what kind of doctor gets paid the most and has the least work?

[brickmanli]

I know some people abhor this kind of question. I've been looking at salaries for different kinds of doctors. I know surgeons get paid the most but they have so much responsibilities. Family practitioners get paid the least but does that mean they have the least amount of work? If that's the case, it wouldn't be so bad having some time on your hands.

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[Diogenes]

If you want lots of money and little work, don't go into medicine. There are plenty of other jobs with more money and less work.

 

[Papa Smurf]

DERM. Game Over.

 

[KyGrlDr2B]

Originally posted by Diogenes
If you want lots of money and little work, don't go into medicine. There are plenty of other jobs with more money and less work.

WELL SAID! This topic is asked quite often and it's always a red flag to me. Med school is a lot of work. So is being a doctor, no matter what type you are. So if you want little work and lotsa money, research other fields. There are plenty.

 

[aquapants]

Originally posted by KyGrlDr2B


WELL SAID! This topic is asked quite often and it's always a red flag to me. Med school is a lot of work. So is being a doctor, no matter what type you are. So if you want little work and lotsa money, research other fields. There are plenty.

Whatever. It's a valid question, and some of us who care about family and religion (which are both quite time-consuming when done right) want to know what fields allow for a comfortable life without terrible sacrifices.

I'm all about ALLERGY. 3 years peds or internal medicine, 2 years subspecialty and than you've got a 9-to-5er. I just had dinner with an allergist who works 3.5 days a week in private practice and quite happy with the money besides.

 

[Diogenes]

Originally posted by aquapants


Whatever. It's a valid question, and some of us who care about family and religion (which are both quite time-consuming when done right) want to know what fields allow for a comfortable life without terrible sacrifices.

I'm all about ALLERGY. 3 years peds or internal medicine, 2 years subspecialty and than you've got a 9-to-5er. I just had dinner with an allergist who works 3.5 days a week in private practice and quite happy with the money besides.

I'm sorry, can you see the ground from up there on your high horse?

The OP expressed no interest in medicine beyond what specialty made the most amount of money for the least amount of work. It is quite true that there are many areas outside of medicine where one can make even more money for even less work.

If you are so concerned about family and religion (which we so obviously are not ) why don't you go into one of those other fields.

BTW, religion is also quite time consuming when done wrong. Make sure you're doing it right and not doing it wrong.

 

[Trek]

Fetish Hooking- imagine being an authentic "doctor" in some freaky fetish game and the money you could make out with!!! --Trek

 

[Diogenes]

Originally posted by Trek
Fetish Hooking- imagine being an authentic "doctor" in some freaky fetish game and the money you could make out with!!! --Trek

Don't just sit there. Tell us how it's working out for you so far!

 

[Trek]

Originally posted by Diogenes


Don't just sit there. Tell us how it's working out for you so far!

Like a charm! The money i make off the Diogenes family alone pays the note on my trailer and the 79 Cutlass!! --Trek

 

[dr kevin40]

gosh what a bad question to ask.

 

[freakazoid]

I think it is a valid question--though the money part might be a little questionable. Maybe if it was worded like this: "Which specialty gives you the most free time with decent pay, enough to support a family?" Perhaps the medical field is the only place for a person to find fulfillment and satisfaction in one's life. Some people are so passionate about the field that they throw their lives into their profession, forgetting friends or family. Sometimes people can handle that, they're made for that kind of stuff. But a happy doctor usually makes a good doctor, and most of us need balance to completely fulfill us. Although I wish to help my patients to the best of my ability, I also want to be there for my wife and kids . . . I want to watch my kids grow up with a woman with whom I have a love that continually deepens as we age. That's all.

 

[dl2dp2]

I'm so sick and tired of uninformed pre-meds claiming that if you want money and no work, look elsewhere. In fact, some specialties of medicine are some of the best oppurtunities for making big money without spending too much time working. Please gimme one example of a profession that makes over $150,000 no matter what and do less work than a physician. You think a coorperate CEO is easy work? They get their ass kicked every time the profit slips. You think lawyers have it easy? They work 120 a week or get fired.

Gimme a break. Clinical medicine is one of the best profession to get into from a stability perspective. Sure there is perhaps very little chance for you to make 100 million, but chances are you'd be able to live very comfortably as a physician. So please don't gimme that crap that physicians have it hardest.

