MS3 DO student have interest in neuro but how is it really? Lifestyle and work wise?

[phagocytosis41]

Hey all hope I don't come across as selfish but I want to know from other how is the lifestyle and salary in Neuro. I read its about 230K depending on where you live and obviously volume of patients seen. I hear though that the residency is brutal and its not a high paying field.
How does Neuro compare to that of Psych. I also have interests in Psych and PM&R but I want to choose the field that has the best lifestyle, least stress (yes its subjective), and where I can make the most. Please be nice when responding.
I rotated in all those fields except PM&R, however I did shadow and PM&R before I was in Med school.
I enjoyed PM&R the most, followed by Neuro and then Psych, however i hear psych has the most earning potential, but PM&R has the best lifestyle, and neuro has the toughest lifestyle. Salary wise psych makes the least, followed by PM&R and Neuro sorta tied.

Also, I think I can get about a 230 Step 1 based on my practice exams. Thanks.

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[Telamir]

There are plenty of other threads on this subject in the forum and I'd encourage you to go look for them.

There is quite literally a thread on neurology compensation in the first page for you to look at. I don't mean to be too rude but you don't even come with a question. Why are you even interested in neuro? You already talked yourself out of it on your post. I have a friend who did psych and a friend who did PMR. I make more money than either of them (by a good amount) and we're all reasonably happy with what we chose. I think your approach in choosing a specialty closely mirrors your approach here asking for information (lowest effort, high reward). If you want easy peasy lemon squeezy residency/attending life then do psych.

Put in some effort, read the forum, ask some questions other than "Pls tell me which specialty is ez mode w/ most money kthxbai" and you'll get far better results regardless of which forum you go into.

 

[Thama]

Neurology is typically a more rigorous residency than psych or PMR, and typically offers a more difficult lifestyle afterwards. Neurology deals with more acute situations, delivers more bad news, and is responsible for more situations where the immediate decisions have real, lasting consequences - thus more stress. Private practice neurology can make good money, but the differences between the three fields will have far more to do with practice location and environment than specialty.

Based on your expressed wishes without any strong intellectual reason to choose neurology, your best fit would probably be elsewhere (likely PMR).

 

[madiso30]

I would be wary of picking PM&R just for the lifestyle. I'm only an M1 but I know PM&R pretty well. Lifestyle can definitely be a plus, though you still will be working more than your average non-medicine friends. Also, that nice lifestyle comes with some similar depressing moments known in neuro. A lot of the neuro rehab patients are not going to get a lot better and it's terrible to see them not improve.

I know it's odd for an M1 to chime in here, but I mainly just want to say that you should not being doing PM&R for the lifestyle just like you shouldn't do ortho for the lifestyle. You'll find plenty of compensation in any specialty. You'll be able to gain whatever lifestyle you want, generally, after you're an attending. PM&R is awesome but dont do it for superficial reasons.

 

[DrSatan]

PM&R is so ****ing boring

 

[Postictal Raiden]

Best life style:
Least stress: PMR
Most interesting pathologies: Neuro

Money is similar between all 3. Psych has low average but that’s due to working low hours. But 40hr/week, I say all 3 are within 50k of one another, depending on practice setting (inpatient/outpatient) and procedures.

Like mentioned above, neurology is going to be the most demanding residency experience of all 3...by far. While my counterpart PGY2 psych colleagues at my hospital were working 40hrs, or less, per week, I was pushing 80. When I’m on nightfloat I work 90hrs a week. When I’m on inpatient service, I work 70hrs a week. I work 50hrs a week on electives but those weeks make up only 10% of my entire year. On top of all that, I engage in difficult discussions with patients and their family almost on daily basis. I wouldn’t trade places with anyone doing psych or PMR, however. That’s because I enjoy (for the most part) what I do in neurology.

 

[neurochica]

Do what interests you the most- at some point you will have enough money- will psych or PM&R be intellectually stimulating in 20 or 30 years?
I love the science of neurology. I think this field will continue to evolve especially with new MS, stroke treatment coming down the pipeline 5,10 years from now.
good luck

 

[phagocytosis41]

There are plenty of other threads on this subject in the forum and I'd encourage you to go look for them.

There is quite literally a thread on neurology compensation in the first page for you to look at. I don't mean to be too rude but you don't even come with a question. Why are you even interested in neuro? You already talked yourself out of it on your post. I have a friend who did psych and a friend who did PMR. I make more money than either of them (by a good amount) and we're all reasonably happy with what we chose. I think your approach in choosing a specialty closely mirrors your approach here asking for information (lowest effort, high reward). If you want easy peasy lemon squeezy residency/attending life then do psych.

Put in some effort, read the forum, ask some questions other than "Pls tell me which specialty is ez mode w/ most money kthxbai" and you'll get far better results regardless of which forum you go into.

lol your hilarious.

 

[Que]

I can only speak for neuro. Graduating this year and where I am (pretty good sized city but not major coastal), I can easily get 300k which goes up to 350 for small community hospitals within an hour drive. Residency is tough for the first two years, then not bad at all the last two. And the field is flexible. Lots of no weekend no calls for 300, or you can make lots more if you want to work more. You can do all inpatient, all outpatient, or in between. You can do lots of acute stuff or almost none of it.

And neuro is imo wayyyyyy more interesting than pmr

 

[bigamygdala]

I can only speak for neuro. Graduating this year and where I am (pretty good sized city but not major coastal), I can easily get 300k which goes up to 350 for small community hospitals within an hour drive. Residency is tough for the first two years, then not bad at all the last two. And the field is flexible. Lots of no weekend no calls for 300, or you can make lots more if you want to work more. You can do all inpatient, all outpatient, or in between. You can do lots of acute stuff or almost none of it.

And neuro is imo wayyyyyy more interesting than pmr

any update on this? how is the job situation for a 350k as a fresh grad? is it 7 on 7 off kind of situation? are neurologists adding locums to the 7 offs for more income or is the 7 on a real burnout that needs thos 7 off? just to have a perspective.

 

[Telamir]

350k is possible even as a fresh grad. Outpatient jobs nowadays are around 300 depending on where you look. You can do locums to add more income if you want to. I do it occasionally but between traveling and a 21 day stretch of working it can be a real slog. You kind of trade your sanity a little bit for more money honestly. Nowadays I mostly use my 7 off and do locums if anything one week every other month, or if my job is short I'll pick up a few extra shifts although this isn't as often.

 

[bigamygdala]

350k is possible even as a fresh grad. Outpatient jobs nowadays are around 300 depending on where you look. You can do locums to add more income if you want to. I do it occasionally but between traveling and a 21 day stretch of working it can be a real slog. You kind of trade your sanity a little bit for more money honestly. Nowadays I mostly use my 7 off and do locums if anything one week every other month, or if my job is short I'll pick up a few extra shifts although this isn't as often.

how much do neurologist tend to earn for weekly locums? given 0-3 years of experience

 

[Telamir]

That depends and is variable from location to type of work. Anywhere from 1800-3k a day pre tax. Highly variable. Experience doesn’t really matter for locums, honestly.