PATHOLOGIST SALARIES
- Houston: $223,000/-
- Los Angeles: $242,811/-
- New York: $254,000/-
- Seattle: $237,000/-
A Meta-analysis of 2008 MD salary surveys in USA showed that Pathology salaries ranged from $239,000 to $330,000
Probably these figures are gonna surprise you just as they surprised me. But once you begin to understand how the American health insurance system works and that procedures are paid more than physician consults, you will see why the pays are good - besides the fact that pathology residency seats are limited when you compare the numbers with specialties like Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, etc.
Pathology training itself is supposed to be very cool and often calls can be taken from home itself. Lots of sub-specialty options are available for a physician trained in pathology and yeah besides money - life-style is cool and better controlled and a lot of other specialties. Later on, after an established experience and connections, an entrepreneurial pathologist can possibly setup his own lab practice and lifestyle, like a friend's uncle who does work from his own mansion for 4 days a week of work, though most pathologists are still salaried.
Q. How to be a MD Pathologist in the USA ?
A. A 4-year Residency in Anatomic-Clinical or either Anatomic or Clinical Pathology alone makes you a licensed Pathologist. It is suggested to have both Anatomic and Clinical Pathology training to be more 'marketable' for jobs. Until 2 years ago, the training was for 5 years !
Q. What Fellowship options exist after Residency ?
A. Plenty ! 1-year Fellowship options after pathology include:
- Blood Banking/Transfusion Medicine
- Chemical Pathology
- Cytopathology
- Forensic Pathology
- Hematology
- Pathology Informatics / Medical Informatics
- Immunopathology
- Medical Microbiology
- Pediatric Pathology
- Selective Pathology
A fellowship in Neuropathology is usually 2 years.
Hmmm...so much for what's good about the academics. On the real world side, the American health insurance is working only for the insurance companies themselves, while failing for the doctors and the patients. Doctors have been watching their incomes reduce and patients have been watching their premiums rise, while we all have been watching the million dollar bonuses that insurance companies executives have been belting up. Little surprise then, that doctors are exploring new options - like this news article about a pathologist who left his practice to indulge in unproven and exotic alternative medicine therapies like magnetic water, testosterone ointments for conditions that author labels "Nothing-Really-Works-Anyway Therapies" (NRWATs) ..LOL
Also read:
- Pathology Residency
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 $.
Read more on the American Association of Medical Colleges Website.
Google Keywords to this blog article:
- "pathologist salary 2006"
- "how much are pathology doctors paid in america"
- "route to pathology MD in USA"
Labels: Pathologist, Pathology
 Digg! |
|
 Facebook ! |
|
 Forum!
|
posted by Digitaldoc, MD at 5:44 PM
Comments on "PATHOLOGIST SALARIES"
-
Ali said ... (8/01/2008) :
-
Anonymous said ... (9/09/2008) :
-
Anonymous said ... (9/21/2008) :
-
Anonymous said ... (10/20/2008) :
-
Anonymous said ... (10/22/2008) :
-
Anonymous said ... (11/07/2008) :
-
Anonymous said ... (11/07/2008) :
-
Anonymous said ... (3/30/2009) :
-
Anonymous said ... (6/11/2009) :
-
Anonymous said ... (6/16/2009) :
-
Digitaldoc, MD said ... (6/16/2009) :
-
Anonymous said ... (6/16/2009) :
-
Anonymous said ... (6/16/2009) :
-
Anonymous said ... (6/16/2009) :
-
Anonymous said ... (6/17/2009) :
-
Anonymous said ... (7/09/2009) :
-
Anonymous said ... (7/10/2009) :
Post Your Comment !Hi
Tell me how a foreign pathologist can get a job Here (USA)
GO TO A NEARBY PATHOLOGY CLINIC AND SHOW THEM ALL UR FORGIEN DOCUMENTS AND I GARANNTEED U WILL GET A JOB HERE..FORGIENS ARE MOST LIKLY SMARTER IN THAT AREA..
