Highest Earning Potential

[MDPhDJourney]

Hi Folks,

Money question here. What specialty has the highest earning potential (income ceiling)? My first guess is Plastics (orange county, celebrities, etc.), but I suppose it might also be Ortho since you can service professional sports team.

What do you think?

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[loltopsy]

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=1000693

 

[MDPhDJourney]

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=1000693

Not really what I'm looking for but thank you anyway. I'm more interested in individual cases not averages. For example, I know of a plastic surgeon with a private practice who makes $2.5 million a year. I'm asking what other specialities offer that type of income potential.

 

[J ROD]

Peds

 

[trobins1504]

Get your life in order.

 

[chopes31]

Peds

Rofl

 

[link2swim06]

Invent a revolutionary medical device and retire to a private island?

 

[badasshairday]

Neurosurgery = Ortho (spine in particular) >>> other ortho subspecialties = interventional cardiology = interventional radiology = CT-surgery = GI = derm-path = derm-MOHS = plastics

 

[jhugti]

Neurosurgery = Ortho (spine in particular) >>> other ortho subspecialties = interventional cardiology = interventional radiology = CT-surgery = GI = derm-path = derm-MOHS = plastics

True today, but unlikely in the future. For example, insurance/Medicare currently reimburses per level and per utilized piece of hardware in spine (fusion) cases. This is going away, and it is entirely unclear what the result will be on future payments for these (often unindicated) procedures.

OP, I think the reality is that it is nearly impossible to know what will be lucrative in 20+ years. Maybe clinical genetics, one of the most poorly paid specialties today, will become the next trillion dollar industry thanks to some unforeseen discovery. In my opinion, the only *guaranteed* ticket to success/wealth/wtvr is to (a) find and conquer a niche, and (b) develop a truly novel advance in said niche.

 

[Packman2003]

c e o

It wouldn't let me capitalize it...weird.

 

[link2swim06]

Neurosurgery = Ortho (spine in particular) >>> other ortho subspecialties = interventional cardiology = interventional radiology = CT-surgery = GI = derm-path = derm-MOHS = plastics

True but I think a lot of that is based on culture of the specialty more so than earning potential.

If a derm worked neurosurgery hours their pay would be comparable. But for some reason most derms work less than 35 hours per week while neurosurgery works a boatload of hours.

In my city the volume exists were derms could work 60 hours weeks if they wanted.

 

[Slack3r]

Aren't there proposed cuts to both dermpath and Mohs coming up? Spine surgeons can no longer bill by level, IIRC, and joints are also on the chopping block as well.

 

[Knocked Up]

Doesn't this question belong in the pre-allo forum?

 

[DrEnderW]

www.google.com

If you want to be a rebel try: www.yahoo.com

 

[verydesperate]

hi

 

[Anastomoses]

I think it's weird when people want to pick their field of medicine based on how much money it makes. Unless you're not in it for the love of medicine and it's all the same to you?

 

[alpinism]

True but I think a lot of that is based on culture of the specialty more so than earning potential.

If a derm worked neurosurgery hours their pay would be comparable. But for some reason most derms work less than 35 hours per week while neurosurgery works a boatload of hours.

In my city the volume exists were derms could work 60 hours weeks if they wanted.

Gotta agree. I know some Derm private practice guys who put in 50-70 hrs a week and make well over 500K.

 

[JABWS]

I think it's weird when people want to pick their field of medicine based on how much money it makes. Unless you're not in it for the love of medicine and it's all the same to you?

Some people have mounds of debt and mouths to feed. I think it's a very legitimate consideration.

 

[yehhhboiii]

I think it's weird when people want to pick their field of medicine based on how much money it makes. Unless you're not in it for the love of medicine and it's all the same to you?

Well I'd rather be a well-paid, overworked surgeon than a poorly paid family doctor that sees the same 65 y/o female with a pmh of htn, dm and hyperlipidemia day after day.

 

[username456789]

i think it's weird when people want to pick their field of medicine based on how much money it makes. Unless you're not in it for the love of medicine and it's all the same to you?

lol

 

[tiedyeddog]

I think it's weird when people want to pick their field of medicine based on how much money it makes. Unless you're not in it for the love of medicine and it's all the same to you?

 

[RichieVallens]

It's all the same to you OP.

