When it comes to high paying medical careers, there are several factors that contribute to doctors earning top salaries. Some of the highest paid doctor specialties include anesthesiologists, surgeons, orthopedists, radiologists, and oncologists. However, within each specialty there are doctors who earn more than others based on experience, reputation, and geographic location.
Anesthesiologists
Anesthesiologists are consistently among the highest paid medical specialists. According to Medscape’s Physician Compensation Report 2019, the average salary for anesthesiologists in the United States is $331,000. This puts them at the top of the list across various medical specialties. There are several reasons why anesthesiologists command such high salaries:
- Their job is highly skilled – anesthesiologists are responsible for administering anesthesia to patients and monitoring them throughout surgeries and other medical procedures. This requires extensive training and expertise.
- They work in critical situations – as the experts managing life support, airway management ventilation, and vital signs, anesthesiologists play a crucial role in patient safety during operations. This high-stakes work increases their value.
- There is a shortage – there are not enough anesthesiologists to meet demand, which also drives up their compensation. According to the American Society of Anesthesiologists, over 40 states are expected to experience shortages by 2030.
Within anesthesiology, some of the most lucrative subspecialties include pediatric anesthesiology, cardiothoracic anesthesiology, and pain management. Doctors in these fields can earn even more than the average.
Surgeons
Surgeons are also at the top of the pay scale across medical specialties. The average salary for surgeons in 2019 was $311,000. Some of the factors that contribute to surgeons’ high earnings potential include:
- Lengthy training – Becoming a surgeon requires 4 years of medical school plus 3-7 years of residency training in a particular specialty.
- High stakes work – Performing complex, high-risk operations on patients requires superior technical skills and composure under pressure.
- Emergency availability – Surgeons need to be on call to operate at all hours of the day and night for emergencies.
- Concentration of work – Surgeons typically perform a high volume of procedures in a day when operating, leading to more compensation.
The most lucrative surgical specialties include neurosurgery with an average salary of $663,000, orthopedic surgery at $497,000, plastic surgery at $479,000, and cardiothoracic surgery at $461,000.
Orthopedists
Doctors specializing in orthopedics, such as treatment of the muscles, bones, joints, ligaments, and tendons, also rank high on the list of top paying medical careers. According to Becker’s Hospital Review, the average starting salary for orthopedic surgeons is $443,000, rising to $522,000 for those with over 10 years of experience.
Some reasons orthopedists earn so much include:
- High demand – With the aging population, chronic conditions like arthritis and injuries from sports or accidents, the need for orthopedists continues to grow.
- Competitive residencies – There are a limited number of residency positions available, which compensates those who secure a spot.
- Specialized skills – Orthopedists perform delicate surgeries and procedures requiring manual dexterity and years of training.
- Solo and group practices – Many orthopedists work in their own private practices which are lucrative compared to hospital employment.
The highest paid orthopedic subspecialties are orthopedic spine surgery at an average of $710,000 and orthopedic trauma surgery at $538,000.
Radiologists
Radiologists specialize in diagnosing and treating injuries and diseases using medical imaging like x-rays, CT scans, MRIs, ultrasounds, and nuclear medicine. According to Medscape, radiologists earn an average salary of $402,000 per year.
Some of the reasons radiologists are so well compensated include:
- Technology driven field – Radiology relies heavily on high cost diagnostic imaging equipment and specialized computer systems.
- Interpretation skills – Radiologists must expertly interpret complex images to diagnose obscure conditions and diseases.
- Increasing demand – With advances in imaging technology, demand for radiologists is expected to grow faster than average over the next decade.
- High overhead – Purchase and maintenance of radiology equipment is expensive, which translates to higher incomes.
Interventional radiologists earn the most at an average of $490,000 by doing minimally invasive procedures like angiograms and angioplasty.
Oncologists
Oncologists specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of cancers and tumors. The average salary for oncologists is $348,000 annually. Reasons for the high compensation potential as an oncologist include:
- Competitive residencies – Securing an oncology residency is challenging with rising demand and limited spots.
- Complex treatments – Oncologists prescribe and oversee sophisticated chemotherapy and radiation protocols.
- Research opportunities – Oncologists at academic institutions and research hospitals can earn more through clinical trials and research.
- Leading cause of death – As cancer is a top cause of mortality, skilled oncologists are in high demand.
Within oncology, pediatric oncology is the top paying subspecialty at an average of $497,000 due to extra specialized training required to treat children.
Other High Earning Specialties
While anesthesiology, surgery, orthopedics, radiology, and oncology comprise many of the highest salaried specialties, there are some other medical fields that also offer the potential for very high earnings:
- Plastic surgery – $479,000 average salary
- Neurology – $244,000 average salary
- Gastroenterology – $492,000 average salary
- Urology – $427,000 average salary
- Dermatology – $420,000 average salary
- Emergency medicine – $320,000 average salary
- Ophthalmology – $353,000 average salary
These medical specialties require extensive training and tend to be highly competitive fields. They also come with higher than average compensation potential.
Highest Paying States for Doctors
Another factor that can affect a doctor’s earning potential is geographic location. Although salaries are high across the board for doctors, some states tend to pay more than others. Here are some of the top paying states for doctors:
| State | Average Salary |
|---|---|
| Nebraska | $277,000 |
| New Hampshire | $275,000 |
| Wisconsin | $272,000 |
| South Dakota | $271,000 |
| Iowa | $270,000 |
Doctors in these states tend to earn 10-15% higher salaries than the national average for physicians. This is often influenced by the cost of living in the area, competition for talent, and demand for services.
Gender Wage Gap Among Doctors
Research shows that there is still a significant gender pay gap present across medical specialties. According to Doximity’s 2019 Physician Compensation Report, male doctors earned 27% more than their female colleagues. Some key findings include:
- Male primary care physicians earned $257,000 while females earned $201,000.
- Specialist males earned $361,000 versus $279,000 for specialist females.
- The greatest gender divide was in neurology with males earning 48% more.
- Obstetrics and gynecology showed the smallest gap with 3% higher pay for males.
Experts attribute the stubborn gender wage gap to factors like more career interruptions for women due to family responsibilities, less likelihood to negotiate higher salaries, and a later average age of retirement for men. However, this pay inequity persists even when controlling for those factors, signaling there is still substantial progress needed to achieve pay equality.
Conclusion
In reviewing the highest paid doctor specialties, anesthesiologists, surgeons, orthopedists, radiologists, and oncologists consistently rank at the top. However, there is significant variation in salary within specialties based on subspecialty, years of experience, reputation, geographic region, practice setting, gender, and other factors. While all physicians are compensated at a high level relative to other professions, some medical careers have the potential to be more lucrative than others. Key determinants of earning potential include:
- Competitive residency programs
- Specialized skills and training
- Highly complex procedures and practice areas
- Employment with hospital groups vs private practice
- Higher cost-of-living states
- Male gender
With physician salaries rising and demand growing for doctors across most specialties, the profession continues to offer tremendous income potential. However, as with many lucrative careers, realizing the highest doctor pay does require paying one’s dues through many years of education and training.