job and geography

[The Empiricist]

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This question is for all the attendings (and anyone else that knows the answer to my question). How easy is it, given the current rad onc job market, to graduate from residency and get a private practice or academic job in a major metro area (SF, NYC, southern CA, etc.) that lots of other graduates hope to practice in? Let's assume the hypothetical graduate is coming from a mid-tier residency program not located near the area she wants to settle in.

I suspect this will be hard to answer, but I'd like to be able to try to gauge how easily I'd be able to practice rad onc in my location of choice compared to the other specialties I'm considering. So, any answers you guys can give me will be much appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Gfunk6]

Very tough to make generalizations. It depends on many factors, including:

1. The residency program in question. Graduates from certain programs tend to have "first pick" of jobs in a given geographic area.
2. The area in question. Clearly jobs in highly coveted areas (which you mention) are tough to come by and you may have to take a salary hit.
3. Luck. Some years there are a slew of openings and some years there is nothing.
4. Connections. The best job opportunities are (generally) not from classified ads in the Red Journal. It depends on who you know and getting first crack at a job before it is even advertised.

Some grads work locum tenens for a year or so until a good job opportunity opens up.

But the bottom line is that "higher tier" programs offer the best chance of procuring jobs in high demand areas.