Podiatry Career Outlook

[GypsyHummus]

Nobody has a problem with Dexter, and he hasn’t said anything that makes him out to be pompous or full of himself. No need for personal attacks.

Lets hope you have as much knowledge as you have ego, i hope for your sake that your 4 years are humbling, a person like you can definitely benefit from it.

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[Weirdy]

I get what he is saying.

I'm also saying that if you do not have the stats for an MD or DO school but after research/shadowing/etc you like Podiatry, then, by all means, join us.
\

Ayyyeeeee anyone else?

 

[musclesmiyagi]

Ayyyeeeee anyone else?

 

[BunionKing]

If we’re talking conspiracies let’s dicuss how BunionKing and LordFreiburg joined SDN on the same exact day (4 days ago) to spread doom & gloom by overexaggerating facts we all already know. ‍♂️ I send my regards to the royal family!

In all seriousness though, it’s so important to shadow, research, and use every legitimate source we can (*cough* BLS) before making 7 year 200k life decisions. There’s a tiny bit of merit to every negative opinion, but that doesn’t make it universal, or the whole truth. That being said take everything you read with a grain of salt. And take two when you hear it’s all rainbows and butterflies, because nothing is. No matter what initials come with your name.

Noones talking conspiracies, but since youre making accusations, I have to defend myself. You’re late to the party, moderator already cleared us, we are the real royal family of Podiatry. Go back to your farm peasants

 

[Weirdy]

If we’re talking conspiracies let’s dicuss how BunionKing and LordFreiburg joined SDN on the same exact day (4 days ago) to spread doom & gloom by overexaggerating facts we all already know. ‍♂️ I send my regards to the royal family!

In all seriousness though, it’s so important to shadow, research, and use every legitimate source we can (*cough* BLS) before making 7 year 200k life decisions. There’s a tiny bit of merit to every negative opinion, but that doesn’t make it universal, or the whole truth. That being said take everything you read with a grain of salt. And take two when you hear it’s all rainbows and butterflies, because nothing is. No matter what initials come with your name.

BLS isn't that great though....its good for a sneak peek or averages but the amount of variety out there is insane compared to what they have averaged.Does this mean we're all gonna make 300k+ with little effort? Hell no.

I do not think they are trolls. Whether they had good or bad experiences or not is up to them, but they don't sound like trolls.

As for Dexter, take it easy royal family. He's given nothing but realistic advice. We all had a phase where we jumped on the "Podiatry is invincible" bandwagon.

After getting in we've done nothing but give realistic advice from what we know so far. Even before we got in, a majority of us knew what we were giving up in terms of financial prospects and scope of practice.

Let's not eat our young.

 

[GypsyHummus]

Eh, I wouldn’t go by indeed. When I was job hunting, I never received a single bite from anyone using them. I’ve always received success either applying to places directly or via word of mouth.

Plus, Podiatry is a subspecilty if Medicine. It’s the equivalent of looking up “endocrinology jobs”, or something similar. Prolly not gonna find anything.

Anouther thing I see is that the Optometry jobs they offer are mostly corporate. Do you want to be stuck in Walmart heard the beep beeps of the checkout scanner?

Who knows how many ODs are clamoring for each spot.

I just searched Indeed for jobs in my large west coast city. I did "optometrist" first and found quite a few (like 15+, one of which had the salary listed already at $130K+). Remember, this is supposed to be a oversaturated field, in an oversaturated part of the country.

I put in "podiatrist". NOTHING. Like literally ZERO!!!!!!!! I live in a part of the country that is the highest populated of all states, and there is not ONE freaking podiatry job. It just lists a bunch of similar jobs (most of which are by the VA) which are ALL md/do fields. I mean come on. That's ridiculous.

For 130K, I'm sure we all would gladly do optometry, which will be cheaper tuition wise and 3 years shorter length wise. For similar to pod pay. Ugh. lol

 

[Cranjis McBasketball]

My friend, neurologist (MD), did not even search for a job. He had finished his residency a year ago and he told me that he had a job more than 3 months in advance. He had multiple offers. What I want to say is that these jobs are often filled through connections rather than indeed.com or other sites.

