Employment after residency

[skelper101]

I am curious about something. What is the rate of employment after completing residency? Is there a statistic/percentage that someone can point me towards?

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[heybrother]

I don't know the answer, but I'd recommend you revise the question if you ever ask it in the future. What you want is in employment, in the field of study / interest / training - in a job requiring a podiatry degree. Law schools were creating a lot of well educated waiters and waitresses and using these degrees which didn't require a law degree to bolster their employment percentages.

 

[skelper101]

You are right. I should have made it more specific. What I meant is: "Does anyone know what percentage of graduates acquire a job as a podiatrist right after the completion of a podiatric residency?"

 

[ldsrmdude]

I have no idea if there are any true statistics, but I would guess it's pretty high. I would also guess that those that didn't find a job as a podiatrist could have if they really wanted to, but either chose to do something else or were too picky in their job hunt. As a resident who just went through the job hunt, I can confirm that there are plenty of good jobs out there.

 

[Creflo]

I can't get you any stats, but I have kept up with some of my classmates and all of them began working in podiatry after residency, but for some it has been tough. For others it has gone well. One graduated near the top of the class, ended up working several states away from his family, made under 100k per year. Another began working for a podiatrist and decided less than one year out to quit podiatry and go into another field. Another did a good residency, a fellowship and searched for months for a job but did recently sign a contract within 2 months of fellowship completion. I have heard stories about other classmates as well, such as one who began working in his dad's practice and is doing well. Another is starting his own practice, but is working part time for another practice at the same time, making $300 per day seeing a high number of patients per day, I forget the number but pretty sure it was well over 50 patients per day. He said he does not have the time to speak to the patients much, has to move on to the next one. I heard of another classmate who got a job that he is very happy with, with a hospital system, making over $150k per year. I don't mind giving you my numbers, I graduated in the top 1/3 of my class, gross $79k per year, work 45 hours per week, am just under 1 year out, get free health care for my family with no deductibles, am only taxed on $56k per year, and my employer paid for half of my tuition and living expenses while in pod school, but I don't get to choose where I live.

 

[skelper101]

Thank you for sharing! Always appreciate some input into what to expect after residency. I do feel a bit disappointed that a student graduating near top of their class, makes less than 100K/yr or a student such as yourself, who graduated in the top 1/3 of the class, is making GROSS 79K/yr (which means net is lower). You would expect that after 4 years + 3 years of residency, we would command atleast 100K or more.

 

[dtrack22]

I do feel a bit disappointed that a student graduating near top of their class, makes less than 100K/yr or a student such as yourself, who graduated in the top 1/3 of the class, is making GROSS 79K/yr (which means net is lower).

 

[skelper101]

Don't think I would pass the physical tests =/

 

[dtrack22]

Don't think I would pass the physical tests =/

Then you don't have to worry about getting the same job as Creflo

 

[dyk343]

The military situation is interesting. Lots of pluses and minuses there. I hear the benefits are good if you retire (20 years?) from the military. Creflo can probably clarify...

You owe 4 years Creflo? Are you getting your cases to be board certified?

Considering student loans are probably minimal I don't see it as that bad of a situation...

 

[illinigrad11]

I don't know all the intricacies of the military physician route, but I imagine a strong case could be made for the superiority of starting out in the 75K range with minimal debt as opposed to those starting off in the 150K range with 200-250K loans (at ~7% interest%). That is, assuming you'd have the same upward career mobility after your service requirement was completed.

I'm a close follower of "The White Coat Investor" blog, written by an emergency physician whose career arc consisted of lower starting pay with minimal debt, thanks to Uncle Sam, and a substantial salary increase once he was out of the military. From a financial standpoint, it seems like an intelligent option. We civilians with significant loan burdens will have some catching up to do, even if we start out making quite a bit more than most of our military colleagues.

 

[Creflo]

I calculated that for my first 3 years of practice I would have to make at least $150k per year to financially come out ahead of government paying me $79k per year and paying for half my school. This is only looking at the first 3 years out of residency. As illinigrad points out, this is due to loan interest, and even more importantly, tax ramifications.

 

[newres64]

I calculated that for my first 3 years of practice I would have to make at least $150k per year to financially come out ahead of government paying me $79k per year and paying for half my school. This is only looking at the first 3 years out of residency. As illinigrad points out, this is due to loan interest, and even more importantly, tax ramifications.

Is this also taking into consideration your yearly raises? IIRC not only do you get a raise just for seniority but also a raise from the small increase the entire payscale gets each year. From what I can see the increase from Year 1-year 2 in the 2015 payscale is about $500/month.

 

[g squared 23]

I would LOVE to be in a situation of a "lower" salary with half my debt erased. A lot of dumb-dumbs get out of residency and land that $100k+ job. And then buy that $3ook+ house. And they're a doctor right?! So they need that $60k car. So what if they still have medical school debt?! The bank says they are APPROVED for a huge house and big mortgage, and they deserve it!

Medical school tuition is too high these days to live rich right out of residency. We're all going to have to continue to live a lot more humbly than our predecessors, or everything you buy will cost twice the face value due to your massive debt and accruing interest.

 

[rushrhees]

So I am assuming Creflo is millitary. Any doctor in the millitary gets paid a lot less then in the civilian equivilant if you look at annual salary alone. Factor in debt forgiveness, benefits and Creflo is probably getting a number of housing and other allowances Creflo is probably doing fine

 

[ehwhatsupdoc]

.

 

[streetsweeper]

Going the military route is not a bad idea from the student loan debt stand point. But there are other ways to deal with this too. You can also work for a VA and ask for public service loan forgiveness after 10 years of on time payments (whether you're income based or whatever your situation is). If you are employed by a hospital system it's most likely a non-profit organization so you can get it covered under the public service loan forgiveness umbrella...unless you work for a for-profit-hospital. Any tax exempt non profit organization will work. You can also refinance ur student loans at least to get the interest down to more reasonable levels and there are a number of organizations that deal with that but that may require good credit or a few years of on time payment history.

Or, you can just live like a resident the first few years you are done with residency to pay down your debt as soon as you can. One of my former chief residents is almost done paying off his massive loans.....every tax return, bonuses, etc would be placed on paying down his student loans...in effect his net worth keeps going up. He'll probably be done by next year at the way he's paying it off. I highly recommend the book "white coat investor" if y'all have the time -- the perfect time to read this is during residency. Great tips on personal finance for life after residency.

Edit:
Btw, being an attending is awesome. I'm 1 year out now. There's light at the end of the tunnel with all that training.