<p>I want to become a doctor but i'm not sure what kind yet. What are the top 10 most rewarded doctors. ( do not include surgeons) rewarded= pay</p>
<p>I am a practicing physician and I am rewarded every day, and it is not via my paycheck! I live in a malpractice crisis state, practice OB/GYN, and drive a VW bug. Most physicians did not go into the field for the type of rewards you are looking at. And the field of medicine in 5-10 years may be very different than it is today. Four years out from my residency and I traded in my Honda for a BMW. Fast-forward 20 years and things are a bit different, now a VW for me. I love it, the "rewards" now continue, and I wouldn't change a thing. It is the passion, the calling, and that is what will "reward" you. </p>
<p>You want just money, try interventional radiology or interventional/invasive cardiology. They "rake" in the dough in my area. They include some of the unhappiest folks I know. Money can't buy everything.</p>
<p>Venture capital, finance, corporate law, malpractice attorneys, investment banking, management consulting...</p>
<p>Do one of these well enough and you'll outearn several doctors combined.</p>
<p>"They include some of the unhappiest folks I know"</p>
<p>Why is that?</p>
<p>inlike flint i understand what your saying you sholud do something because you love it not because of the pay. I like the way you say what you really think. Sorry for being so greedy.</p>
<p>BDM - ya but what are the chances that you'll do one of those well? There's got to be tons of competition in the fields you mentioned as well and plus success in those fields largely depends on the state of the economy as well - at least becoming a doctor (matriculating into med school) your basically guaranteed a reasonably "rewarding" income that's SECURE (unless your a surgeon or something and you get repeatedly sued) as long as there's sick people around.</p>
<p>1.) As for security, that's sort of true now, once malpractice premiums get reined in (which they will, one way or another), for now. But watch for health care reform in the near future which will - among other things - reduce physician compensation. This is a prediction, not a fact, but most health economists are in pretty strong consensus about this.</p>
<p>2.) As for the other jobs I mentioned, they're mostly hard to get into, the same way med school is hard to get into. Once you land your summer internship in them, they're also quite secure, and the expected value is so much higher (esp. per hour) that the additional risk is economically worth it, no question.</p>
<p>*I should clarify. You're right that many fields do depend partly on the business cycle. But if you make a little bit less than a doctor in the bad years and a TON more (think severalfold) in the good years, then that's hardly what I'd call "insecure", relatively speaking. And law, obviously, does not depend on the business cycle.</p>
<p>Being a doctor is a dumb economic move unless you're simply not qualified to go into a business field or medium-to-high caliber law schools. That's not to say it's a bad move at all - it's a very rewarding profession. But financially, it's not the best way to go, period.</p>
<p>This is just one source, and I think it is LA salaries since it is from the LA Times. I'll post a couple more sources I find.</p>
<p>SPECIALTY<br>
Years 1-2
>3<br>
Max</p>
<p>Allergy/ Immunology
