THE DECEPTIVE SALARY OF DOCTORS Most people believe that high school teachers don’t make enough money, and few believe that doctors should make more. Believe it or not, doctors make 3 cents less per hour than high school teachers over the course of their career. TIME SPENT BECOMING A DOCTOR 1: Bachelor’s Degree • 40 hours/week • 40 weeks/year • 4 years = 6,400 hours (to be a competitive candidate for medical school, this number is likely much higher in actuality) 2: Medical School • 80 hours/week (that’s 2 full-time jobs) • 48/weeks/year • 4 years = 15,360 hours 3: Residency • 80 hours/week (that’s 2 full-time jobs) • 50 weeks/year • 3 years minimum up to 7 years (the first year is known as an internship) = 12,000 – 28,000 hours Residencies vary in length depending on the specialty 4: US Medical Licensing Exam Pass all three parts of the US Medical Licensing Exam (USMLE) 5: Board Certified Specialist Some additional steps and training are required to become board certified in a specialty. For instance, to become… A doctor in internal medicine you must: • Graduate college with a Bachelor’s degree • Graduate from medical school • Pass all three USMLEs • Take part in a 3-yr residency program • Pass an internal medicine board exam Total training/study time: 33,760 hours A doctor in thoracic surgery you must: • Graduate college with a Bachelor’s degree • Graduate from medical school • Pass all three USMLEs • Take part in a 5-yr general surgery residency • Take part in a 2-yr thoracic surgery fellowship • Pass a thoracic surgery board exam Total training/study time: 49,760 hours Doctors spend an average of 40,000 hours training. That’s equivalent to 20 years of full-time work. For the rest of their career, doctors work an average of 59.6 hours/week. The average doctor’s career ends at 65. If they finish their residency at 29, they’ll spend 36 years working almost 1 ½ times more than most other Americans. In other words, it would normally take 54 years to do the work that doctors do in 36. MONEY SPENT BECOMING A DOCTOR Undergraduate Student Budget • Public schools: $22,826/year [formerly $19,338] • Private schools: $44,750/year [formerly $39,028] Average medical 4-year undergraduate student loan debt: $100,000 Medical School Student Budget • Public medical school: $32,993/year [formerly $24,384] • Private medical schools: $52,456/year [formerly $43,002] (not include rent, utilities, food, transportation, health insurance, books, professional attire, licensing exam fees, or residency interview expenses) Average 4-year medical school student loan debt: $200,000 Doctors often graduate medical school with well over $300,000 of student loan debt. Residency It would cost a doctor $1,753 per month ($21,037 yearly) just to pay the interest on a $300,000 loan. That’s almost half of a doctors average net residency income of $50,000. So, for a doctor practicing internal medicine to forbear a $300,000 loan for three years during residency, then repay that loan for 20 years, it would result in an overall loan cost of $687,360. That’s $34,368 per year for 20 years. Career U.S. tax code allows deductions of up to $2,500 per year for student loan repayment—but that phases out for incomes between $115,000 and $145,000. The average US doctor’s salary: $202,948 The average net income after a 28% federal tax rate: $146,123 After non-deductible student loan payments: $111,755 Lifetime Adjusted Net Hourly Wage To determine a doctors’ overall lifetime hourly wage: Find their lifetime net income: (Net Annual Income * Years Worked) + (Residency Income* Years in Residency) – (Student Loan Debt) • Take the average net annual income ($146,123) and multiply by the average number years worked (36) = $5,260,428 • Add the average net residency income ($50,000) and multiply by the number of residency years (3) = $150,000 • Subtract the total average cost of student debt = $687,360 • Lifetime net income = $4,723,068 Find their lifetime hours worked: (Average Hours Worked Per Week x Weeks Worked Per Year x Years Worked) + (Hours Spent Training) • Take the average number of hours worked per week (59.6) • multiplied by the average number weeks worked per year (48) • multiplied by the average number number of years worked (36) • Then add the total number of hours spent training (40,000) • Lifetime hours worked = 142,989 Divide lifetime net income by lifetime hours worked = $33.03 per hour – Compared to the average high school teacher – Find their lifetime net income: (Net Annual Income * Years Worked) + ( Net Pension Income* Years Received) – (Student Loan Debt) • Take the average net annual income ($47,113) and multiply by the average number years worked (43) = $2,025,859 • Add the average net pension income ($35,507) and multiply by the average number of years received (15) = $532,605 • Subtract the average cost of student debt = $186,072 • Lifetime net income = $2,372,392 Find their lifetime hours worked: (Average Hours Worked Per Week x Weeks Worked Per Year x Years Worked) + (Hours Spent Training) • Take the average number of hours worked per week (40) • multiplied by the average number weeks worked per year (38) • multiplied by the average number number of years worked (43) • Then add the total number of hours spent training (6,400) • Lifetime hours worked = 71,760 Divide lifetime net income by lifetime hours worked = $33.06 per hour… about an apple a day more than a doctor. Anyway this is much better than the situation in United Kingdom as this is a comparison between salary of doctors and tube drivers there
