Salary and Overhead

[MD Dreams]

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Do the insane salaries I see listed on the net include overhead charges?
Would these charges be a yearly thing or one time fee?
What about buy-in. What does that mean and how much does it cost and is it a one time fee?

On salary.com the average salary for general radiologist is 350K. However, I see much higher salaries advertised. Is this difference due to expenses such as stated above, or is salary.com just on the low side?

Thanks is advance.

 

[Speed McDuff]

Go into a field that you would enjoy doing regardless of salary or hours/week.

 

[hans19]

Go into a field that you would enjoy doing regardless of salary or hours/week.

Agreed. There will be substantial cuts in outpatient imaging reimbursement (which is a large part of a lucrative practice) in the next 1-2 years. I prefer not to entertain questions about salary. Just know that even with the cuts radiologists will still be very well compensated compared to the majority of subspecialties.

 

[sonicator]

I'm dissapointed -- it took longer than an hour for someone to post the very tired and unhelpful "don't do it for the money man, do cause you love it" generic response. Perhaps it is only the spelling police who post more quickly than that.

To the OP -- I think the general consensus is that you have to take the salary surveys with a grain of salt. Their accuracy has been and will be debated on these boards many times. As for job postings -- most of the ones that mention 'salary' are posted by recruiters and not physicians. Draw your own conclusions about the integrity of recruitment agencies. Also note that most of the 'verts include the words "up to" or depending on experience.

 

[MD Dreams]

Go into a field that you would enjoy doing regardless of salary or hours/week.

I agree with you. There are alot of fields in medicine where you couldn't pay me enough money to be in that field. The problem is I've narrowed my choices down to two fields, radiology being one of them. As far as I can tell, I enjoy radiology, apart from its promise of high income. I'm trying to understand the business aspect of this specialty so that I can make an informed decision and not have any regrets. Also, it is hard to just go for what I like when the difference in salary could be 300-400K/year given that I may also enjoy the specialty with the higher income.

I guess I'm trying to figure out if these high salaries are really what radiologists are making and if this is the take home amount (before taxes of course). For example, say a radiologist makes 400K. But then, 200K goes towards overhead, or group fees or what have you. Then the salary becomes 200k, which brings it into the ballpark of many other specialties, eventhough initially it appeared that the salary was much higher. This is what i'm trying to figure out.

I'm just trying to figure things out before september when I have to apply. I appreciate any and all input. Thank you.

 

[Docmike2006]

I think one of the reasons salary surveys are inaccurate is the same reason that keeps you from getting a straight answer here. People don't say how much they make.

 

[f_w]

These are pre-tax incomes.
Overhead in rads tends to be high, often in the 50-65% range (many many little claims, lots of clerical/billing expenses, high malpractice premiums). Net professional billings or collections for these kind of salaries are more in the 800-1.xmil range.

Rest assured. You won't starve in radiology.

 

[lxa1856]

Those are average pre-tax salary figures. They are after overhead. Again, the numbers you post are likely from a site that lists averages, and they're in the ballpark (your individual mileage may vary).

How do I know this? Several radiologists in my family, so I've seen the books for most of the groups in town and had many a conversation with guys debating what they're planning on doing with their bucks. Typical salary (pre-tax, after overhead) for radiologists in this area is $350k - $550k. And no, that's not some B.S. number from thin air - I'll give you names and numbers and you can call their accountants if you're in doubt.

 

[f_w]

Oh, I am sure they will be thrilled to discuss their personal incomes with some random caller 'off the internet', and their accountants will just spill out their clients business and personal information when prompted.

Fool.

 

[lxa1856]

I'm glad to see that you personally know the radiologists I'm talking about and can speak for them, I didn't know you were such a man about town.

I was just trying too offer up a little credible, personalized information...but thanks for being a jack-ass about it.

 

[Arctic Char]

I never knew how much my dad made until I was filling out FAFSA the other day and had to put in parental income info. The pops is a radiologist and last year's taxable income was 937K.

haha, thats the same way i learned my mother's income after 25 years of having no idea . . .

and all those years i was drinking Shasta when we could have easily afforded Coca-Cola Classic . . .

 

[deleted87051]

I never knew how much my dad made until I was filling out FAFSA the other day and had to put in parental income info. The pops is a radiologist and last year's taxable income was 937K.

why do you waste your time filling out FAFSA?

 

[RAMPA]

why do you waste your time filling out FAFSA?

exactly!!!!!! in the words of Dave Chapelle "hes rich b****!"

 

[bigfrank]

Haha I know I know...the 'rents were wonderful enough to foot the bill for all of undergrad but I thought it was about time to start doing this on my own. And I only realized after having asked that the parental income info was optional...so I actually didn't bother filling out that part. I can pretty safely assume that I wouldn't be eligible for a perkins loan anyway 😉

Unless Dad has too much of his salary tied up on 4-5 home mortgages, he should be able to spot you some $$$ for medical school salary.

Just be sure to say PLEASE and THANK YOU!

 

[factoid]

I never knew how much my dad made until I was filling out FAFSA the other day and had to put in parental income info. The pops is a radiologist and last year's taxable income was 937K.

wow, that's a really impressive number. does he own the practice? just straight diagnostics or interventional?

 

[factoid]

He is a partner in a group that does all the rads work at something like twenty different sites (although he only does work for about five or six hospitals in relatively rural areas). None of the towns have a population greater than 40,000. He does straight diagnostic but did fellowships in both nuclear medicine and imaging (MRI/CT/US), and did a lot of work to bring PET scanning to the region. Now he personally does only PET and CT, I believe.

Two years ago he was asked to hire four or five new radiologists during a restructuring and he told me they were offered 400K with 12 weeks vacation, malpractice insurance covered, and partner status after two years.

(Don't forget that even though his salary is high, this is his 26th year in practice.)

is he happy?

 

[ttumed]

I'd challenge you to find an unhappy radiologist.... specifically one who was happy before med school... because some people are just plain miserable in general.


side note: my inernship starts in 2 days so I'm thinking of starting prophylactic zoloft to make it through the year.... j/k