Radiologist Salaries USA

Lets check out how much would you earn as a Diagnostic Radiologist in USA.

• New York , NY: - $336,000/-
• Houston, TX: - $296,000/-
• Los Angeles, CA: - $320,111/-
• Miami, FL: - $290,000/-
  
• Seattle, WA: - $310,000/-

National Average : $282,000/-

Now, do keep in mind that these are averages of ALL types of settings - Academic and Private. The compensation could be higher by another $100K to $250K in Private setting jobs and much more in partnership / ownership settings. Check out some job postings you see here and you will know. On the lower side, for an idea of academic settings, see how much some radiologists are making at the University of Missouri-Columbia. (On the website, Use CTRL+F to open search box and type in 'Radiology' and you will see some making lesser than $150,000 a year ). Secondly these are General Radiologist Salaries, specialists like Interventional Radiologists earn more.



NOTE: Salaries here are the 50th Percentile Salaries and may apply to mid-career levels - the lower percentile salaries (for fresh physicians) may actually be lower by 30,000- 40,000 $. They also differ in academic versus private settings, and the type of specialization, with private sectors usually paying much more.

The article, "Determinants of Differences Among Radiologists in Starting Salaries" by Jean M. Mitchell and Jonathan H. Sunshine (2001) outlined several factors that were responsible for the variation of starting salaries of Radiologists in USA. Here are some:

1. Females earn lower than Males (since they tend to work fewer hours and part-time)
2. Academic Center Radiologsits earn lower than others
3. Graduates of highly ranked residency programs earned more than others
4. Neuroradiologists and Vascular Interventional Radiologists earn higher than say, Pediatric Radiologists

Check out the entire list of parameters here.

Some more Data:

- According to the American Association of Medical Colleges (AAMC) , The annual salary for radiologists ranges from $325,438 to $474,500

- Dr. Dan Schmidt, an experienced Family Medicine Physician in Moscow, Idaho comments in Nov. 2007: "Last year I made $90,000. Our hospital recruited a young radiologist at $350,000"



And these are just base salaries without the bonuses, perks and moonlighting ! No wonder the competition for Radiology Residencies is so intense in the USA - and I don't need to mention that this is one branch where it has become extremely tough for new IMGs to get in. In fact, the University California San Francisco gives a clear list of requirements that they look for in IMGs - and that includes USMLE scores of 99 to qualify!

It's not just the money - it is also the lifestyle - a cool job [literally 'cool' sitting in air conditioned labs and dark rooms ;-)] that is not physically too intense, not too many emergency calls......


Read this article that discusses how a 'Million-Dollar-Salary' Radiologist may not be far away ...and yet in the 2006 Survery, Radiologists are not happy

Also, there have been concerns about the payscales in the long term, considering how many hospitals have begun outsourcing Radiological images to radiologists in countries like Australia, India, etc.. for a much much lesser cost and high expertise. "But the facts show that not one radiologist has lost his job or found his earnings reduced", says Jagdish Bhagwati, professor at Columbia University, in an interview with financial times



Q. How to be a Radiologist in the USA ?

A. There are two types of Radiologist Physicians - the Diagnostic Radiologists or the and the ones practicing Nuclear Medicine. This post is about Diagnostic Radiologists - To be one, a candidate must complete a Residency in Diagnostic Radiology after completing Medical School.

While getting into Radiology residency programs is extremely tough for IMGs (International Medical Graduates) also called Foreign medical graduates (Read IMG versus FMG) - the IMGs who have completed Radiology residencies in non-US countries have been getting into Radiology Fellowships in the United States directly without having to do a US radiology residency first.

Interested IMGs must read more about such fellowships here.


Q. How long is the Residency training in Diagnostic Radiology ?

A. Candidates must first complete 1 year of Transitional or Preliminary training in primary care specialties like Internal medicine, Pediatrics, Surgery, Ob-Gyn, etc and then follow it up with four years of dedicated Radiology Residency. Thus, that makes it a total of 5 years ( 1 + 4 pattern) to become a Radiologist. Some programs may offer the 1st prelim / transitional year within the same institution (like the Arora Medical Center program, but a majority of programs will want candidates to complete that 1-year on their own ( like the University of Connecticut Radiology Program ) and then participate separately in the match program for Radiology positions. Some might offer both situations like the Baylor University Program

Q. What fellowship (Sub specialty) options are available after Radiology Residency ?
A. Here are some:

- Abdominal Radiology
- Cardiothoracic Radiology
- Endovascular Surgical Neuroradiology
- Musculoskeletal Radiology
- Neuroradiology
- Nuclear Radiology
- Pediatric Radiology
- Vascular and Interventional Radiology


Have dealt with Nuclear Medicine Salaries a separate post.



About Outsourcing ! Here's a hilarious video of the Simpsons on Outsourcing to India ;-)










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Also read:

- Academic Medical Center Salaries in USA
- Radiology and the IMG
- Fellowships without residency for IMGs




Funky Products for Radiologist and wannabe Radiologists:

• Funky Radiologist Scripture

• Cool Radiologist-Only Parking Sign

• Jazzy Radiologist Wrist Watch ;-)

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