U.S.-based physicians seem to be quite happy with their jobs, and only slightly less pleased with their earnings. That’s according to a new survey from our sister company, PracticeMatch, which queried about 2,000 doctors, seeking their opinions on the profession in 2018. The survey asked doctors to rate their satisfaction level with their job and their earnings. They received the following options: Extremely/Very Dissatisfied Satisfied Very Satisfied Extremely Satisfied About half of the physicians said they were Very Satisfied or Extremely Satisfied with their jobs. And about a third of doctors said they were either Very Satisfied or Extremely Satisfied with their compensation. The percentages hold true when looking at the physicians’ practice types, as well as career duration. For example, 48% of the doctors in private practice and 50% of those working in hospitals said they were Very Satisfied or Extremely Satisfied with their jobs. Fifty percent of physicians with fewer than 10 years of experience and 48% with more than 20 years of experience agreed. The data show only a slight dip in the doctors who are satisfied with their jobs. They range from 37-39%. Extremely/Very Dissatisfied doctors ranged from 13-15%. Compensation for physicians Using the same criteria, the survey asked physicians to rate their compensation for 2018. Survey results showed that about a third of doctors were Very or Extremely Satisfied with their compensation, which took into account any bonuses. Of the 1,218 physicians who elected to provide information about their earnings, 33% said they were Very or Extremely Satisfied with what they were receiving. Forty-six percent said they were Satisfied, and 21% said they were Extremely or Very Dissatisfied. Doctors who had been working between 11-20 years were most likely to say they were Extremely or Very Satisfied with their pay (35.8%) and more experienced doctors were the least likely (31.3%). Office-based physicians had a slight edge in the highest tier of satisfaction (33.7%), compared to their hospital-based colleagues (33.1%). The survey also yielded some other standout facts about physician job satisfaction and compensation: A third of those surveyed saw a pay bump between 2017 and 2018. Among the doctors who supplied compensation data, 70% make between $100K-300K. More than 50% of those surveyed receive no annual bonus. Of 40% who received a bonus in 2018, the median was $20,000. Only 28% of the physicians had student loan debt. Of those who did, 9% were receiving student loan assistance. Sixty percent expected to be debt-free in 10 years. TL;DR A new PracticeMatch survey shows that about half of doctors were either Extremely Satisfied or Very Satisfied with their jobs in 2018. The same survey showed that about a third of doctors were either Extremely Satisfied or Very Satisfied with their compensation during the same year. Source