$158,000
$221,000<br>
$487,000</p>
<p>Ambulatory<br>
$ 80,000<br>
$112,000<br>
$152,000</p>
<p>Anesthesiology: Pediatrics<br>
$ 283,000<br>
$311,000<br>
$378,000</p>
<p>Anesthesiology: General
$207,000
$275,000<br>
$448,000</p>
<p>Anesthesiology: Pain Management
$315,000
$370,000<br>
$651,000</p>
<p>Cardiology: Invasive
$258,000
$395,000<br>
$647,000</p>
<p>Cardiology: Interventional<br>
$290,000
$468,000<br>
$811,000</p>
<p>Cardiology: Noninvasive
$268,000
$403,000<br>
$599,000</p>
<p>Critical Care
$187,000
$215,000<br>
$320,000</p>
<p>Dermatology
$ 195,000
$308,000<br>
$452,000</p>
<p>Emergency Medicine
$192,000
$216,000<br>
$295,000</p>
<p>Endocrinology
$171,000
$187,000<br>
$260,000</p>
<p>FP (with OB)
$182,000
$204,000<br>
$241,000</p>
<p>FP (w/o OB)
$161,000
$135,000<br>
$239,000</p>
<p>FP - Sports Medicine
$ 152,000<br>
$208,000<br>
$363,000</p>
<p>FP - Urgent Care<br>
$128,000<br>
$198,000<br>
$299,000</p>
<p>Gastroenterology
$265,000
$349,000<br>
$590,000</p>
<p>Hematology/Oncology
$181,348
$245,000<br>
$685,000</p>
<p>Infectious Disease
$154,000
$178,000<br>
$271,000</p>
<p>Internal Medicine
$154,000
$176,000<br>
$238,000</p>
<p>IM (Hospitalist)
$161,000
$172,000<br>
$245,000</p>
<p>Medicine/Pediatrics<br>
$139,000<br>
$168,000<br>
$271,000</p>
<p>Medical Oncology<br>
$198,000
$257,000
$455,000</p>
<p>Neonatal Medicine
$286,000
$310,000<br>
$381,000</p>
<p>Nephrology
$191,000
$269,000<br>
$447,000</p>
<p>Neurology
$180,000
$228,000<br>
$345,000</p>
<p>Obstetrics/Gynecology
$211,000
$261,000<br>
$417,000</p>
<p>Gynecology
$159,000
$213,000<br>
$358,000</p>
<p>Maternal/Fetal Medicine
$286,000
$322,000<br>
$610,000</p>
<p>Occupational Medicine
$139,000
$185,000<br>
$290,000</p>
<p>Ophthalmology
$138,000
$314,000<br>
$511,000</p>
<p>Ophthalmology Retina
$280,000
$469,000<br>
$716,000</p>
<p>Orthopedic Surgery
$256,000
$342,000<br>
$670,000</p>
<p>ORS - Foot & Ankle
$228,000
$392,000<br>
$791,000</p>
<p>ORS - Hand & Upper Extremities
$288,000
$459,000<br>
$770,000</p>
<p>ORS - Hip & Joint Replacement
$330,000
$491,000<br>
$715,000</p>
<p>ORS - Spine Surgery
$398,000
$670,000<br>
$1,352,000</p>
<p>ORS - Sports Medicine
$266,000
$479,000<br>
$762,000</p>
<p>Otorhinolaryngology
$194,000
$311,000<br>
$516,000</p>
<p>Pathology
$169,000
$321,000<br>
$610,000</p>
<p>Pediatrics
$135,000
$175,000<br>
$271,000</p>
<p>Pediatrics - Cardiology
$145,000
$282,000<br>
$607,000</p>
<p>Pediatrics - Critical Care<br>
$196,000<br>
$259,000<br>
$398,000</p>
<p>Pediatrics - Hematology/Oncology<br>
$182,000
$217,000<br>
$251,000</p>
<p>Pediatrics - Neurology
$175,000
$189,000<br>
$362,000</p>
<p>Physiatry
$169,000
$244,000<br>
$313,000</p>
<p>Podiatry
$128,000
$168,000<br>
$292,000</p>
<p>Psychiatry
$149,000
$169,000<br>
$238,000</p>
<p>Psychiatry - Child and Adolescent
$158,000
$189,000<br>
$265,000</p>
<p>Pulmonary Medicine + Critical Care
$215,000
$288,000<br>
$417,000</p>
<p>Radiation Oncology
$241,000
$385,000<br>
$787,000</p>
<p>Radiology
$201,000
$354,000<br>
$911,000</p>
<p>Rheumatology
$179,000
$229,000<br>
$378,000</p>
<p>Surgery - General
$226,000
$291,000<br>
$520,000</p>
<p>Surgery - Cardiovascular
$336,000
$515,000<br>
$811,000</p>
<p>Surgery - Neurological
$354,000
$541,000<br>
$936,000</p>
<p>Surgery - Plastic
$237,000
$412,000<br>
$820,000</p>
<p>Surgery - Vascular
$270,000
$329,000<br>
$525,000</p>
<p>Urology
$261,000
$358,000<br>
