When considering which specialty to pursue, many premeds place a heavy emphasis on annual salary.
What they often fail to consider though is the time required to make the big bucks.
We’ve already covered the Top 6 Doctor Specialties with the Highest Hourly Rate. Now,
we’re looking at the other end of the spectrum – the specialties with the lowest hourly rate.
Dr. Jubbal, MedSchoolInsiders.com
As with the previous video, the average hourly wage was calculated
by taking the average annual salary for each specialty and dividing it
by the number of hours worked per week and the number of workweeks per year.
It is important to mention that these are averages, and variation is expected.
Even within specialties, salary and weekly hours can vary widely depending on the type of practice,
geography, and numerous other factors.
Just because your cousin’s goldfish’s twin sister’s boyfriend is making ten million
dollars per year as a psychiatrist doesn’t mean the data is wrong. It just means he’s an outlier.
With that said, let’s dive in.
Number ten is psychiatry, which focuses on the diagnosis,
prevention, and treatment of mental disorders.
Psychiatrists have an average annual salary of $275,000
and work an average of 47 hours per week, giving us an hourly wage of approximately $117.
Psychiatry is unique within medicine as it is less algorithmic than most specialties.
If you enjoy thinking deeply and holistically about your patients and want the freedom to
individually tailor their treatment plan, psychiatry may be a good fit.
Psychiatry also offers a lot of flexibility, both in terms of your
career as well as work-life balance. You can work in multiple clinical settings,
with multiple patient populations, and even have multiple jobs at once. Psychiatrists
also tend to work regular business hours with few overnight emergencies or weekend calls.
Number nine is neurology, which focuses on the diagnosis and treatment of diseases of
the nervous system including the brain, muscles, spine, and nerves.
Neurologists earn on average $290,000 per year and work an average of 51 hours per week,
yielding an average hourly wage of approximately $114.
Neurologists focus on arguably the most fascinating organ system of the human
body - the nervous system. If we look at even just the last 20 years, we have seen dramatic
improvements in our understanding of the brain and spinal cord. This is likely to continue too
as neurologic diseases are consistently in the top 3 most funded diseases by the NIH each year.
Approximately 80% of neurology is outpatient as well, which means you’re less likely to
work weekends and more likely to have regular 8-5 business hours.
Number eight is allergy and immunology, which is the area of medicine focusing on the diagnosis,
treatment, and management of disorders related to the immune system.
Allergist-immunologists have an average annual salary of $274,000 and work an
average of 49 hours per week, translating to an average hourly wage of approximately $112.
As an allergy and immunology physician, you get to see a
wide variety of patients and conditions - from young to old and acute to chronic.
You also get the opportunity to be on the cutting edge of medical research as our understanding of
the immune system and the many other areas of health it affects continues to develop.
Of note, allergy and immunology physicians also spend the least amount of time on paperwork and
administrative tasks out of any specialty on our list at just 14.6 hours per week.
For perspective, this is a similar amount of time
to dermatology which is known for being one of the best lifestyle specialties.
Number seven is preventive medicine, which focuses on the overall health of individuals to protect,
promote, and maintain well-being as well as prevent disease, disability, and premature death.
Preventive medicine physicians have an average annual salary of $237,000
and work an average of 45 hours per week, giving us an average hourly wage of $105.
Preventive medicine, as the name implies, is all about addressing health issues before they
become a problem - something that we often don’t focus enough on in Western medicine.
So while preventive medicine isn’t perceived to be cutting edge and doesn’t make headlines,
it’s arguably more important and impactful in terms of lives saved.
These doctors also tend to be heavily involved in influencing public policy, public health,
and designing healthcare systems to prevent and control the spread of disease.
So not only do you have the opportunity to help patients on an individual level,
but you can also help to prevent disease on a much larger scale.
Number six is rheumatology, which focuses on the
diagnosis and treatment of diseases of the joints, muscles, bones, and tendons.
The average rheumatologist earns $276,000 per year and works an average of 54 hours per week,
yielding an average hourly wage of $102.
Rheumatology also has the highest change in salary between 2020 and 2021 of any
specialty on our list with an increase of 5% year over year.
One of the biggest draws of rheumatology is the amount of time that you get to spend
with patients. The nature of the diseases that rheumatologists treat often require a close,
long-term relationship where treatment decisions
are constantly refined depending on the patient’s unique life, needs, and biology.
You get to be a sort of “medical detective”
and sort through the most complex clinical facts and physical exam
findings before ultimately giving your final diagnosis and treatment recommendations.
Number five is endocrinology, which focuses on the diagnosis,
treatment, and management of diseases of the endocrine system.
Endocrinologists have an average annual salary of $245,000
and work an average of 49 hours per week, giving us an average hourly wage of $100.