Word of friendly advice: do not call someone out on making a general statement based on their limited anecdotal experience (have you been to many rural areas?) and then make one yourself.

 

[GypsyHummus]

I think this is important. The retail aspect really increases demand for services because it’s widely available to the public. Though certainly retail causes it’s own set of problems, you are easily replaceable.

There is a greater need for an optometrist because most people get eye exams covered by insurance once a year. Not everyone need a foot exam.

But ODs making 110k is starting to become the exception. Full time work is becoming increasingly harder to come by. Take a look at the OD forums, lots of people coming out working two jobs making about 80k/year.

I think professions with a retail aspect tend to have more job postings available. In any case, i'm glad you're doing your research. I looked into Podiatry extensively before going the DO route and the ROI/uncertainty just wasn't for me. For some people, retail Optometry for 120k+ is a great deal after 4 years of school.

 

[DexterMorganSK]

I think professions with a retail aspect tend to have more job postings available. In any case, i'm glad you're doing your research. I looked into Podiatry extensively before going the DO route and the ROI/uncertainty just wasn't for me. For some people, retail Optometry for 120k+ is a great deal after 4 years of school.

True, same goes for PharmD.

 

[DexterMorganSK]

My friend, neurologist (MD), did not even search for a job. He had finished his residency a year ago and he told me that he had a job more than 3 months in advance. He had multiple offers. What I want to say is that these jobs are often filled through connections rather than indeed.com or other sites.

Word of friendly advice: do not call someone out on making a general statement based on their limited anecdotal experience (have you been to many rural areas?) and then make one yourself.

ooooo burn. lol

But come on. He's a neurologist. Of course he had offers before his training was up. That's completely normal for most md/do's regardless of specialty and is universally known. But for us pods, it's not universally known that we will get recruited, or else it would have already been a "cultural norm" of the profession and we would all not be here having this discussion lol.

From what I have seen over the span of this year and meeting with new grads, the majority have job offers by the 2nd year of residency.
These offers are not through a search engine like indeed but through current employers and partners.
As Podiatry continues to become more known to the world, 4 years from today, it will be easier to get hospital/group employments, par with our education and residency. No one knows what the future holds, but that is where the current trend seems to be heading.

Needless to say, not everyone will get those 200K+ jobs after residency, but it is also unlikely they will be unemployed for a long period.

Finally, based on the current data/info you can either enroll and try to become a DPM or like Prehealth1011 above switch to another field before accepting a Pod seat.

 

[DexterMorganSK]

I think this is important. The retail aspect really increases demand for services because it’s widely available to the public. Though certainly retail causes it’s own set of problems, you are easily replaceable.

There is a greater need for an optometrist because most people get eye exams covered by insurance once a year. Not everyone need a foot exam.

But ODs making 110k is starting to become the exception. Full time work is becoming increasingly harder to come by. Take a look at the OD forums, lots of people coming out working two jobs making about 80k/year.

That's true unless they have diabetes. Then its the eyes, foot, kidneys, heart, brain, and everything else!

 

[AttackNME]

Just a thought I recently had regarding podiatry jobs.

Other people have stated here and previously (I have seen that myself) that when people do web search mostly what they see is VA positions. VA positions advertise that they start around 100-130K.

So, since those jobs are always out there seems like VA can't fill those positions. It's funny that people say that there most positions with 60-80K and that there are not enough jobs. Why people don't get these jobs in VA then if there are no jobs and VA pays 100-130K?

Also, when I followed VA Provider Equity ACT hearings, I understood that the problem VA has is to recruit and keep good Podiatrist because they cant offer more than 170K salary.

My thought is that podiatrist are able to find better jobs with higher salaries, otherwise VA positions would be filled.

I might be wrong in my reasoning, but this is what I think.

Exactly right, there is a higher salary potential in most practices than VA. You can also look up names of anyone currently working for a VA and find how much they make

 

[podofwar]

Those VA jobs for 100-130K starting are NOT for podiatrist though. They are for internists, nocturnist, psychiatry, endocrinology, etc. (literally have it open right now and listing them word for word lol).


These are the positions available for podiatrists in the ENTIRE country (as a federal employee ONLY). There's 5. FIVE! In the ENTIRE country. lol.

So.... knowing all this, why are you in pod?