$619,000</p>
<pre><code> SOURCE: Allied Physicians, Inc., Los Angeles Times and Rand McNally
*Updated June, 2006
</code></pre>
<p>Another list:</p>
<p>These numbers, at least in some cases, are higher than the means I found (for 27708) on salary.com, indicating geographic sensitivity. Obviously, this makes sense. The point is that you should remember that LA has a very high cost of living and insane taxes.</p>
<p>From the website:
<a href="http://www.allied-physicians.com/salary_surveys/physician-salaries-old.htm%5B/url%5D">http://www.allied-physicians.com/salary_surveys/physician-salaries-old.htm</a></p>
<p>Allied Physicians Survey 2000 </p>
<p>Physician Specialties Average Base Starting<br>
National Average<br>
Average base $145,000<br>
Starting $130,000 </p>
<p>Cardiology - Invasive
$216,000
$195,000 </p>
<p>Cardiology - Non Invasive<br>
$195,000<br>
$175,000 </p>
<p>Family Practice<br>
$136,000<br>
$124,000 </p>
<p>Hematology/Oncology<br>
$161,000<br>
$122,000 </p>
<p>Internal Medicine<br>
$236,000<br>
$149,000 </p>
<p>Neurology<br>
$167,000<br>
$131,000 </p>
<p>Obstetrics/Gynecology<br>
$324,000<br>
$230,000 </p>
<p>Occupational Medicine<br>
$152,000<br>
$128,000 </p>
<p>Pediatrics<br>
$136,000<br>
$123,000 </p>
<p>Psychiatry<br>
$185,000<br>
$135,000 </p>
<p>Physiatry<br>
$136,000<br>
$119,000 </p>
<p>Pulmonary<br>
$179,000<br>
$149,000 </p>
<p>Radiology<br>
$193,000<br>
$162,000 </p>
<p>Rheumatology<br>
$154,000<br>
$135,000 </p>
<p>Surgery/Orthopedics<br>
$286,000<br>
$224,000 </p>
<p>Urology<br>
$227,000<br>
$190,000 </p>
<p>Physician Assistant<br>
$67,000<br>
$60,000 </p>
<p>The following are specialties and information on compensation from a number of sources:</p>
<p>Anesthesiology
$223,082
$228,000
$213,400
$201,000
$262,327
$190,000
NA
$162,500
$180,690
$193,612
$203,326</p>
<p>Cardiology
$252,098
NA<br>
$204,200
$205,900
$262,057
$182,000
$227,921
$150,000
$186,986
$198,045<br>
$207,690</p>
<p>Emergency Medicine
$171,789
$171,000
$162,800
$128,300
$174,775
$150,00
NA
$150,000
$152,000
$154,911<br>
$157,286</p>
<p>Family Practice
$126,574
$116,800
$125,600
$120,000
$132,578
$129,000
$126,957
$100,000
$126,838
$121,905
$122,625</p>
<p>General Surgery
$206,411
$232,700
$198,500
$164,400
$223,764
$169,000
$213,960
$150,000
$168,292
$175,703
$190,273</p>
<p>Internal Medicine
$134,897
$147,300
$131,200
$113,000
$141,129
$130,000
$131,205
$100,000<br>
$126,840<br>
$118,086<br>
$127,366</p>
<p>Neurology<br>
$162,250<br>
NA<br>
$147,600<br>
$144,000<br>
$188,765<br>
$166,000<br>
NA<br>
$125,000<br>
$134,417<br>
$126,436<br>
$149,309</p>
<p>Obstetrics/Gynecology<br>
$219,829<br>
$221,900<br>
$209,700<br>
$200,000<br>
$231,565<br>
NA<br>
$214,081<br>
$180,000<br>
$193,000<br>
$184,200<br>
$204,752</p>
<p>Oncology<br>
$192,055<br>
NA<br>
$170,700<br>
$155,400<br>
$229,184<br>
$166,000<br>
NA<br>
$120,000<br>
$213,731<br>
$142,171<br>
$173,655</p>
<p>Pathology<br>
$202,486<br>
$197,300<br>
$173,600<br>
$150,000<br>
$210,070<br>
$200,000<br>
NA<br>
$130,000<br>
$150,761<br>
$161,215<br>
$175,048</p>
<p>Pediatrics<br>
$130,380<br>
$135,400<br>
$126,900<br>
$110,600<br>
$135,000<br>
$120,000<br>
$120,357<br>
$100,000<br>
$117,053<br>
$121,213<br>
$121,776</p>
<p>Psychiatry<br>
$163,446<br>
$171,300<br>
$167,400<br>
$180,000<br>
$168,123<br>
$199,000<br>
$135,682<br>
$180,000<br>
$173,446<br>
$124,465<br>
$138,267</p>
<p>Radiology<br>
$238,648<br>