 

[TooMuchResearch]

Not really what I'm looking for but thank you anyway. I'm more interested in individual cases not averages. For example, I know of a plastic surgeon with a private practice who makes $2.5 million a year. I'm asking what other specialities offer that type of income potential.

I would do this for less than two years. I would then only have to continue the work if I actually enjoyed it.

 

[kaleerkalut]

Neurosurgery = Ortho (spine in particular) >>> other ortho subspecialties = interventional cardiology = interventional radiology = CT-surgery = GI = derm-path = derm-MOHS = plastics

Where does RadOnc fit in this ladder?

 

[Spinach Dip]

Famous talk-show doctor with a dozen books > all others



(I hear the competition is kinda fierce, though.)

 

[Kvothe]

www.google.com

If you want to be a rebel try: www.yahoo.com

Naw man, bing it

 

[yehhhboiii]

Naw man, bing it

askjeeves

 

[Law2Doc]

Famous talk-show doctor with a dozen books > all others



(I hear the competition is kinda fierce, though.)

Competition isn't that fierce -- you don't even have to do med school or residency to be a TV "doctor".

 

[BGriffin]

Hi Folks,

Money question here. What specialty has the highest earning potential (income ceiling)? My first guess is Plastics (orange county, celebrities, etc.), but I suppose it might also be Ortho since you can service professional sports team.

What do you think?

Electrophysiology can pay over 3 million a year if you get the right gig. More than a few at OSU make well over a million a year. You have to live in the EP lab and be well published to get these kinds of salaries. Over 500 k is not uncommon though.

 

[ijn]

Patents on medical devices is where the serious cash money be. Find the field which has the greatest potential for technological expansion after you're done with 5-7 years of residency and fellowship. No probs rite? Should be easy.

 

[Kaustikos]

Cardiology in the midwest/south...

 

[link2swim06]

Competition isn't that fierce -- you don't even have to do med school or residency to be a TV "doctor".

Fierce isn't the best word.

It's something you either have a chance at or no chance at all.

I'll breakdown the average physician's chance:
Looks are 70% of it.
How your voice sounds is 10% of it.
Who you know is 10% of it.
Reputation of where you graduated is another 10% of it.

These aren't really things anyone can 'work on.'

 

[45408]

Fierce isn't the best word.

It's something you either have a chance at or no chance at all.

I'll breakdown the average physician's chance:
Looks are 70% of it.
How your voice sounds is 10% of it.
Who you know is 10% of it.
Reputation of where you graduated is another 10% of it.

These aren't really things anyone can 'work on.'

Plastic surgery + hair transplants prn.
Voice coach.
Networking networking networking + luck.

 

[Anastomoses]

Well I'd rather be a well-paid, overworked surgeon than a poorly paid family doctor that sees the same 65 y/o female with a pmh of htn, dm and hyperlipidemia day after day.

That's kind of my point. I don't think I could sacrifice myself to a life of derm for 600K or plastics for 1M if I had to choose. I'd opt for the 200K interesting medical field that I'm gonna love the hell out of. It's not like we're talking about the difference between going hungry and being a gazillionaire. That said, I understand some people are a little concerned about their loans and debts.

If family medicine made a killing and surgery made peanuts would you go for that instead?

 

[docisin]

Competition isn't that fierce -- you don't even have to do med school or residency to be a TV "doctor".

Same as online. You can be anybody online and say you are an expert to anything and everything. Kinda scary if you think about it.

 

[Trogghunter]

Which program would be best for getting a spot as a TV doctor? Community or academic? I'm thinking pediatric gynecology.

 

[Law2Doc]

Which program would be best for getting a spot as a TV doctor? Community or academic? I'm thinking pediatric gynecology.

You'd want something in LA or NYC where the bulk of network shows are produced so you could go to casting calls. And nothing too bad in terms of hours, so you could get away to do your schtick, without having to answer pages and calls. And nothing so technical sounding that a layman wouldn't readily understand your job (psychiatrist is good, endocrinologist isn't). Nothing academic -- they frown on the low brow medical stuff. I'm thinking psych at an upscale community hospital in Beverly Hills is where you want to be.