 

[GypsyHummus]

To be fair, from reading the forums and the attending's posts on the subject of employment, it seems most pods are able to get a job, just not in a desirable location with desirable salary. There are plenty of examples of pods on this forum making 200K+. I doubt many if any are in New York or Cali (or any saturated place for that matter).

There are plenty of rural locations in the Midwest and South that would love to have a DPM.

its been mentioned multiple times that there are private practice pod jobs out there, but they tend to take advantage of newly minted students. Thats where the 80K/year with bonus incentive jobs are.

Can you imagine someone "settling" for pod because they didn't want to re-take the MCAT or do a year of GPA repair, and then getting to the end in 7 years and not being able to find a job (let alone a good one) in their desired location?

 

[Cranjis McBasketball]

I get it. I didn't generalize. I just brought an example of how it might work in the medical field. I am sure that example doesn't represent the whole medical field.

I didn't say that since one neurologist had that experience, therefore that is how it works for everyone.

My friend, neurologist (MD), did not even search for a job. He had finished his residency a year ago and he told me that he had a job more than 3 months in advance. He had multiple offers. What I want to say is that these jobs are often filled through connections rather than indeed.com or other sites.

Isnt that exactly what you did? Its probably true. What I'm saying is you like to call people out a lot on making generalizations based on their limited experiences/feedback, so dont fall into the trap of doing the same thing; especially after having JUST called someone out on it

 

[prepod2016]

This thread makes me cringe. It seems like a lot of prepods and pod students on here will generalize whatever they can and have a response to literally any comment that is thrown their way to justify podiatry. That makes sense as a majority of those folks were probably already accepted to a school, and their fate has already been sealed as they already signed the dotted line. However it can be frustrating to read for someone like myself, who has not entered professional school yet OR someone who is on here searching for legitimate advice about a potential career. As my name suggests, I used to be pre-podiatry before I learned more about it. It’s just not for me for a lot of reasons, and I most certainly do not have anything against anyone that is pursuing it for the right reasons. In fact , I respect you immensely if you are pursuing it because you genuinely want to practice podiatry for the rest of your life.


Listening to people who have already been down the road you are trying to pursue know more than you, no matter how bad you want them to be wrong or disagree with them (or how much “research” you have done). I shadowed 2 podiatrists, one who has been in the profession for 15 years and one who was a recent graduate. They both blatantly told me to look into other options, to my amazement. I was grateful for their words and it has helped shape my decision to pursue DO school (amongst many other reasons) With that being said, I think it’s inportant to at least reply with an educated response or at least show your gratitude when someone experienced shares their advice. They’re only trying to help and their hasty replies probably stem from frustration that you’re not even listening to them.

After browsing these forums, it seems as if there is somewhat of a “hive mind” mentality amongst certain users that will defend podiatry for, quite literally, every possible reason. this lack of open-mindedness that is behind a lot of these posts are not only hurtful for those looking for useful information, but I’m scared it deters other experienced professionals from sharing useful knowledge as they see that other people do not even appreciate it.

 

[DexterMorganSK]

This thread makes me cringe. It seems like a lot of prepods and pod students on here will generalize whatever they can and have a response to literally any comment that is thrown their way to justify podiatry. That makes sense as a majority of those folks were probably already accepted to a school, and their fate has already been sealed as they already signed the dotted line. However it can be frustrating to read for someone like myself, who has not entered professional school yet OR someone who is on here searching for legitimate advice about a potential career. As my name suggests, I used to be pre-podiatry before I learned more about it. It’s just not for me for a lot of reasons, and I most certainly do not have anything against anyone that is pursuing it for the right reasons. In fact , I respect you immensely if you are pursuing it because you genuinely want to practice podiatry for the rest of your life.


Listening to people who have already been down the road you are trying to pursue know more than you, no matter how bad you want them to be wrong or disagree with them (or how much “research” you have done). I shadowed 2 podiatrists, one who has been in the profession for 15 years and one who was a recent graduate. They both blatantly told me to look into other options, to my amazement. I was grateful for their words and it has helped shape my decision to pursue DO school (amongst many other reasons) With that being said, I think it’s inportant to at least reply with an educated response or at least show your gratitude when someone experienced shares their advice. They’re only trying to help and their hasty replies probably stem from frustration that you’re not even listening to them.