 

[CANES2006]

Originally posted by freakazoid
I want to watch my kids grow up with a woman with whom I have a love that continually deepens as we age. That's all.

Will you marry me? That is the sweetest line I've ever read.

 

[dr kevin40]

nice line man...gotta remember that next time

but u can do that by doing a lot of 9-5 jobs.

 

[WaitingImpatiently]

Originally posted by sluox
I'm so sick and tired of uninformed pre-meds claiming that if you want money and no work, look elsewhere. In fact, some specialties of medicine are some of the best oppurtunities for making big money without spending too much time working. Please gimme one example of a profession that makes over $150,000 no matter what and do less work than a physician. You think a coorperate CEO is easy work? They get their ass kicked every time the profit slips. You think lawyers have it easy? They work 120 a week or get fired.

Gimme a break. Clinical medicine is one of the best profession to get into from a stability perspective. Sure there is perhaps very little chance for you to make 100 million, but chances are you'd be able to live very comfortably as a physician. So please don't gimme that crap that physicians have it hardest.

Interviewer: So, sluox, why do you want to go into medicine?
Sluox: I want to help people.

 

[Spidey]

Originally posted by freakazoid
I want to watch my kids grow up with a woman with whom I have a love that continually deepens as we age. That's all.

Oh, whatta smoothie

 

[CANES2006]

Originally posted by Spidey


Oh, whatta smoothie

Spidey, are you jealous you didn't come up with it yourself?

 

[analu]

I agree with Papa...derm and even derm surgery. Very 9-5 (or 8-4 at our clinic), very few hospital consults, virtually no call (usually a question from an EM doc). Lots of lucrative cosmetic/laser procedures, lots of outpatient procedures. There is a developing conflict b/w derm surgery fellowships and the American College of Surgeons, however. Got to wait and see how it pans out.

Laterz...

 

[gryffindor]

Doctor of Dental Surgery. Well, I won't know for sure until I hit the "real world" but from seeing how well our teachers with private dental practices and dentist parents of classmates do, it sure looks that way...

btw - I ran into an Oral Surgeon (a DDS & MD) at my allergist's office who couldn't stop raving about how wonderful his job is and how great the hours are. Then again, his wife is an opthamologist and it sounded like between the two of them, they split the hours on their jobs - something like each works 30 or so hours at their respective jobs so no one is a slave at either job.

 

[yaoming]

i think it's a valid question. someone wants to know that within medicine, which field is the most profitable. in the field of medicine, period. i also want to know the answer to this question although i already know exactly what field i want to do, but i still want to know just to know.

 

[Happy Penguin]

I think this is a legitamate question...
During one of my interviews, a doctor asked me why i chose medicine. of course, i gave her my standard answer without saying "I want to help people." We talked a lot about my expereince volunteering at a clinic and how i think interaction with patients and being able to impact their lives are my motivations in medicine. Then she totally disagreed with me and made me feel like a complete idiot by saying that it takes more to go to work everyday. and how medicine today doesn't allow us to have 1hour interview time with every patient. In short, she wanted me to realize that there is also economical side of being a doctor. Looking back now, her points are valid.

Personally, I think it's completely stupid to try to profit in medicine. It is completely wrong for anyone to make money off of people's health. however, we should also realize that we can't live off of nothing. So.. the happy equalibrium in my opinion is to find a practice that allow each of us to do what we enjoy and still be able to support one's living.

ps.. I think this is a much beter question than "is there any cute asian girls going to medical school" i saw on another thread!!!

 

[Spidey]

Originally posted by CANES2006


Spidey, are you jealous you didn't come up with it yourself?

you know it gurly

 

[groundhog]

I see Freakazoid has earned his certificate of completion from Dr Bulloney's Offshore International School of Female Manipulation. Never heard of it? It is advertized on the inside cover of match books. It's not a difficult course to complete. In fact most of it is intuative if you have had any kind life at all beyond high school. A gal in our office just commented the other day that all she wanted was someone who would come home to her each night.

 

[BushBaby]

For crying out loud can someone post a question and get answers instead of getting flamed? We all know medicine is hard work and blah blah blah....yeah yeah don't do it for the money....yadayadayada....

...and I want to know the answer to the original question as well.

