How is rad onc in other countries?

[oncology2020]

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I tried doing a google search to get an idea but just curious if anyone else knows what the typical salaries are or what the demand is for rad onc in other developed nations like Canada or in Europe (UK, Italy, etc.) or even places like Dubai where they pay premium for American-educated physicians? Because of the dependence of the field on expensive technology, feel like it's more difficult to just go open a "rad onc clinic" in under-served areas in the US as a last resort like you can with primary care and most other specialities if you can't find a job. Other countries provide a last-resort option if G-d forbid rad onc salaries are drastically cut or the job market here goes down the drain.

 

[Palex80]

In Europe you are not going to make more than $200k before taxes in a non-private setting. In lots of places typical salaries are around $100k before taxes.

But like most people will tell you: You don't go into radonc for the money. If you want money, go become an investment banker. 🙂

 

[DrHitchcraft]

I tried doing a google search to get an idea but just curious if anyone else knows what the typical salaries are or what the demand is for rad onc in other developed nations like Canada or in Europe (UK, Italy, etc.) or even places like Dubai where they pay premium for American-educated physicians? Because of the dependence of the field on expensive technology, feel like it's more difficult to just go open a "rad onc clinic" in under-served areas in the US as a last resort like you can with primary care and most other specialities if you can't find a job. Other countries provide a last-resort option if G-d forbid rad onc salaries are drastically cut or the job market here goes down the drain.

The radonc job market is horrible in Canada. Even Canadian radonc residency positions are not highly sought after by Canadian medical students and are considered non-competitive (unlike the US), which is commonly attributed to the fact that radonc prospects in Canada are quite poor. Bottom line: If you are thinking about practicing in Canada as a radiation oncologist, your worry would be on securing any radonc job.

 

[medgator]

The radonc job market is horrible in Canada. Even Canadian radonc residency positions are not highly sought after by Canadian medical students and are considered non-competitive (unlike the US), which is commonly attributed to the fact that radonc prospects in Canada are quite poor. Bottom line: If you are thinking about practicing in Canada as a radiation oncologist, your worry would be on securing any radonc job.

Every once in awhile I do see a Canadian posting on the astro job site. Didn't realize it was that bad.

Op should keep in mind that some rad oncs in some countries give chemo which might be uncomfortable for those of us with training in the US

 

[deleted605854]

In Canada the practice for Rad Oncs doesn't seem to be that much different than the US. The only problem in Canada is the risky job market as the above poster said. I googled "Rad Onc Canada" and it seems even Canadian Neurosurgeons and Cardiac Surgeons are having difficulty getting a job! Yikes!

In the UK, there is no field called" Radiation Oncology". it's called Clinical Oncology and they prescribe both Chemo and Radiation. The salary for doctors employed by the UK NHS system is the same across all fields. Private Practice Oncology groups are mostly in London and they do make quite a bit of money. Although not as much as US Rad Oncs or Med Oncs.

Australia: Radiation Oncology is a good paying specialty but Job Market is very tight. They do have all the latest gizmos and they'll have Protons soon.

Middle East: Some Middle Eastern countries still use Cobalt machines like Yemen. Whereas Dubai and Saudi Arabia have the latest and greatest toys. Qatar wants to build the first Middle Eastern Proton Therapy center.

 

[oncology2020]

I advise you to not go into radonc for the money.

was more concerned about job security than trying to maximize a salary..was just trying to gauge how "easy" it is to transfer our skills overseas or what the demand is like overseas if the situation here ever became dire..don't want to be out of a job after nearly 15 years worth of studying and training and hundreds of thousand dollars of debt and lost income potential if the job market in the future becomes saturated like path and rads is currently (they require 2-3 fellowships before they can get a job which is ridiculous and job market is fully saturated)..with internal med/peds/FM/derm/OB-Gyn/surgery/etc (not that i want to do any of those fields) there is relatively more job security because you always have the option of just going into underserved areas and opening up your own clinic as a last resort, which is a bit more difficult to do in rad onc because of the dependence on expensive technology and referral-based practice..just trying to figure out what the back up career move would be if that were to ever happen

 

[Substance]

The radonc job market is horrible in Canada. Even Canadian radonc residency positions are not highly sought after by Canadian medical students and are considered non-competitive (unlike the US), which is commonly attributed to the fact that radonc prospects in Canada are quite poor. Bottom line: If you are thinking about practicing in Canada as a radiation oncologist, your worry would be on securing any radonc job.

Absolutely true. Canadian radiation oncology jobs are scarce because there is no real private practice market for rad onc. Most radiation is administered in large tertiary care centers. Though the practicing radiation oncologists do quite well financially (as good as many of the subspecialty surgeons) and are also involved in procedural work like scopes, brachy etc., the new grads are having a very difficult time with finding jobs since there are limited places to work.