<p>According to a very reliable source of mine, a popular hit television series titled "Scrubs", academic salaries are in fact 1/2 private practice salaries.</p>
<p>^Was that a joke, you ask? You tell me!</p>
<p>I think 1/2 is right for starting salaries...but probably less than 1/2 after a few years....it also depends on specialty and geographic location.</p>
<p>I think a lot of pre-meds that never make it to med school only want to become doc's for the 6 figure salary or respect from others. We have a health science academy at my school and most of the people in there only want to go into health care for the prestige or money.</p>
<p>^My father told me today, that the only reason he wants me to go into medicine is for the prestige and the money. But I told him that was a horrible reason for someone to go into such a difficult field. I'm not doing it for the money or the respect, I'm doing it to boost my chances for a crack at those nurses, dammit!</p>
<p>Most reports of physician compensation are net income after practice expenses. After practice expenses, including after malpractice insurance, most doctors make above 100k. This does not include costs of loans they may have taken out to get through school.</p>
<p>The relationship between academic and private practice salaries varies widely by specialty and the particular arrangement the docs make with the hospital. Some academic surgeons make just as much as their counterparts in private practice, or more. They get deals that pay them their full professional fees in return for filling beds in the hospital. Research-oriented physicians in fields that pay well outside of academics may make far less than their private colleagues. There is a report on medical school faculty salaries, but since it gives averages only, it does not capture the highly variable nature compensation.</p>
<p>The financial difference between medicine and law or investment banking is that for medicine, once you get into medical school you are pretty much assured of being able to practice. You might not be able to train in neurosurgery, but you will get a residency in something and be able to practice. In law or finance getting the degree tells you little about how someone will do later. Even at the most prestigious law schools only a relatively small minority of the students end up as partners at the high income firms. The proportion of Yale grads who do this is a lot higher than for some school much farther down the prestige order, but still most do not make partner at some 7 figure firm. Similarly, there are a huge number of economics majors and MBA students who are never going to fun successful hedge funds. It is kind of meaningless to compare the incomes of this tiny sliver of the finance workforce to those of hundreds of thousands of doctors.</p>
<p>my opinion.
my range is that of academic docs based on actual before tax income (after payment of loans, etc) based on academic recruiters. The low range is for peds and GPs. Surgeons and Specialists obviously make more. </p>
<p>However, there are two types of academic salaries:
a) The Harvard plan which pays a set salary and the doc gets none of what is billed. (reasoning is to keep docs doing research)
b) There is usually a base salary and the then a % of what is billed. The average for this is 60% with the dean and chair keeping the rest.</p>
<p>If you account for vacations, meetings, books, malpractice and practice expenses, the net for academic is usually only slightly less than that of private.</p>
<p>Probably better not to count loan repayment in "net" since that, like paying off a mortgage, is an individual issue, unrelated to how much income one takes from the practice. It can be a large amount, but I don't know of any job that counts paying educational debt as a job expense. </p>
<p>Academic vs private practice incomes: Again, highly variable. One way or another private jobs cover practice expenses with before tax income. The professional expenses and vacation and meeting deals can be better or worse in either area. The big difference is the portion that stays at the medical school or the clinical department. This also is subject to varying deals and often negotiable, particularly for big producers.</p>
<p>As docs are one of the few professions with a large dept starting, it really needs to factored in (somehow).</p>
<p>Again, at the "harvard" system, while clinical practice $ can be "looked at" in salary talks, it is not heavy as they don't want you to do big practice to take you away from lab.</p>
<p>Just factor in the cost of medical school. Either I am in debt and paying interest, or spending would-be savings and losing the chance to earn interest.</p>
<p>PrincessDad,</p>
<p>There are a lot more than just two types of academic salaries. There are even many differences between departments within a same academic institution. Just like in any other field, it depends on the 'employer" and the negotiations between employer and employee. Some salaries are lower than other but the benefits, bonuses, etc may represent a high percentage of the salary.</p>
<p>The point is that the great majority of doctors make 6 figure salaries, pre tax of course. (Then again, aren't all salaries pre-tax??) A student loan is very individual and just like another personal expense. Some people will owe more than others. Some people will owe nothing. It should certainly not be a deterrent to pursue one's vocation. The opposite. You will definitely make enough money to pay your debt back and live comfortably while doing it.</p>
<p>I am really shocked by this earnings number for doctors. I know a lot of IT consultants that easily make over $100k. Even the plumber who came to fix our drainage said he made 6 figures. Amazing!</p>
<p>By the time you are out of practice, you will probably be a salaried employee of a group and work set hours. The days of private practice or small groups is dying out. In fact, if you look back at Hillary's plan, all medicine will be practiced like the Kaiser plan from California.</p>
<p>From a lifestyle aspect, that is great. Set 9 - 5 hours or 5 to 1, etc. No call. No set patients. From a financial aspect, it works best and most of today's residents want that type of practice.</p>
<p>Oh yes, the salary will also go down.</p>
<p>which is why HMOs are amazing!</p>