There are lots of people in medicine for money....my boss for example....makes $350,000 a year doing SHYT(I should know, I work with him..he comes in late, drinks a coke, plays computer games, signs some papers, then goes home at 1pm cause his pregnant wife won't stop calling)......and he is only 36yrs old and VP/Chief Medical Officer of this HMO company.....I HATE/ENVY HIM. He didn't even do his clinical residency or so....he got his MD/MBA....he claims he doesn't know anything about diseases so don't ask....!!!

 

[silvercholla]

hahahahahahaha hehehehehehe woooohoooooo oh oh oh oh. ahhhhh. You guys are silly!

 

[Dr/\/\om]

Originally posted by BushBaby
There are lots of people in medicine for money....my boss for example....makes $350,000 a year doing SHYT(I should know, I work with him..he comes in late, drinks a coke, plays computer games, signs some papers, then goes home at 1pm cause his pregnant wife won't stop calling)......and he is only 36yrs old and VP/Chief Medical Officer of this HMO company.....I HATE/ENVY HIM. He didn't even do his clinical residency or so....he got his MD/MBA....he claims he doesn't know anything about diseases so don't ask....!!!

I believe this explains some of the problems with HMOs and getting necessary medical procedures approved.

 

[BushBaby]

Originally posted by Dr/\/\om


I believe this explains some of the problems with HMOs and getting necessary medical procedures approved.

Basically when I get those letters from patients who want approval (I have to give it to him to approve)....I am not sure if he knows what he is reading or not. If something really clinical comes, during a meeting with hospital board members, this other nurse has to answer the questions. He knows some things but not a lot.......compared to the nurse with a BSN degree and over 15yrs of experience.

My boss is more bizness(making $$$$ for the company) than anything, which is why he is the VP of the company.

 

[LizardKing]

DR. GREENTHUMB.

PAGING DR. GREENTHUMB!

 

[FrankMD]

http://www.physicianssearch.com/physician/salary2.html

http://www.studentdoctor.net/guide/medstudent/specialties/index.html

I hope this helps!!

 

[fishtolive]

god, i am so tired of the bs response from the "head in the clouds folks...

If you are so concerned about family and religion (which we so obviously are not ) why don't you go into one of those other fields.

a crappy response to say the least and really immature...if you love her so much, why don't you marry her? diogenes must have been that kid.

this is a concern we will ALL grasp as we become more fully immersed in medicine whether some of us care to admit it or not...your profession is NOT your entire life (unless you are really lame like some)...we will all work hard relative to most other jobs, but relatve to one another, i believe derm and allergy are very great options for those who hope to work "slightly" less than the truly imprerssive workhorse i call diogenes.

 

[Fixed Gear]

Podiatrists

only cuz no one needs 'em.


Kidding! Kidding! Kidding!

I'm a runner with high arches and my podiatrist, Dr. Vorderer is incredibly nice (and busy).

By the way, stupid f'ing question. If you want high pay and easy hours, call up lizzie Grubman and see if her ugly a$$ will give you a trust fund of your own.

 

[Diogenes]

Originally posted by fishtolive
god, i am so tired of the bs response from the "head in the clouds folks...



a crappy response to say the least and really immature...if you love her so much, why don't you marry her? diogenes must have been that kid.

this is a concern we will ALL grasp as we become more fully immersed in medicine whether some of us care to admit it or not...your profession is NOT your entire life (unless you are really lame like some)...we will all work hard relative to most other jobs, but relatve to one another, i believe derm and allergy are very great options for those who hope to work "slightly" less than the truly imprerssive workhorse i call diogenes.

If you look at the context of that quote (and include the graemlins when you quote), you would see that it was in response to the insinuation that those of us who are not looking to the least work/most pay are not interested in family or religion. If that is your opinion as well, bite me. That is total BS. If that isn't your opinion, you can bite me anyway for the other stuff you wrote.

I've never said that medicine, or my job, is the only thing I'm interested in. But what I will say is that as long as I have food on my table, clothes on my back, a roof over my head, and a good school for my kids, I don't care which specialty pays what or how hard I have to work -- as long as I find it satisfying. The day I don't like my job is the day I find a new one -- because I can earn a living doing anything.

 

[critterbug]

a dentist

 

[zero counter]

Originally posted by Dr. I Bleed Blue and Gold
http://www.physicianssearch.com/physician/salary2.html
I hope this helps!!

