.

 

[mshheaddoc]

doctors who are "head" or "chief" neurosurgeon will get paid much much more because they are practicing and looking over all the physicians in that discipline in the hospital

Not true at all. Actually most physicians in academic institutions get paid less than private practice and actually if they have "positions" they will get a bonus per se for that position but its more about the name than the title.

If you are interested in the administrative area there are many paths to take including business through healthcare administration. Now days most executives of hospitals or medical groups are not even doctors (or doctors who converted into the business world). There are many options out there if this is a path you are interested in and an MBA helps get ahead if you are young with experience (most positions for entry level managers at academic medical centers are looking for MBA's/MHA's).

 

[TehDoc]

I don't know where to start.

 

[Livingapparatus]

what?

 

[Law2Doc]

I don't know where to start.

I do. (1) chiefs get a bit more than other attendings. Not the kind of money you are suggesting, and as above generally less than they could make in private practice. People don't do it for the extra couple grand, as much as the career stepping stone.
(2) Hospital administrators with MBAs rarely make "millions". The high ranking executives at the corporate head of a large HMO might.
(3) As a premed, you shouldn't be "seriously considering" any specialty yet. Wait until you get further down this road to pick a specialty. Most med students change their minds at least once during med school. If you are picking those two because of perceived salary, bear in mind that the trade off is a longer residency.
(4) Please don't do your posts in bold -- it's harder to read.
(5) Your mom should stick to advising on what she knows. You probably should seek out an advisor who actually knows something about the medical field for future inquiries.

 

[xnfs93hy]

No, I am not interested in an MBA. I just thought big hospital supervisors got a larger compensation. Obviously I was wrong 😕. There are no other positions in the medical field that make over one million? I'm just curious so please don't flame me, I'm new to the forums and don't know very much at all about medicine.

 

[Law2Doc]

No, I am not interested in an MBA. I just thought big hospital supervisors got a larger compensation. Obviously I was wrong 😕. There are no other positions in the medical field that make over one million? I'm just curious so please don't flame me, I'm new to the forums and don't know very much at all about medicine.

You very likely will not make anything close to a million dollars a year in medicine these days. Unless you make it outside of and unrelated to the field -- through investment, marrying well, or inheritance. If you are looking for that kind of an income this is so the wrong field. This is a field in which most earn a fifth of that or less. Some earn closer to a tenth.

Since you "don't know much" yet, I encourage you to spend a few days reading the threads on this site. Might save you a few flames.

 

[xnfs93hy]

You very likely will not make anything close to a million dollars a year in medicine these days. Unless you make it outside of and unrelated to the field -- through investment, marrying well, or inheritance. If you are looking for that kind of an income this is so the wrong field. This is a field in which most earn a fifth of that or less. Some earn closer to a tenth.

Since you "don't know much" yet, I encourage you to spend a few days reading the threads on this site. Might save you a few flames.

What about people in neurosurgery? I believe there are people who get paid close to a million a year.

 

[mshheaddoc]

What about people in neurosurgery? I believe there are people who get paid close to a million a year.

That is not with all positions (and usually you get that type of money with experience - not as new grad) and again not at an academic medical center. Do you know how long that residency is? There are easier ways to make money without having to get a graduate degree that takes at least 7 years (on top of the 4 year college education).

If you want money, don't go into healthcare -- I highly suggest you look around the site and do some research on fields as previously suggested. Medicare reimbursement was reduced 10%, hospitals are trying to make ends meet, etc. There are alot of cost reductions and healthcare is in a broken state across the globe. I really hate these "top 10/top 25 best salary" lists since it makes everyone think that doctors make all this money when in reality (at least to me) $150,000 per year puts you in the middle class (especially if you live in a high cost area like NYC, LA, Boston, Miami, etc). If you're looking to live the high life, $150,000 doesn't go as far as one thinks.

 

[xnfs93hy]

That is not with all positions (and usually you get that type of money with experience - not as new grad) and again not at an academic medical center. Do you know how long that residency is? There are easier ways to make money without having to get a graduate degree that takes at least 7 years (on top of the 4 year college education).