After browsing these forums, it seems as if there is somewhat of a “hive mind” mentality amongst certain users that will defend podiatry for, quite literally, every possible reason. this lack of open-mindedness that is behind a lot of these posts are not only hurtful for those looking for useful information, but I’m scared it deters other experienced professionals from sharing useful knowledge as they see that other people do not even appreciate it.

Good post.

Did you ask the DPMs why they told you to look at other options?
I'm glad you are going the DO route than spending money applying to Pod programs.

 

[GypsyHummus]

If you talk to people in DO school, they will tell you to go to MD school.

If you ask MD people, they will tell you to go to PA school.

The grass is always greener.

This thread makes me cringe. It seems like a lot of prepods and pod students on here will generalize whatever they can and have a response to literally any comment that is thrown their way to justify podiatry. That makes sense as a majority of those folks were probably already accepted to a school, and their fate has already been sealed as they already signed the dotted line. However it can be frustrating to read for someone like myself, who has not entered professional school yet OR someone who is on here searching for legitimate advice about a potential career. As my name suggests, I used to be pre-podiatry before I learned more about it. It’s just not for me for a lot of reasons, and I most certainly do not have anything against anyone that is pursuing it for the right reasons. In fact , I respect you immensely if you are pursuing it because you genuinely want to practice podiatry for the rest of your life.


Listening to people who have already been down the road you are trying to pursue know more than you, no matter how bad you want them to be wrong or disagree with them (or how much “research” you have done). I shadowed 2 podiatrists, one who has been in the profession for 15 years and one who was a recent graduate. They both blatantly told me to look into other options, to my amazement. I was grateful for their words and it has helped shape my decision to pursue DO school (amongst many other reasons) With that being said, I think it’s inportant to at least reply with an educated response or at least show your gratitude when someone experienced shares their advice. They’re only trying to help and their hasty replies probably stem from frustration that you’re not even listening to them.

After browsing these forums, it seems as if there is somewhat of a “hive mind” mentality amongst certain users that will defend podiatry for, quite literally, every possible reason. this lack of open-mindedness that is behind a lot of these posts are not only hurtful for those looking for useful information, but I’m scared it deters other experienced professionals from sharing useful knowledge as they see that other people do not even appreciate it.

 

[musclesmiyagi]

This thread makes me cringe. It seems like a lot of prepods and pod students on here will generalize whatever they can and have a response to literally any comment that is thrown their way to justify podiatry. That makes sense as a majority of those folks were probably already accepted to a school, and their fate has already been sealed as they already signed the dotted line. However it can be frustrating to read for someone like myself, who has not entered professional school yet OR someone who is on here searching for legitimate advice about a potential career. As my name suggests, I used to be pre-podiatry before I learned more about it. It’s just not for me for a lot of reasons, and I most certainly do not have anything against anyone that is pursuing it for the right reasons. In fact , I respect you immensely if you are pursuing it because you genuinely want to practice podiatry for the rest of your life.


Listening to people who have already been down the road you are trying to pursue know more than you, no matter how bad you want them to be wrong or disagree with them (or how much “research” you have done). I shadowed 2 podiatrists, one who has been in the profession for 15 years and one who was a recent graduate. They both blatantly told me to look into other options, to my amazement. I was grateful for their words and it has helped shape my decision to pursue DO school (amongst many other reasons) With that being said, I think it’s inportant to at least reply with an educated response or at least show your gratitude when someone experienced shares their advice. They’re only trying to help and their hasty replies probably stem from frustration that you’re not even listening to them.

After browsing these forums, it seems as if there is somewhat of a “hive mind” mentality amongst certain users that will defend podiatry for, quite literally, every possible reason. this lack of open-mindedness that is behind a lot of these posts are not only hurtful for those looking for useful information, but I’m scared it deters other experienced professionals from sharing useful knowledge as they see that other people do not even appreciate it.

Pretty opposite experiences we’ve had you and I haha

 

[Certified Corsair]

I'm pretty sure I've heard people complain about their job, in any field... and I mean anything. Obviously most people would rather not go to work and be on a cruise or something. I certainly wouldn't complain about winning the lottery.