Endocrinology also shows the second-highest
change in salary on our list with an increase of 4% between 2020 and 2021.
Much like with rheumatology, endocrinologists get to be medical detectives. They focus heavily
on building patient relationships and exercising clinical reasoning.
In addition, lifestyle diseases like obesity and diabetes are the bread and butter of
endocrinology. So if you enjoy helping your patients make lifestyle modifications that
will improve their health for years to come, endocrinology may be a good fit.
Number four is pediatrics, which focuses on the care of babies,
children, and adolescents from birth up to the age of twenty-five.
Pediatricians earn on average $221,000
and work an average of 47 hours per week, yielding an average hourly wage of $94.
It should be noted that pediatricians have the lowest annual salary out of
any specialty on our list; however, they also work
fewer hours than most specialties which is why they are only number four on our list.
The biggest draw for pediatrics is that you get to work with children and adolescents.
You have the unique opportunity to make an impact early in someone’s life
which can compound to yield tremendous changes over their lifetime. As such,
pediatrics could be considered one of the most powerful forms of preventative medicine.
Are you ready for the top three? If you’ve been surprised by at
least one specialty on the list so far, let us know with a thumbs up.
And if you think we’ve missed one, let me know with a comment below.
Number three is infectious disease. These physicians are the experts in
the diagnosis and treatment of diseases caused by bacteria, viruses, fungi, parasites, and prions.
Infectious disease physicians have an average annual salary of $274,000
and work an average of 53 hours per week, giving us an average hourly wage of $92.
Infectious disease is one of the most rapidly evolving fields of medicine. It seems that
every year or two there is some outbreak of a new pathogen - whether it be swine flu,
zika virus, or more recently the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus pandemic.
Infectious disease physicians are constantly learning about new pathogens and relearning old,
forgotten pathogens, which keeps the specialty interesting and ID docs on their toes.
Job satisfaction also tends to be high amongst infectious disease physicians,
with approximately 89% of them reporting that they would choose the same specialty again.
Number two is internal medicine which focuses on the diagnosis, treatment,
and prevention of a broad number of diseases that affect adult patients. These are the quarterbacks
of the hospital healthcare team and what most people think of when they hear the word “doctor.”
Internal medicine doctors earn on average $248,000
and work an average of 55 hours per week, yielding an average hourly wage of $90.
Although internal medicine physicians have the
highest annual salary out of our bottom five specialties,
they also work the most hours - which is why they’ve found themselves at our number two spot.
One of the biggest draws for internal medicine is the tremendous career flexibility that it offers.
If you want to work as a hospitalist and take care of admitted patients,
you can do that straight out of residency. If you want to do primary care and see patients
in an outpatient clinic, you can do that too. And if you decide that you’d like
to specialize and further your interest with something more focused, IM offers a clear path
to multiple fellowships including cardiology, gastroenterology, and oncology to name a few.
And finally, the specialty with the lowest hourly rate is family medicine.
You’re probably not surprised, since family medicine is known
for being one of the least lucrative and least competitive specialties.
Family medicine is the center of primary care. These are the generalists of generalists.
Unlike other specialties that focus on a particular organ, disease,
or age range, family medicine physicians see the full spectrum of patients - from young to old,
healthy to unhealthy, and everything in between.
Family medicine doctors have an average annual salary of $236,000
and work an average of 53 hours per week, giving us an average hourly wage of $89.
Don’t let the hourly wage fool you though, there’s still a lot to love about family medicine.
If you enjoy getting to know your patients and building relationships,
family medicine offers amazing access to longitudinal care as
you can see patients from the time that they’re born on through to adulthood.
Family medicine is also one of the few specialties where you can continue to
maintain and develop the vast medical knowledge you learned during medical school.
Being a generalist means that you can take satisfaction in knowing that you’re able to
manage most anything that walks through the door - at least to some extent.
And lastly, family medicine physicians often enjoy a desirable schedule,
usually working regular 9 to 5 office hours with minimal, if any, call.
Remember, money is just one piece of the equation. You should never choose a specialty primarily
based on salary. Each specialty has its own unique pros and cons that you need to weigh for yourself.
At the end of the day, it is much more important for your long-term happiness to choose a
specialty for the right reasons, and I have a 6 step process to teach you how linked below.
Regardless of what specialty you choose, it always benefits you to keep your options open, not only
if you’re one of the 52% of medical students that change their mind about their intended specialty,
but also so that you can match into the most desirable programs in your chosen
specialty - which are always competitive, no matter the field. At Med School Insiders,
our specialty is helping students maximize their potential and be
the most competitive candidates possible. Visit MedSchoolInsiders.com to learn more.
Thank you all so much for watching! If you enjoyed this video,
be sure to check out How to Choose a Specialty or the Top 6 Specialties
with the Highest Hourly Rate. Much love and I’ll see you guys there.