Wow, that salary for Emergency Medicine is not what I have seen for county hospitals. The internal medicine and family practice salaries are right on par with the average here in S.A.

 

[Paws]

I think like anything, medicine is what you make of it. My favorite example is my own family practitioner. He's an internist, and his wife is ob/gyn. Ok, they practice here in NY and thirty years ago (or so) they bought a big old house here in Park Slope for probably not alot of money, what? maybe $50,000? Less? These old houses didn't go for much then.

So he practices for the last twenty-five plus years in the ground floor offices and lives upstairs. A wonderful man, a great family and all his patients ADORE him. I think they take a couple of weeks off in August. Plus, I used to see his wife go upstairs at 5:00 pm and because it's a HOUSE (brownstone) and the staircase is open, you could hear her starting to make dinner for the family.

Now of course, the house is worth well over a million dollars and this couple is only in their early or mid fifties.

If you ask me, this guy is my ideal of a great life as a doctor. Plus, he's incredibly successful with his practice and his patients.

So, how do we define success? I think it's doing what we love - and the rest follows.

 

[Pre-Dent-David]

poop is thicker than water

 

[Paws]

Hey David, I think you wandered into the wrong forum - Dentists are down the hall and to the right ...

 

[Febrifuge]

Originally posted by sluox
I'm so sick and tired of uninformed pre-meds claiming that if you want money and no work, look elsewhere. In fact, some specialties of medicine are some of the best oppurtunities for making big money without spending too much time working. Please gimme one example of a profession that makes over $150,000 no matter what and do less work than a physician. You think a coorperate CEO is easy work? They get their ass kicked every time the profit slips. You think lawyers have it easy? They work 120 a week or get fired.

Gimme a break. Clinical medicine is one of the best profession to get into from a stability perspective. Sure there is perhaps very little chance for you to make 100 million, but chances are you'd be able to live very comfortably as a physician. So please don't gimme that crap that physicians have it hardest.

It's funny; everytime I visit my younger brother, we have the same talk about why I should just come join him in sales for a year. Usually this talk occurs while I'm driving one of his two Porsches, and before he puts on the Angus steaks.

Sales, everyone. Sales. My kid brother, with no college to speak of, is on track to make seven figures this year. If it's all about money vs. hours, you can't do better.

I want to be a doctor knowing full well there are easier - and maybe even better - ways to make a nice comfortable life. Now excuse me; I have to go make some mac n' cheese and get back to studying.

 

[Winston Smith]

I would think optometry might work well cuz it looks very very easy and with a good practice, you're sure to rank in the money

 

[Pre-Dent-David]

Originally posted by Paws


Hey David, I think you wandered into the wrong forum - Dentists are down the hall and to the right ...

Cool man.... I think that you might also be in the wrong forum. Here is a link for you.

http://www.healthboards.com/cgi/forumdisplay.cgi?action=topics&number=79

 

[Ryo-Ohki]

Heh, it is not your brother's choice of profession. It is his choice of genealogy.

 

[TexPre-Med]

I still must agree that there are much easier ways to make a good living than medicine. Becoming a physician is not only incredibly stressful, but immensely time consuming. Whereas an attorney (disagreeing with a previous post) makes good money fairly easily. I know because my father is an attorney and on the general counsel of a major corporation. Besides the rare crisis, he has time for his family and his lovely ski trips he takes with colleages multiple times a year. On the other side, our family friend is an onc-surgeon. He LOVES medicine so much that he did not bother getting married until he was past 40. Understandably, his wife works in the administrative part of the hospital he is stationed so they have some time together during the week. At 60, he still works through many nights because he loves the job!
The man is my idol. If I had cancer, I would be comfortable laying my life at his hands. I have little respect for pre-meds that want 9-5 jobs or residents that refuse to work past the 80 hour work schedule. Would you trust your life to someone that might hurry through a surgery to get home at 5:30 just to see his wife. Medicine is the devotion to help mankind, not pad your pocketbook.

 

[kmnfive]

i looked at the website linked from above..

what does.. "How to match: AOA all the way" mean?

 

[Dr2007]

AOA stands for Alpha Omega Alpha, which is the medical school honor society. So, it means that you need to become a member of your medical school's AOA chapter in order to fortify you residency application in the very competitive fields. From what I hear, getting into AOA is no easy task.