If you want money, don't go into healthcare -- I highly suggest you look around the site and do some research on fields as previously suggested. Medicare reimbursement was reduced 10%, hospitals are trying to make ends meet, etc. There are alot of cost reductions and healthcare is in a broken state across the globe. I really hate these "top 10/top 25 best salary" lists since it makes everyone think that doctors make all this money when in reality (at least to me) $150,000 per year puts you in the middle class (especially if you live in a high cost area like NYC, LA, Boston, Miami, etc). If you're looking to live the high life, $150,000 doesn't go as far as one thinks.

I want to go into medicine because I know it is what I want to do I must have already said in this thread that I am not after just the money. I may not know too much about this field but I can say that even someone who just graduated and is practicing as a neurosurgeon will probably make a hell of a lot more than $150,000 annually.

 

[wolvbb]

Neurosurgery is paid more in the medicine big picture of things but the trade off in lifestyle and training years justify it in my mind... The money in medicine comes from how hard you work and how much you're willing to give up. I'd first get into med school then worry about specialty but, browse through the specialty forums on here and do searches, you'll learn that most of your questions are have been posted before.

 

[lesubversif]

.
in reality (at least to me) $150,000 per year puts you in the middle class (especially if you live in a high cost area like NYC, LA, Boston, Miami, etc). If you're looking to live the high life, $150,000 doesn't go as far as one thinks.

Maybe if you live in one of those areas, but in most places, 150 000/year is much more than the middle-class will ever see. In many rural areas, that is enough money (before taxes etc) to buy two decent houses. You might have to worry about that money being enough if you live in a high cost-of-living city, but if you live in most parts of the US at least, 150 000 is way more than enough to make a very good living. Certainly in the rural county I live in, 150 000 is probably 3 times what the 'middle-class' makes. This is what I've seen in the other rural areas I've lived in/been to as well. But I still think 150 000 (yes, even with all the debt and loans to pay back) is enough for most people who don't live in high cost areas. It's actually great money in a lot of areas.

 

[shiftingmirage]

I want to go into medicine because I know it is what I want to do I must have already said in this thread that I am not after just the money. I may not know too much about this field but I can say that even someone who just graduated and is practicing as a neurosurgeon will probably make a hell of a lot more than $150,000 annually.

Granted I just skimmed the thread, no where did I see you make a comment like "I know medicine is what I want to do." All your posts have revolved around making money. There are a few docs that make $1 mil. but they are not neuro or ortho, rather plastics and maybe derm mainly on the west coast. Cali probably has more boob jobs that the rest of the US. But don't go into medicine for the money it is not a career for the shallow. As others have said for neurosurgery, you have to do a surgery residency and a neuro residency. I think one is three years, the other is 4. That's on top of the 8 years of college and med school. So you will be a neurosurgeon when you are 33.

The reasons most docs make six figures eventually are
1) With college and med school tuition/loans can easily exceed 300K, so docs need to make that money back or they would never make the initial investment in an education
2) They work insane hours. I read somewhere that the govt had limited the amount you can work as a resident to 80 hours a week, although most residents would tell you they are pushing 100.
3) They are intelligent people. Although money is a bad reason to go into medicine, why should someone so intelligent settle for a 40K/year job when they could make six figures elsewhere. There is a money incentive to keep the intelligent people interested in medicine.

You can make millions via other means: real estate, investment banker, lawyer, CEO/CFO/COO, etc.

 

[shiftingmirage]

reality (at least to me) $150,000 per year puts you in the middle class (especially if you live in a high cost area like NYC, LA, Boston, Miami, etc). If you're looking to live the high life, $150,000 doesn't go as far as one thinks.

I thought if you made over 200K you were in the top 1% of the country.

 

[sunny1]

Why are you so obsessed with "a million dollars"? Weird. I mean, I can see asking about the higher paid specialties. But if you had the gumption to eventually make a million dollars, I doubt you would be asking questions in this way on this forum.

 

[calnation]

Why are you so obsessed with "a million dollars"? Weird. I mean, I can see asking about the higher paid specialties. But if you had the gumption to eventually make a million dollars, I doubt you would be asking questions in this way on this forum.

flawless victory

 

[doomknight]

No, I am not interested in an MBA. I just thought big hospital supervisors got a larger compensation. Obviously I was wrong 😕. There are no other positions in the medical field that make over one million? I'm just curious so please don't flame me, I'm new to the forums and don't know very much at all about medicine.

let me guess, a middle school 8th grader, thinking about the prospects of medicine and making "millions", and has recently taken an european history class in 8th grade?

