Highest Paid Medical Specialties in 2024
While it’s true that becoming a doctor means a guaranteed six-figure salary, these salaries vary dramatically between specialties. The good news is in 2024, the Physician Compensation Report from Doximity listed 12 medical specialties that now make over $500,000 a year.
Which specialties now make over half a million dollars? We break down the highest-paid medical specialties, including how many hours those doctors work and how many years of training it takes to get there.
12. Otolaryngology (ENT)
In the 12th spot is otolaryngology, or ENT. These physicians make just over half a million at $502,543 a year.
ENT is a surgical subspecialty focusing on diseases of the head and neck region, including the nose, sinuses, vocal cords, ears, thyroid, and parathyroid, as well as cancers of the head and neck.
As far as lifestyle goes, ENTs have it pretty great. They have an excellent work-life balance and a flexible schedule. They can choose to devote most of their time to the clinic or have a 50/50 split between the clinic and the operating room (OR). Clinic days will have regular 9 to 5 hours, and OR days can either be half days or full 12-hour days if they are dealing with more complicated cases.
If you want to become an otolaryngologist, ENT is a 5-year categorical residency, meaning you’ll match straight into an ENT residency program.
ENT ranks fifth in terms of specialty competitiveness.
11. Gastroenterology
In the 11th spot, we have gastroenterology at $514,208 a year.
Gastroenterology focuses on everything in the gastrointestinal tract, ranging from the mouth to internal organs — like the liver — to the anus. They deal with a wide variety of diseases, including inflammatory bowel disease, hepatitis, and heartburn.
On top of their substantial paycheck, gastroenterologists also have a strong work-life balance and can practice in academic, community, or private settings, though private is less common.
Getting into gastroenterology is a challenge, as it’s the third most competitive internal medicine specialty after cardiology and hematology-oncology. And training is lengthy for a non-surgical specialty.
After 4 years of medical school, you need to complete 3 years of internal medicine residency and 3 years of a gastroenterology fellowship.
Gastroenterology is the specialty I thought I wanted to pursue when I first started medical school. To learn why I switched to plastic surgery and why I didn’t choose other specialties, check out the “Why I Didn’t” series on the Kevin Jubbal, MD, YouTube channel.
10. Urology
Coming in at number 10 is urology at $529,140 a year.
Urologists are surgeons of the urogenital tract, which includes the kidneys, ureters, bladder, prostate, urethra, testes, and more. Urology can also cover fertility, sexual function, and gender identity.
Life as an attending urologist is pretty sweet, as urology has a much better work-life balance than most other surgical specialties. After residency, you can expect 40- to 60-hour work weeks.
To become a urologist, residency lasts 5 years.
9. Radiology
Next, we have radiology at number nine. Radiologists make $531,983 a year.
Radiology can be broken down into two distinct tracks — diagnostic radiology and interventional radiology.
Diagnostic radiologists typically don’t take images; that’s left to the radiation techs. Instead, diagnostic radiologists spend the majority of their time in reading rooms analyzing finished scans and interpreting them for the clinical physician who ordered the scans. Interventional radiologists use medical imaging technology to treat and sometimes diagnose conditions, and they can also perform minimally invasive procedures.
Diagnostic radiologists have one of the best work-life balances in all of medicine. They’re not on call and typically work regular 8- to 5-hour work weeks. Interventional radiologists, on the other hand, are often on call, meaning they can be called in from home at any hour and on weekends for urgent interventions.
Diagnostic radiology requires a 5-year residency, whereas becoming an interventional radiologist takes 6 to 7 years, depending on when you make the decision to focus on interventional radiology.
As with most medical career paths, the more specialized you become, the more you’ll make. Income as a radiologist is more determined by your practice type and niche rather than whether you are a diagnostic or interventional radiologist.
8. Vascular Surgery
At number eight is vascular surgery at $556,070 a year.
Vascular surgeons care for veins and arteries throughout the body except the brain and heart. They treat a wide range of conditions including aortic aneurysms, blood clots, carotid artery disease, thrombosis, and varicose veins.
While the pay is great, the lifestyle is not. Vascular surgeons must be on call and work both long and odd hours, including weekends.
Vascular surgery residency typically lasts 5 years if you match directly into the specialty, but you can also pursue vascular surgery after general surgery as a fellowship option, which brings training up to 6 to 7 years.
7. Cardiology
Coming in at number seven is cardiology. At $565,485, it is the highest paying of all the internal medicine fellowships — and it’s the most competitive.
Cardiologists treat diseases of the heart and vascular system, many of which are quite common, like heart failure, hypertension, and myocardial infarctions, also known as heart attacks.
Heart disease is, unfortunately, the leading cause of death in the U.S., despite often being preventable. I discuss the four horsemen of preventable chronic disease in my extensive summary of Peter Attia’s longevity book “Outlive” on the Kevin Jubbal, MD, YouTube channel.
The lifestyle of a cardiologist depends on the kind of cardiology practice they run. If they focus on procedures, they could be called in the middle of the night for emergencies, but if they run a heart failure or electrophysiology clinic, work hours tend to be more stable.
To become a cardiologist, you’ll need a 3-year internal medicine residency followed by a 3-year cardiology fellowship. This is one of the longest non-surgical training paths to begin with, and since this is a field with multiple sizable subspecialties of its own, many choose to further subspecialize and train with an additional fellowship for another 1 to 3 years.
6. Radiation Oncology
At number six is radiation oncology at $569,170.
Like the name suggests, radiation oncologists treat cancer patients, as well as people with benign, noncancerous conditions, with radiation therapy. The therapy uses x-rays to shrink tumors and kill cancer cells. Radiation oncologists work closely with other doctors on the cancer treatment team, which can include a medical oncologist and surgical oncologist.