NA<br>
$219,100<br>
$177,714<br>
$291,251<br>
$175,000<br>
$213,316<br>
$140,000<br>
$189,723<br>
NA<br>
$209,150</p>
<p>Whoa - those are some huge standard errors.</p>
<p>Anesthesiology 27843.44921
Cardiology 33103.05886
Emergency Medicine 14385.91539
Family Practice 8682.706534
General Surgery 26926.20731
Internal Medicine 13120.78849
Neurology 20523.81036
Obstetrics/Gynecology 16780.66301
Oncology 34093.24158
Pathology 26950.92187
Pediatrics 10428.7754
Psychiatry 22214.2888
Radiology 43230.08027</p>
<p>Yes, it becomes very clear that physician salaries vary widely. Considering the differences between geography, the sheer number of practice options, and benefit packages, this shouldn't be a surprise.</p>
<p>Of particular importance for those looking for the "most" money, realize that unlike almost any other profession, doctors are needed EVERYWHERE, even places where people don't want to practice. In order to lure people there, money is used to get MD's to places like North Dakota, where the cost of living is not that great. While your paycheck may not be as large as someone living in LA, but your money will go much farther, allowing you to live far richer than you might otherwise. </p>
<p>For example, a good friend of mine starting at KU school of medicine this fall, her parents live in Hutchinson KS, where her dad is a family practice doc. They live in an amazing house with an indoor pool, on the Prairie Dunes Golf Course which hosted the 2002 US Women's Open (#24 course in America according to Golf Digest). Her parents and all their doctor friends are pillars of the community. It's not even a question that he would earn more in a larger city, but it likely wouldn't make up for the difference in the cost of living...</p>
<p>thank you big red and blue devil for providing these stats !</p>
<p>By the way, somebody gave me a pack of gum yesterday labelled "Big Red", and I couldn't help but think of CC. I think I'm spending too much time on these boards...</p>
<p>Most non-academic physicians, that is those not practicing at Kaiser, the VA or county hospitals, are not salaried in the usual sense: physicians are reimbursed on a fee for service basis by third party payors using a fee schedule which is set by the payor, not the physician.</p>
<p>Unlike law, accounting or even hairstyling, merit and ability have virtually no effect on the compensation of a physician: all physicians on a provider panel are paid the same for the same procedure or office code. Furthermore, Medicare and Medicaid fee schedules pay only 30 to 70% of "usual" private insurance fees. Most procedures pay less today than they did 10 years ago.</p>
<p>Compensation varies between specialities due to historical quirks, effective or ineffective lobbying, and misguided tinkering. For instance, medicare payment for a carotid angiogram exceeds the global (pre-op, surgery, post-op care) medicare payment for a carotid enderartectomy.</p>
<p>Usually surgery subspecialties, radiologists, and anesthesiologists are paid the most. </p>
<p>Pay doesn't neceassarily mean that you'll be happy though. Especially in cardiac/neuro/plastic/vascular/orthopedic surgery etc that get paid a couple hundred thousand a year have to go through YEARS of learning even after medical school and the reason they make so much is because they have to work long hours and the schedule is unpredictible.</p>