Doctors? What are the weekly work hours and salaries for the different specialties?

December 19th, 2009 | by admin |

I am in undergrad (Chemistry major) right now…I’d love to know what the work hours and salaries are for doctors in different fields and specialties such as pediatrics, internal medicine…… AND especially oncology.

Each doctor chooses his/her practice style. MOST doctors work very hard. It is not a 9-5 job, and if working long hours puts you off, then you need to find another line of work.

It is possible to work part time as a physician, and I know some women that do that. (I am looking forward to it myself when my youngest child is through college… 9 more years!)

Some specialties lend them selves more to that, such as anesthesiology, pathology, radiology, ER – practices where you don’t have to maintain an office and a staff. Also, if you join a large group, your options increase.

If you work less, you’ll earn less. Salary is different in different parts of the country and for different specialties. Bottom line – you’ll be able to support yourself just fine.

Surgeons work the most hours. (They also earn a lot.)

You shouldn’t even think about choosing a specialty until you are well into your third year of medical school. By then, you will have a better idea of how hard people in different specialties work, and what the work is like. Eight hours of doing something you hate will seem longer than 24 hours of doing something you love.

  1. 2 Responses to “Doctors? What are the weekly work hours and salaries for the different specialties?”

  2. By pimpy on Dec 19, 2009 | Reply

    family doctor, works 6 months and is off 6 months, make 150…..(works one week, off next week) 12 hour shifts per day for the whole week
    References :

  3. By helper59 on Dec 20, 2009 | Reply

    Residency is hard no matter what specialty you choose. You will be working 80 hour weeks for years, and making about 45-50 thousand a year.

    For example, pediatrics or internal medicine are 3 year residencies.

    Then, if you want to subspecialize in Oncology, you would have to do three more years, with at least one of those years being similar in hours to residency.

    After that, the lifestyle (work hours, and income) are different depending on what you do.

    In primary care (medicine or pediatrics) you can expect to work 40-60 hour weeks and make 100-150 thousand a year.

    In a subspecialty field, you will probably make more money, and the hours really depend on exactly what you do.
    References :

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