Radiation oncologists enjoy a healthy work-life balance. While there is some call, most physicians work 45 to 50 hours a week.
Radiation oncology is a 5-year residency program.
5. Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery
Next at number five is oral & maxillofacial surgery, or OMFS for short, at $603,623.
OMFS is a subspecialty of dentistry that focuses on the surgical management of the face, jaw, and oral cavity. While it’s true that these surgeons do perform a number of wisdom teeth extractions and dental implants, the scope of the specialty is much broader.
Together with the substantial paycheck, many OMF surgeons work a regular 40-hour work week, granting them an excellent work-life balance.
To become an OMFS, you must first complete dental school. After that, there are two pathways: the 4-year program or the 6-year dual degree program. Both will certify you to practice as an oral and maxillofacial surgeon, but the 4-year program will maintain your DDS from dental school, whereas the 6-year degree will earn you an MD in addition to your DDS.
4. Plastic Surgery
Arriving at number four on our list is my personal favorite — plastic surgery. Plastic surgeons clear $619,812 a year.
Plastic surgery primarily focuses on a patient’s soft tissue, such as fat, skin, and muscle, as well as occasionally bone, to reshape or reconstruct a patient’s function or appearance.
There are two types of plastic surgery — reconstructive and aesthetic. Reconstructive plastic surgery involves procedures to correct body and facial abnormalities, such as a cleft palate, and aesthetic plastic surgery deals with procedures designed to enhance someone’s appearance, such as liposuction, breast augmentation, and rhinoplasties. It should also be noted that aesthetic plastic surgeons typically earn more than their reconstructive colleagues.
The lifestyle is busy, but call isn’t bad, and most surgeries are not urgent. That said, call is much more prevalent for plastic surgeons who specialize in microsurgery or are on call for facial trauma.
There are two paths you can take to become a plastic surgeon. The first is the one I took: the integrated path, where you graduate medical school and head straight into 6 years of plastic surgery residency. If you like the sound of this, keep in mind that plastic surgery consistently ranks in the top three most competitive specialties to match into, so you’ll have your work cut out for you.
There is also the independent path, which requires 5 years of general surgery residency before applying for an additional 3 years of independent plastic surgery training.
You may be noticing a pattern in all of the highest paid career paths. They are all either surgical or procedural, with the one exception of diagnostic radiology. And the top three are no different.
3. Orthopedic Surgery
We’re in the top three! In the bronze medal position is orthopedic surgery at $654,815.
Orthopedic surgeons utilize both surgical and nonsurgical treatments to manage the musculoskeletal system. They treat conditions like trauma, tumors, infections, degenerative diseases, congenital disorders, spine diseases, and sports injuries.
Although the paycheck is certainly substantial, depending on the subtype of orthopedic surgery you practice, it may come with long hours and poor work-life balance.
To get into orthopedic surgery, which consistently ranks in the top five most competitive specialties, you’ll have to complete a 5-year orthopedic surgery residency.
2. Thoracic Surgery
In the number two silver medal spot we make a huge jump in pay. Thoracic surgeons clear $720,634 a year.
Thoracic surgery, also known as cardiothoracic surgery or CT for short, is the surgical treatment of organs inside the thorax, also known as the chest cavity, such as the heart, lungs, aorta, esophagus, and diaphragm. These surgeons perform lung and heart transplants, valve replacements, coronary artery bypass grafts, and lung resections to remove lung cancer.
This specialty can be broken down into cardiac, thoracic, or CT surgery. After completing their CT surgery training, physicians can choose to specialize in cardiac surgery, focusing on the heart and aorta, or thoracic surgery, focusing on the lung, esophagus, ribs, and other structures in the thorax. If the surgeon chooses to remain generalized, they can operate in both cardiac and thoracic domains.
Unfortunately, this is a specialty with a very difficult lifestyle. Coronary artery bypass grafts, or CABG for short, can last anywhere from 4 to 8 hours, and if complications arise, it could take up to 12 hours. There’s not much of a work-life balance in CT surgery.
Depending on the path, it can take anywhere from 5 to 7 years to become a CT surgeon.
There are three pathways to becoming a CT surgeon. The independent pathway is most common and requires a 5-year general surgery residency as well as an additional 2-year CT residency.
The integrated pathway is only 5 or 6 years, where you match directly into a CT residency program after medical school.
The combined pathway requires 4 years of general surgery and 3 years of CT surgery at a single program. These physicians are certified in both general and CT surgery.
1. Neurosurgery
Finally, in the number one gold medal spot is neurosurgery with a whopping salary of $763,908 a year.
Neurosurgery involves the surgical treatment of disorders that affect the central nervous system, which includes the brain and spinal cord. It also includes the peripheral nervous system, which comprises the neuromuscular junctions, peripheral nerves, spinal nerves, and their roots and branches.
There are two categories in neurosurgery: elective surgery and non-elective or emergent surgery. Generally, elective surgeries treat conditions that are not immediately life-threatening. Emergent surgery includes traumatic injuries to both the cranium and spine.
While compensation often correlates with competitiveness, it’s not a perfect science — just like neurosurgery. Neurosurgeons have the longest training of any residency program, but it’s not the most competitive. It ranks second for 2024 and was the fifth most competitive in 2022. This has much to do with the lifestyle.
Neurosurgeons are known for having one of the most challenging lifestyle of any physician. In addition to scheduled cases, they are required to take neurosurgery trauma calls. It’s often said that neurosurgeons make the most money, but they don’t have any time to enjoy it.
Neurosurgery also comes with a massive 7-year residency following medical school, and 7 years is a very long time to only be making a resident’s salary. We will cover how much residents make throughout their training in an upcoming video.
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