 

[doomknight]

stop listening to your mom. If u want money you can still make it in medicine, but you won't be in the upperclass of millions per year

 

[xnfs93hy]

Granted I just skimmed the thread, no where did I see you make a comment like "I know medicine is what I want to do." All your posts have revolved around making money. There are a few docs that make $1 mil. but they are not neuro or ortho, rather plastics and maybe derm mainly on the west coast. Cali probably has more boob jobs that the rest of the US. But don't go into medicine for the money it is not a career for the shallow. As others have said for neurosurgery, you have to do a surgery residency and a neuro residency. I think one is three years, the other is 4. That's on top of the 8 years of college and med school. So you will be a neurosurgeon when you are 33.

The reasons most docs make six figures eventually are
1) With college and med school tuition/loans can easily exceed 300K, so docs need to make that money back or they would never make the initial investment in an education
2) They work insane hours. I read somewhere that the govt had limited the amount you can work as a resident to 80 hours a week, although most residents would tell you they are pushing 100.
3) They are intelligent people. Although money is a bad reason to go into medicine, why should someone so intelligent settle for a 40K/year job when they could make six figures elsewhere. There is a money incentive to keep the intelligent people interested in medicine.

You can make millions via other means: real estate, investment banker, lawyer, CEO/CFO/COO, etc.

I want to go into medicine because I know it is what I want to do I must have already said in this thread that I am not after just the money. I may not know too much about this field but I can say that even someone who just graduated and is practicing as a neurosurgeon will probably make a hell of a lot more than $150,000 annually.

 

[doomknight]

I want to go into medicine because I know it is what I want to do I must have already said in this thread that I am not after just the money. I may not know too much about this field but I can say that even someone who just graduated and is practicing as a neurosurgeon will probably make a hell of a lot more than $150,000 annually.

May I advise you on signing up for Kaplan ACT/SAT prep to improve your reading comprehension skills. You are probably only in middle school, so you should sign up early before the price goes up by the time that you are a sophomore. Could save you like $300.

 

[Law2Doc]

I want to go into medicine because I know it is what I want to do I must have already said in this thread that I am not after just the money. I may not know too much about this field but I can say that even someone who just graduated and is practicing as a neurosurgeon will probably make a hell of a lot more than $150,000 annually.

Please stop playing with the bolds and colors. This is hard to read.
Someone who "just graduated" med school is about 7 or more years away from being a neurosurgeon. Residencies are long, and most do research years along the road as well. Someone who "just graduated" will be getting about $45k a year -- which translates to about $10/hour during an intense surgical residency. You can make that much at Burger King. So yeah, you forego income for a lot of years, your salary is somewhat higher at the end. But somewhat is not a million. And your salary is actually often lower than the shorter residencies in "today's dollars" thanks to the concept of the time value of money. $1 today is simply worth more than a dollar earned a decade from now. At any rate, you won't be anywhere close to a million dollar salary in either of the fields you suggested, sorry. The few people who make that got in the door many years ago, before insurance companies took over the industry -- the newly minted crowd never approach those figures based on salary. The numbers you likely have seen are probably from recruiter websites, and don't reflect actual salaries you can get, just statistical anomalies, so they can get you to call and pay them a commission when they find you a job for a fraction of that.

 

[Dedikated2liftn]

Hey, I am seriously considering going into the medical field as a neurosurgeon, or an orthopedic surgeon, but am not completely set on what I want to do. Actually, my mom who was a dental assistant long ago (not that this has anything to do with my question) said that doctors who are "head" or "chief" neurosurgeon will get paid much much more because they are practicing and looking over all the physicians in that discipline in the hospital (I assume). Then she said there are people with like a business degree who get administrative positions in the hospital who get paid millions, again this is just in the hospital and I didn't really catch everything my mom said but this was basically it, so I would appreciate it if anyone could broaden this a bit, you know, go into more detail.

Bro, there's a lot of people here who are going to cram your ignorance down your throat (BTW, I don't agree w/ it). As suggested earlier, do yourself a favor and read around this site to get a more concrete idea of what it truly means to enter the medical field. If you want something more, feel free to PM me, and I'll do my best to answer any questions that you have.