 

[link2swim06]

You'd want something in LA or NYC where the bulk of network shows are produced so you could go to casting calls. And nothing too bad in terms of hours, so you could get away to do your schtick, without having to answer pages and calls. And nothing so technical sounding that a layman wouldn't readily understand your job (psychiatrist is good, endocrinologist isn't). Nothing academic -- they frown on the low brow medical stuff. I'm thinking psych at an upscale community hospital in Beverly Hills is where you want to be.

Casting calls? I don't think there are lines of doctors showing up to get on TV shows.

Most of the doctor TV shows only happened because they did segments or were interviewed multiple times on other shows (like Oprah) and had high ratings.

I think it is relatively easy to get on local TV as a doctor for a single interview. Your ability to move up from that single interview all the way to your own national TV show is based on the items I cited above.

I don't think I could name a single psychiatrist on national TV. CV and neurosurgeons are at the top of the TV market (with Dr. Oz and Sanjay Gupta). Even Dr. Drew is an internal medicine doc not a psychiatrist.

 

[Trogghunter]

After step 2 i realized that actually practicing medicine isnt humanistic enough for me. we need to help the Sim patients-the ones who are seen over and over, and they just don't get better. Can you imagine? Modern medicine has failed them, and I'm going to be the one to put an end to it.

 

[link2swim06]

After step 2 i realized that actually practicing medicine isnt humanistic enough for me. we need to help the Sim patients-the ones who are seen over and over, and they just don't get better. Can you imagine? Modern medicine has failed them, and I'm going to be the one to put an end to it.

Mix between satire and trolling?

 

[Trogghunter]

Mix between satire and trolling?

Yup. Ive hit a wall and needed some mental release. But on a serious note, I'd be a sitcom physician any day. Imagine...you'd be a celebrity in your community and could fill your practice with private insurance types-'the healthy ill'.

 

[docisin]

Yup. Ive hit a wall and needed some mental release. But on a serious note, I'd be a sitcom physician any day. Imagine...you'd be a celebrity in your community and could fill your practice with private insurance types-'the healthy ill'.

What you said reminds me of a song called "Flagpole Sitta" by Lit ...

I had visions, I was in them,
I was looking into the mirror
To see a little bit clearer
The rottenness and evil in me

Fingertips have memories,
Mine can't forget the curves of your body
So when I feel a bit naughty
BEEP (Sorry, I can't share that line with you all it is controversial)
(But no one ever does)

I'm not sick, but I'm not well
and I'm so hot 'cause I'm in hell

Been around the world and found
That only stupid people are breeding
The cretins cloning and feeding
And I don't even own a TV

Put me in the hospital for nerves
And then they had to commit me
You told them all I was crazy
They cut off my legs now I'm an amputee, BEEP cuss word

I'm not sick, but I'm not well
And I'm so hot cause I'm in hell
I'm not sick, but I'm not well
And it's a sin, to live so well

I wanna publish 'zines
And rage against machines
I wanna pierce my tongue
It doesn't hurt, it feels fine
The trivial sublime
I'd like to turn off time
And kill my mind
You kill my mind
Mind...

Paranoia, paranoia
Everybody's comin' to get me
Just say you never met me
I'm runnin' underground with the moles
Diggin' holes
Hear the voices in my head
I swear to God it sounds like they're snoring
But if you're bored then you're boring
The agony and the irony, they're killing me, whoa!

I'm not sick, but I'm not well
And I'm so hot cause I'm in hell
I'm not sick, but I'm not well
And it's a sin to live this well

(One, two, three, four!)

 

[rueby25]

What you said reminds me of a song called "Flagpole Sitta" by Lit ...

That song is by Harvey Danger. 90s fail.

That's kind of my point. I don't think I could sacrifice myself to a life of derm for 600K or plastics for 1M if I had to choose. I'd opt for the 200K interesting medical field that I'm gonna love the hell out of. It's not like we're talking about the difference between going hungry and being a gazillionaire. That said, I understand some people are a little concerned about their loans and debts.

If family medicine made a killing and surgery made peanuts would you go for that instead?

Do you know about the scope of plastics? It's one of the, if not the single, most interesting fields in medicine. Work in all parts of the body. Do incredibly skilled work with microsurg. Can do cosmo, craniofacial, hand... Maybe your interests lie in medicine, but plastics is on of the most dynamic and interesting fields out there, not to mention the most elite in terms of matching. Easy with the "sacrifice myself" BS. Haha.

 

[docisin]

That song is by Harvey Danger. 90s fail.