But most people have to work, and there will always be something about a job people don't like, hence the word "job". All of these people that complain still do their job for 30+ years so they can retire, whether you're a doctor or custodian.

FWIW, the pods I shadowed (from age 30 to 60) like what they do, and have no problem waking up in the morning.

I get the negativity, as it speaks to reality. But SDN redundant threads started to give me cancer which is why I can only go on like once a week, which makes the pattern of redundant threads and negativity stand out more.

 

[Cranjis McBasketball]

If you look at surveyes on different sites, about half of MDs/DOs would not go into medicine. It is not just podiatry that you hear professionals not being satisfied with their career choice.

Used to be. That was because healthcare was in a transition. Now it seems that the graduates go into medicine knowing how it is. MY guess is because there are more non-trads entering medicine and also people shadow a lot more different professions now than before so they get a more realistic idea.

But no one should pursue something based on what someone tells them. It should come down to if you like the medicine/procedures and enjoy the day to day work. Everyone told me to pursue dentistry, including dentists. I didnt enjoy shadowing but since everyone said to do it I listened for a while. Finally I was real with myself and realized I just had no interest in dental medicine. I had taken the DAT but luckily I switched before it was too late and I was in school and with debt!

Pursue your interest, not what someone tells you

 

[footpainhealer]

Used to be. That was because healthcare was in a transition. Now it seems that the graduates go into medicine knowing how it is. MY guess is because there are more non-trads entering medicine and also people shadow a lot more different professions now than before so they get a more realistic idea.

But no one should pursue something based on what someone tells them. It should come down to if you like the medicine/procedures and enjoy the day to day work. Everyone told me to pursue dentistry, including dentists. I didnt enjoy shadowing but since everyone said to do it I listened for a while. Finally I was real with myself and realized I just had no interest in dental medicine. I had taken the DAT but luckily I switched before it was too late and I was in school and with debt!

Pursue your interest, not what someone tells you

EXACTLY!!!

The md/do's that say they wouldn't go into medicine again are the ones who got to live/practice in the "golden-era" of medicine (low tuition, and HIGH pay compared to today), and then still had to practice in the current lower reimbursement / high bureaucracy era of medicine. That shift in lifestyle (plus the rising costs of tuition) is why they say they would not recommend or go into medicine again. But for those people who started med school in like the 2010's and beyond, they don't know anything different and the current climate is their "norm". It's the ones who had it good and then lost it that complain, and I don't blame them. lol

 

[HarmonicConvergence]

I've got a cushy desk job now using my bio degree at a big corporation and as far as I'm concerned anything is better than sitting in a cube staring at a computer all day. It drains you and I can't see how people do this everyday for 20+ years.

 

[DexterMorganSK]

A good place to ask all your burning questions directly to a DPM..all through facebook.

 

[Weirdy]

A good place to ask all your burning questions directly to a DPM..all through facebook.

View attachment 233275

If I release an album after I graduate, that's what I'm gonna call it:

"2PM with your DPM"

 

[IDontHaveAnyFeet]

Podiatry Career Outlook:
I can tell you, whether you be in the middle of bumf**ck no where or Manhattan NY you will make enough to at least have a roof over your head and food on your table.

Look at it this way in this order)
1) Will you be happy with this career? The benefits AND the limitations
2) Are you comfortable with a 100-200 k salary after 7 years of education?
3) Would you be willing to relocate

 

[El-Rami]

You mean they will basically start all over? I would think that once they are in deep enough (which for me would be day 1 of pod school lol), it just doesn't make sense to start over and they'll just suck it up and do their jobs like 99% of the workforce out there in all industries. haha
It's normal to hate your job these days. All I see on reddit and facebook and instagram is how much people hate their careers. Atleast pods can hate their jobs while making 6-figs. lol

I realize this reply is 2 years too late, but I thought it would be worth responding to this user's post.

I've been away from SDN for a few years. I was in med school. I can tell you 100% that you need to be happy in a career. Even if you make a 6-figure salary, you will hate your life if you hate your job. Medicine isn't exactly rosy. Physicians are miserable. Many have vices such as drug and alcohol use. People become so stressed out that they literally become awful people. Don't do it unless you enjoy it.