Should I consider rad onc if I have some regional restriction?

[hotfish]

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I am an MS1 from a top 20 school. I am interested in rad onc, and considering doing summer research in rad onc.
I am not limited in a particular state or region, but I have to stay near a large city. I am fine with the not so "desirable" cities such as phoenix, atlanta or cleveland, but it has to be a large city.
I understand that rad onc is a small specialty. Is it guaranteed that one will find a job in rad onc in at least one large city after residency?
Thanks!

 

[medgator]

I would say so. Kansas city and Pittsburgh are actually pretty decent cities imo which a lot of people consider "undesirable"

 

[evilbooyaa]

I would imagine if you're OK with a suburb of any "large" city as per your definitions, you'll most likely be fine. However, who knows what the job market will be 8-9 years from now.

 

[scarbrtj]

All I can guarantee is that if you choose rad onc, the probability of achieving your geographic dreams will be lower in that specialty versus any other specialty I can think of; I'm not giving you a percentage, only saying that you're not improving your pre-choice likelihoods.

 

[RadOncDoc21]

A few caveats based on my experience:
1) you can find a position in a "desirable" area but it may not have everything you want.

2) The position may be 1-2 hours outside your preferred area.

A wise man once said you will most likely get 2/3 of the things you want in regards to having location, money and job satisfaction. I know that was true when I was applying for jobs 2-3 years ago.

 

[Mandelin Rain]

Cleveland itself is < 400,000 people. If you add the 5 surrounding counties as a metro area it's 2 million.

If that size is your bottom limit for "big city", and you presumably don't mind the cold of a Lake Erie winter, there are probably 50 cities that meet your criteria across the country.

You'll probably be fine.

 

[Toasty1]

I'm interested in this topic also. The areas I'm looking into practicing are Louisville, KY, Indianapolis.. Possibly Lexington, KY. I'm not sure if there's a huge job market for rad onc in cities this size.

 

[Mandelin Rain]

I'm interested in this topic also. The areas I'm looking into practicing are Louisville, KY, Indianapolis.. Possibly Lexington, KY. I'm not sure if there's a huge job market for rad onc in cities this size.

Between Indianapolis, Louisville, Lexington, and Cincinnati you're looking at a lot of people and 4 academic centers. I'm sure there is a not too infrequent need within 25 minutes of at least one of those spots. Will that coincide with the year you graduate residency? Who knows? But that's always been the gambit with rad onc. Tight job market or not.

That seems like a fun region to live in though.

 

[RadOncDoc21]

Those areas are actively recruiting now. I would assume the areas would not be as tight in the future as others but who knows.

 

[medgator]

I'm interested in this topic also. The areas I'm looking into practicing are Louisville, KY, Indianapolis.. Possibly Lexington, KY. I'm not sure if there's a huge job market for rad onc in cities this size.

Better shot imo than the coasts, as a general rule.

As another poster mentioned, there are jobs in those areas now.

 

[DebtRising]

I am an MS1 from a top 20 school. I am interested in rad onc, and considering doing summer research in rad onc.
I am not limited in a particular state or region, but I have to stay near a large city. I am fine with the not so "desirable" cities such as phoenix, atlanta or cleveland, but it has to be a large city.
I understand that rad onc is a small specialty. Is it guaranteed that one will find a job in rad onc in at least one large city after residency?
Thanks!

So this applies to both (orig poster and poster about Lexington KY), but the answer is yes and no (from the perspective of a resident with some knowledge of the job market).

Depends greatly on how you define 'large city' as has been mentioned. But also, secondarily, depends on if that 'large city' has a residency program. You are many years out. Both Pittsburgh and Cleveland, for instance, have medium sized residency programs. They have a pipeline of people who may want to stay and certainly know the system and the faculty better than an outsider. Does that mean you won't get a spot there? No, but the chances are lower in either of those cities in any given year compared to say, Kansas City. It's a probabilistic event of having an opening, and that probability is lowered if the employer has a program and knows person X or Y in their program, whether that year or maybe even 2-3 years down the line, who they know wants to stay or they want to keep etc. Atlanta I would put as a fairly desirable city that seems to be tightening now.... for what its worth. I would also put Phoenix on that list.

Now if you are saying you would accept any medium sized city across the continental US, then the probability of having an opening in one of those is obviously much higher. I would say you if define large city as NYC, Boston, SF, LA, then the chances of you getting a reasonable position offer there, without training in one of the systems or aggressively making regional contacts, is extremely low and has been for some time.

If you just want Louisville, KY for instance it's just a complete gamble in any given year because there are only so many jobs and an establish residency program (I have no inside knowledge of this specific locale).

 

[hotfish]

Forgot to mention that I am Asian and prefer to be near a "large" city that has a sizable amount of Asian population (mostly for the food).
Will it lower the amount of metropolitan areas that fit my criteria?
BTW both kansas city and pittsburgh sound fine to me too.

 

[bashwell]

Forgot to mention that I am Asian and prefer to be near a "large" city that has a sizable amount of Asian population (mostly for the food).
Will it lower the amount of metropolitan areas that fit my criteria?
BTW both kansas city and pittsburgh sound fine to me too.

Just based on Wikipedia, so I'm not sure how accurate it is but hopefully it should at least give you a rough idea, here are the metropolitan areas with the highest population of Asian Americans:

It looks like a lot of choices here. There may be some trade-offs, but if you're happy an hour or two outside these areas, then that may work for you.

 

[Tungsten5]

What about the CT/NYC/northern NJ area?

 

[medgator]

What about the CT/NYC/northern NJ area?

Fwiw, I saw plenty of jobs in the NE on the astro site this year, seems like an easier region to land a job in I think

 

[Tungsten5]

Fwiw, I saw plenty of jobs in the NE on the astro site this year, seems like an easier region to land a job in I think

That makes me incredibly happy to hear. Been very down on all these job projections and I'd like to stay within an hour or 2 of NYC.

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