Pathology Compensation

[flowho]

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The salary question... always funny about how one of the most expensive area (NE) has the lowest pay.

http://www.medscape.com/sites/public/physician-comp/2012

 

[rollwithit]

Somewhat related question. It's pretty easy to look up salaries of Professors/Associate Professors/etc. at many public universities via internet databases. However, a lot of the time those salaries look pretty low, even by a lower academic pay scale. I assume those databases include only the publicly funded component of employe salary. Academia isn't my thing. Do pathologists working for public universities also have a non-public funded component of their pay check that wouldn't be included in these databases? That would explain the sub-100k salaries you see a lot of the times when browsing...

 

[deleted314957]

i think these figures, like any salary survey in my experience are HOOEY. I've been doing this for a long time and know lots of pathologist and that mean figure is just poor-mouthing.

 

[Path or bust]

Do pathologists working for public universities also have a non-public funded component of their pay check that wouldn't be included in these databases? That would explain the sub-100k salaries you see a lot of the times when browsing...

Yes, at least at our institution there is a department pool of money that is dispersed afterwards, even bonuses are given!

 

[KluverB]

Ha! Look at the slides "Percent of ____ Who Feel Fairly Compensated" for each speciality. Wow!

Only 38% of Pathologists feel they're not.

Contrast that with 60% of Urologists and 63% of Plastic surgeons who feel they're not!!!

Whatever dudes!

 

[rollwithit]

Ha! Look at the slides "Percent of ____ Who Feel Fairly Compensated" for each speciality. Wow!

Only 38% of Pathologists feel they're not.

Contrast that with 60% of Urologists and 63% of Plastic surgeons who feel they're not!!!

Whatever dudes!

I noticed that that also. I'm betting most of those folks entered those specialties largely in pursuit of the money. People who always think about money seem to want more of it - even if they already have loads of it. Human nature, I suppose.

 

[scienceguy19]

I know. Seriously... plastic surgeons are a bunch of cry babies.
sure... I feel so bad for them that they make only $500,000 a year.

Ha! Look at the slides "Percent of ____ Who Feel Fairly Compensated" for each speciality. Wow!

Only 38% of Pathologists feel they're not.

Contrast that with 60% of Urologists and 63% of Plastic surgeons who feel they're not!!!

Whatever dudes!

 

[lipomas]

I know. Seriously... plastic surgeons are a bunch of cry babies.
sure... I feel so bad for them that they make only $500,000 a year.

Yeah but see they have the misfortune of comparing themselves to other plastic surgeons. The salary range among plastic surgeons is probably the higest of any specialty - ranges from probably low 100k to several million a year.

Some specialties feel they are inappropriately compensated because they are comparing their income to previous levels. Urologists used to be able to bill huge amounts for giving lupron shots. When that went away, their income fell. They don't see the fact that they were being overcompensated for giving injections previously.

There have been numerous studies on the concept that "lost income" is more significant to someone than new income. Someone who makes $400k and then it falls to $300k feels much more stress than the equivalent level of happiness for having your income increase by that much.

 

[KCShaw]

Good point. People tend to live and make decisions based on the income they have, and if it drops, they're in jeopardy -- particularly given that these days people have such a tendency to finance what they buy, so if suddenly you can't pay those debt obligations you and your family and your practice are at a pretty serious risk. Those who live on less and are looking up have a harder time appreciating that problem than those who have made financial life decisions based on an expected income over many years and suddenly get their knees cut out from under them. It doesn't change the problems of unfair overcompensation, but I do have a -little- sympathy for those who do or might lose 20-30% of their income when they've done little more than make the most (literally) out of a broken system. Not enough to keep me from trying to claw a share away from them, but I have some appreciation for where some of them may be coming from.