RadOnc - Job Market in Utah, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Arizona, Wyoming

[Brathmore]

Many of my relatives live near Salt Lake City, so I'd love to be within a day's drive. Can anyone tell me what the job market for new radiation oncologists is in Utah (or Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Arizona, Wyoming)? How hard is it to get a job in one of these locals? Does one have to settle for a ridiculously low salary to make it happen? (What are the starting salaries?)

If you've gone through the process of getting a job in one of these areas, I'd love to hear your thoughts. Thanks!

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[medgator]

From what I know from a recent co-resident who tried looking a couple of years ago, Utah is a tough market. You have a high-growth state but because of demographics/religion, it is mostly younger non-smoking families having kids. Not a great demographic to be moving to as a radiation oncologist (i.e. they're too healthy!).

My understanding is that at the University of Utah, they often got their best training experience in terms of H&N/Lung (smoking-related aerodigestive malignancies) through the VA there that filtered patients in from some of those other states you mentioned. I would imagine Montana, Idaho or Wyoming would have "underserved" areas that might be better for you.

 

[OTN]

Arizona is going to be your best bet, due to the demographics of the area. When I came out of residency 5 years ago I couldn't find a single job available in either Colorado or Utah. Idaho/Montana/Wyoming might work, but it's going to be a crapshoot, given the small number of radoncs needed for such a lightly-populated area.

 

[Neuronix]

The op is asking the exact same question in the ophtho and emergency medicine forums.

Brathmore, my sincere advice to you is to find a specialty you enjoy and worry about the job market later. I'm assuming you're a third year, and you can't predict what will happen 6+ years from now. Cross posting the same message on multiple forums on SDN is not permitted, and I will close the threads.