Yep you are right Can I get an "A" for effert oops I mean effort LOL I concur with plastics ... It really is an amazing field

 

[Anastomoses]

That song is by Harvey Danger. 90s fail.



Do you know about the scope of plastics? It's one of the, if not the single, most interesting fields in medicine. Work in all parts of the body. Do incredibly skilled work with microsurg. Can do cosmo, craniofacial, hand... Maybe your interests lie in medicine, but plastics is on of the most dynamic and interesting fields out there, not to mention the most elite in terms of matching. Easy with the "sacrifice myself" BS. Haha.

Alright alright, I didn't mean to step on any plastics toes. I'm sure there are fascinating aspects to it but in reality the money is presumably in some of the more banal procedures - as tummy tucks, nose jobs, breast augmentation. I don't think I even find the work unpleasant...I think I'd find the interactions and the goals unpleasant. I definitely couldn't live a life in which I'm consistently interacting with socialites or insecure emotionally weak individuals who need physical changes to feel okay about living. It's like bathing in neuroses. I could be wrong...I haven't even shadowed a plastic surgeon. Feel free to tell me if you think so.

 

[acesup]

Alright alright, I definitely couldn't live a life in which I'm consistently interacting with socialites or insecure emotionally weak individuals who need physical changes to feel okay about living.

So you'd rather deal with 250 pound obese diabetics with hypertension who smoke a pack a day?

 

[Daodejing]

Alright alright, I didn't mean to step on any plastics toes. I'm sure there are fascinating aspects to it but in reality the money is presumably in some of the more banal procedures - as tummy tucks, nose jobs, breast augmentation. I don't think I even find the work unpleasant...I think I'd find the interactions and the goals unpleasant. I definitely couldn't live a life in which I'm consistently interacting with socialites or insecure emotionally weak individuals who need physical changes to feel okay about living. It's like bathing in neuroses. I could be wrong...I haven't even shadowed a plastic surgeon. Feel free to tell me if you think so.

wut

 

[thesauce]

Hi Folks,

Money question here. What specialty has the highest earning potential (income ceiling)? My first guess is Plastics (orange county, celebrities, etc.), but I suppose it might also be Ortho since you can service professional sports team.
What do you think?

Actually no. Physician practices typically have to bid for the right to be designated as a sports team physician. They actually pay the team for the advertising and notoriety that come with this honor.

 

[rueby25]

Alright alright, I didn't mean to step on any plastics toes. I'm sure there are fascinating aspects to it but in reality the money is presumably in some of the more banal procedures - as tummy tucks, nose jobs, breast augmentation. I don't think I even find the work unpleasant...I think I'd find the interactions and the goals unpleasant. I definitely couldn't live a life in which I'm consistently interacting with socialites or insecure emotionally weak individuals who need physical changes to feel okay about living. It's like bathing in neuroses. I could be wrong...I haven't even shadowed a plastic surgeon. Feel free to tell me if you think so.

Unless you're in a celebrity market (LA for instance) and do 100% Cosmo, you won't be servicing much of this clientele. Most of what we see in the midwest are "mommy makeovers." Mothers who have had a few kids and, despite diet and exercise, has ptotic breasts and a droopy abdomen. These are usually self-pay, so the same profit margin as a breast aug or other cosmetic procedure (assuming abdominoplasty and not panniculectomy due to a hygiene issue or the like).

Yes, it's less exciting than recon or hand. But each case is still very different. And you really do help the overall well being of your patients. The same goes for a woman with AA breasts who elects for aug to a larger cup size to feel more feminine. Not all that superficial. Our emotions are tied to physical appearance and sexuality. There are different levels of this, but the case I described is different than giving someone a C->D because they "could go a but bigger." Yeah, that clientele exists, but it's less common than public perception night have you think.

If you go to the plastic surgery forum and click on the sticky for first days in practice (or whatever it's called), you can get a sense for what kind of things a plastic surgeon might see, especially starting out, and the variety you can keep while being very successful financially. I'd kill to follow that guy's business model to a T (if I wasn't planning on staying in academics).

 

[jr93]

Saving and investing well in the end will get you the most comfort. People that love ultra high salaries often blow money the most too so when they run into trouble, it hits them hard. Meanwhile, the middle to upper middle class people that saved and invested are sitting fat and pretty at age 55 or 60.