The above is hilarious...Anonymous has so many spelling and grammatical errors and yet he is giving advice on how to get a job in the US...and his caps lock is stuck
lol at the comments
oh my god you can see that theres lots of people that don't got any thing to do
is that how much a exp pathologist makes or starter
im looking for taking up a degree in pathogly
i likes the pathologies. i become great pathogenologist in the country of texas. Me likes to study the cancers
This is BS. First, second, and third year clinical path docs generally make $180K per year (for a single institution). I know because I live with one and his colleagues are making the above while he has two years of on the job experience (excluding residency and fellowship)and is making $133K at a private practice (responsible for almost forty institutions). You should probably do more research. Oh, and LA offered him only $120K.
These numbers sure surprise me. I worked for 18 years as a pathologist and never saw more than $170 in private practice five years ago; in academic medicine, I earn less with more experience. I was lucky to earn that much. So many of my colleagues were and still are out of work; someone said 30% of us are out of work and I believe it. Things are so tight that dozens and dozens of publications will not get you promoted in academic pathology; in contrast, seven publications in orthopedic surgery yields professorship. Every day I look for a pink slip.
There are no jobs in pathology in the US. There have not been many jobs here for decades. You are much, much better off going to Canada.
Check out the academic salary listing for 2007-08 for univ. Missouri columbia listed on this blog - Prof Pathology made >$300,000 in 2007
Cannot find the Univ. Missouri Columbia site on this blog. One robin does not make a spring. At my institution, non-Chairmen who are professors of Pathology, if they are lucky enough to become professors, make about $180,000. The chances of becoming a Professor of Pathology are, at best, one in five. Everyone else stays at Associate Professor, again only in Pathology, for their entire life. Because I am in a rural location, my salary, at about $170K (it's less than five years ago adjusted for inflation), is higher than it is for persons in a more desirable location.
The Professor you cite might also make that kind of cash because he or she is able to pull in grants of $2,000,000. It is amazing what University's will pay for people who can pull in grants.
By comparison, the STARTING salary in some Canadian provinces is over $200,000 (that's in American dollars).
The worst part of the field is the huge unemployment. It's sickening to see so many dreams shattered by this horrific field.
One other point. $300,000 is more than the Chairman of my department
makes.
There are always exceptions to the rule. There is a forensic pathologist somewhere who is making, one hears, $450,000! With such things, you have to wonder if something crooked is going on.
A better idea with respect to actual salaries can be obtained by evaluating the reports of the overseers of the University of Texas. Here’s the 2007 report.
http://www.utsystem.edu/BORMinutes/2000-current/8-07meeting1020.pdf
On page 259, you see the Chairman of the Pathology Department (note that he is not made a Full Professor), getting only $182,000! One professor on page 293 got $306,000, but that person happens to be one of the most famous pathologists in the history of the field; it is not a good idea in general to use Michael Jordan’s salary as a guide to what basketball players make. Moreover, that individual assuredly has a lot of grant money coming in. Another similarly salaried individual lies on page 283; presumably you would not say that an epidemiologist in general gets what an MD gets.
Texas, by the way, tends to be on the generous side when it comes to salaries.
Pathology is fun, but it is a terrible choice as a profession. Whenever you change jobs, you have to move great distances because of non-compete clauses. Relative to any other specialty, the pay stinks. Worst of all, employers are ruthless; they tend to fire people just after 1.5 years to avoid paying that IRA. This is not openly admitted; rather the fault is laid upon the hapless employee, who does not learn until much later that fourteen other persons suffered an identical fate. Unfortunately, there is also intense pressure in many cases to be dishonest with respect to patients. Unlike most other medical field, 99% of pathologists will greatly benefit from single payer. At that point, it might be a reasonable consideration as a job.
Pathologist finishing training here. No jobs. No one's biting. the poor house calls!!!!!!!!
As always there are exceptions to the rule. I have worked as a staff pathologist in a San Diego community hosptial for 15 years and made around 650K last year. I estimate either the same or slightly more this year 2009. I think that Pathology is one of medicine's best kept secrets. It's not glamorous but the life style is decent. There are definitely opportunities especially for those who are willing to do extra fellowships in dermatopathology and hematopathology. If I can swing it, I'd like to retire at age 55 (currently I'm in my mid 40's). good luck!