 

[mcataz]

Originally posted by Febrifuge
It's funny; everytime I visit my younger brother, we have the same talk about why I should just come join him in sales for a year. Usually this talk occurs while I'm driving one of his two Porsches, and before he puts on the Angus steaks.

Sales, everyone. Sales. My kid brother, with no college to speak of, is on track to make seven figures this year. If it's all about money vs. hours, you can't do better.

I want to be a doctor knowing full well there are easier - and maybe even better - ways to make a nice comfortable life. Now excuse me; I have to go make some mac n' cheese and get back to studying.

Your younger brother is very fortunate. And he is the exception and not the rule. Sure, if you want to have the potential to work less and make more money than physicians, go into sales. For that matter, you might as well go into acting. Getting 20 million per film for 2 months of work isn't bad.

I hope you see my point. Yes, there are other fields that afford one a better lifestyle and the POTENTIAL to earn a lot of money. Case in point, I know a few realtors who earn in upwards of 500K per year. Not bad considingering these guys never had to attend professional school or study their arse off. Do most realtors earn 500K? Of course not, in fact the average salary for a realtor is roughly 40K. That shows you how many realtors actually make very little money while a handfull can earn a lot.

I was in a sales-related field. I earned a 6 figure salary. However, after the economic collapse, I lost my job. It had nothing to do with my skills and everything to do with the economy. Furthermore, sales people are expendable because anyone can do it. Think about it. You don't have to attain higher education to sell items. So my competition was insane since I was competitng with people fresh out of school to those seasoned veterans in their 60's.

Don't fall for these scams. A lot of people will try to tell you how easy it is to make money is such and such field (usually one that requires no education). It's the oldest trick in the book. Stick to the facts. 50,000 people apply to medical school each year. Do you think all of these 50,000 are mislead? After all, people who apply to medical school aren't your standard meathead variety. These are educated people. They are applying to medical school for a reason.

If you want to pursue a secure field where you can earn a comfortable income and have a great lifesyle, try dentistry. Think about it; no call, no residency; 4 day work weeks and no MCAT.

 

[DD214_DOC]

I don't know why all of you people get so upset when someone asks a question about money. If physicians only made $50,000 a year, none of you would be doing it. The money is at least a quarter of the reason why any of us chose medicine, so stop fooling yourselves.

It doesn't have to be the primary reason, but it is a reason nonetheless.

 

[mcataz]

Originally posted by TexPre-Med
I still must agree that there are much easier ways to make a good living than medicine. Becoming a physician is not only incredibly stressful, but immensely time consuming. Whereas an attorney (disagreeing with a previous post) makes good money fairly easily. I know because my father is an attorney and on the general counsel of a major corporation. Besides the rare crisis, he has time for his family and his lovely ski trips he takes with colleages multiple times a year. On the other side, our family friend is an onc-surgeon. He LOVES medicine so much that he did not bother getting married until he was past 40. Understandably, his wife works in the administrative part of the hospital he is stationed so they have some time together during the week. At 60, he still works through many nights because he loves the job!
The man is my idol. If I had cancer, I would be comfortable laying my life at his hands. I have little respect for pre-meds that want 9-5 jobs or residents that refuse to work past the 80 hour work schedule. Would you trust your life to someone that might hurry through a surgery to get home at 5:30 just to see his wife. Medicine is the devotion to help mankind, not pad your pocketbook.

The poorest doctor earns 120K. The poorest lawyer earns 30K.

The only jobs out of law school that pay 6 figures are the ones held at huge law firms located in major metropolitan cities. And to get those jobs, you either should have graduated from a top 15 law school or finished in the top 10 percent of your class at a lower tier law school.

It's much more difficult finishing at the top of a law school versus a medical school. Medical school offers multiple choice exams. If you know the answer, you will get a 100%. Law school exams are essays that are graded subjectively. Not only do you have to write the correct answer, but you have to present it in such a way that it appeals to the professor. And often times, your best guess is as good as mine. In law school the difference between a B+ and an A on an exam is a matter of pure chance.