 

[doomknight]

call the ambulance, a young padawan's ambitions just got pwned mortal combat style

Please stop playing with the bolds and colors. This is hard to read.
Someone who "just graduated" med school is about 7 or more years away from being a neurosurgeon. Residencies are long, and most do research years along the road as well. Someone who "just graduated" will be getting about $45k a year -- which translates to about $10/hour during an intense surgical residency. You can make that much at Burger King. So yeah, you forego income for a lot of years, your salary is somewhat higher at the end. But somewhat is not a million. And your salary is actually often lower than the shorter residencies in "today's dollars" thanks to the concept of the time value of money. $1 today is simply worth more than a dollar earned a decade from now. At any rate, you won't be anywhere close to a million dollar salary in either of the fields you suggested, sorry. The few people who make that got in the door many years ago, before insurance companies took over the industry -- the newly minted crowd never approach those figures based on salary. The numbers you likely have seen are probably from recruiter websites, and don't reflect actual salaries you can get, just statistical anomalies, so they can get you to call and pay them a commission when they find you a job for a fraction of that.

 

[xnfs93hy]

May I advise you on signing up for Kaplan ACT/SAT prep to improve your reading comprehension skills. You are probably only in middle school, so you should sign up early before the price goes up by the time that you are a sophomore. Could save you like $300.

You're funny.

 

[doomknight]

You're funny.

funny tears or hurtful tears of having ur bubbles being bursted?

 

[xnfs93hy]

At any rate, I am still looking into medicine as a possible career choice.

 

[xnfs93hy]

funny tears or hurtful tears of having ur bubbles being bursted?

Hurtful tears, I'm so sad now.

 

[doomknight]

At any rate, I am still looking into medicine as a possible career choice.

aww are you sure you would even though you can't make millions? Why not try for the NBA where you can.

 

[TehDoc]

Finish high school.

 

[premalsst]

I dont understand why we cant answer this poor kid without being jerks. He isnt informed about the field but take it easy. It isnt that hard to imagine us all being in the same position with poor guidance and a general lack of information. Somehow we have all agreed that it is ok to be jerks whenever we decide upon a higher moral ground. His question is not that ridiculous. There are infact specialties that make close to 1 million a year. Yes you have to be the top of the top in your field (orthopaedic surgery comes to mind) but its no coincidence that the highest paid specialties are also the most competitive. Money is atleast one factor for most people so dont pretend otherwise. Please cut out this ridiculous flaming culture...it doesnt help anyone and doesnt reflect well on us either.

 

[hopefuldoc87]

I dont understand why we cant answer this poor kid without being jerks. He isnt informed about the field but take it easy. It isnt that hard to imagine us all being in the same position with poor guidance and a general lack of information. Somehow we have all agreed that it is ok to be jerks whenever we decide upon a higher moral ground. His question is not that ridiculous. There are infact specialties that make close to 1 million a year. Yes you have to be the top of the top in your field (orthopaedic surgery comes to mind) but its no coincidence that the highest paid specialties are also the most competitive. Money is atleast one factor for most people so dont pretend otherwise. Please cut out this ridiculous flaming culture...it doesnt help anyone and doesnt reflect well on us either.

I think everyone is being this way because the OP is being a little naive in his thinking, and if he is an "eight-grader", which is pretty plausible based on his reasoning skills, he should worry more about getting into college and finding out if he truly wants to be a doctor. Making a million dollars should not be a factor. Making a comfortable salary should be. Even though doctors don't make nearly as much as they used to, they still get reimbursed well enough to live comfortably (I know some of you may argue this, but if you plan on driving a Ferrari, don't become a doctor). So if you are looking for a job with a 1 million price-tag, try I-banking, they make a ****-load.

 

[betheltim]

I think everyone is being this way because the OP is being a little naive in his thinking, and if he is an "eight-grader", which is pretty plausible based on his reasoning skills, he should worry more about getting into college and finding out if he truly wants to be a doctor. Making a million dollars should not be a factor. Making a comfortable salary should be. Even though doctors don't make nearly as much as they used to, they still get reimbursed well enough to live comfortably (I know some of you may argue this, but if you plan on driving a Ferrari, don't become a doctor). So if you are looking for a job with a 1 million price-tag, try I-banking, they make a ****-load.

Isn't being naive part of being young? Give him a break (not just you), this is part of the process, and part of learning if he wants to be a doctor.