Finally, these big firms that offer fresh law students 140K to start don't keep them on permanently. Law firms usually let go of its associates by their 4th year. They hire a new crop of associates each year, so they don't need a lot of older associates. The associates do the grunt work and slave away while the partners get rich. By your fourth year, they will let you know whether you are on track to make partner. And since 1% of all associates make partner, most have to find work all over again. Now if they attended a top school and made great connections, hopefully they can work for a corporation . Most start their own firm and compete with the hundred thousand other lawyers that already exist and do the same work.

And these are the 20% of all lawyers who were fortunate enough to get hired by a major law firm. Most lawyers don't make into Big Law (the major firms) right out of law school.

No thanks. I would rather bust my butt in medical or dental school and then not worry about losing my job or making less than 120K per year the rest of my life.

 

[Columbia22]

All you ass clown posers acting as if you came out of your mothers' wombs with an innate penchant for serving humanity at all costs...i mean, lets be honest here, half of you folk are converts from other professions...what happened, the art industry wasn't racking in enough dough?? I agree with the Op above that if doctors were paid more like garbagemen in this country, 99% if you would be out like a boner in sweatpants...furthermore, i love the way in which you mofos attempt to hide your true reasons for going into the profession by claiming that it is the most difficult/time-consuming, and stressful of all careers in the world, attempting to attract attention to your "humanistic" and "service-oriented" passionate sides...garbagemen have to work double the amount doctors work just to put food on the table...lawyers work upwards of 120 hours a week, and are under the whim of superiors in a world of corrupt beaurocracy...business?? You all seem to have this fantasy image of business being some sort of a "get rich quick" operation scheme in which anyone can make 500,000 a year, driving their Ferraris and Porsches around town, but unfortunately, the dream you guys are imagining is a 1 in 500,000 chance deal, go fight those odds. What it comes down to is that the world of medicine stands unequivocally as the most relaxed and stable of all professions in the United States, with high potential for earning power. I suggest you all grow up and get a clue, and stop pussying about the real reasons you want to go into medicine (especially the damn law, politics, business, art, engineering, music, chef, hotel management, real estate, and public service sector converts out there)

 

[Gleevec]

You have a lot of pent up hostility. Consider therapy.

Originally posted by Columbia22
All you ass clown posers acting as if you came out of your mothers' wombs with an innate penchant for serving humanity at all costs...i mean, lets be honest here, half of you folk are converts from other professions...what happened, the art industry wasn't racking in enough dough?? I agree with the Op above that if doctors were paid more like garbagemen in this country, 99% if you would be out like a boner in sweatpants...furthermore, i love the way in which you mofos attempt to hide your true reasons for going into the profession by claiming that it is the most difficult/time-consuming, and stressful of all careers in the world, attempting to attract attention to your "humanistic" and "service-oriented" passionate sides...garbagemen have to work double the amount doctors work just to put food on the table...lawyers work upwards of 120 hours a week, and are under the whim of superiors in a world of corrupt beaurocracy...business?? You all seem to have this fantasy image of business being some sort of a "get rich quick" operation scheme in which anyone can make 500,000 a year, driving their Ferraris and Porsches around town, but unfortunately, the dream you guys are imagining is a 1 in 500,000 chance deal, go fight those odds. What it comes down to is that the world of medicine stands unequivocally as the most relaxed and stable of all professions in the United States, with high potential for earning power. I suggest you all grow up and get a clue, and stop pussying about the real reasons you want to go into medicine (especially the damn law, politics, business, art, engineering, music, chef, hotel management, real estate, and public service sector converts out there)

 

[neil7818]

Hey Everyone,

Now I know this may sound redundant, but to all of those people claiming that "other professions make more", well no other profession has as much stability as medicine (you always need doctors), and such a comfortable starting salary.

There was a thread about this on MSN before, talking about the highest paying jobs, well suprisingly enough the bulk of them were medical related.

http://content.salary.monster.com/articles/salary/highestpay/

Then there are a couple others..

http://www.jist.com/Excerpts/J9619A.pdf (pdf)

http://www.resumagic.com/highestpayingjobs.html

http://www.employmentspot.com/lists/highpay.htm

Each stating how comfortable life as a physician is.

Now they may be skewed but considering the stability of the profession, medicine seems to be the way to go for those interested in beign stable financially.

So, now that we've clarified that being a doctor is a financially smart move, what are some more specialties with short residency times, small hours, and high pay? (I'm just curious so dont flame!)

Thanks,
Neil