A pathologist is a medical doctor. Therefore, they enjoy a high salary. The pathologist salary in India is Rs 987,012 ($15,312). In Canada they typically earn C$144,956 ($107,921) and in Australia, it is AU$95,000 (70,831). The salary is similar in South Africa and the United Kingdom at R645,000 ($48,736) and E50,664 ($56,280). This pathologist career and salary guide reviews global salary trends and the factors that affect the salaries. Experience and industry are two of the factors analyzed. Following this, there is a section on the working schedule, job benefits, and job outlook. This is important because the salary is not the only consideration when deciding on a career. Benefits, schedule, and job opportunities are also extremely important. PATHOLOGIST SALARY INFLUENCING FACTORS A pathologist is a medical doctor. Therefore, some salary reports do not differentiate between the two. The salaries for the United Kingdom, Canada, and New Zealand report pathologist salaries under physician/doctor. All of the pay information is from Payscale. 1. LOCATION 2. EXPERIENCE In the United States, the pay increases slightly over time from $195,000 to $240,000. The salary for pathologists in the United Kingdom rises steeply after 5 years of experience from E50,000 to E65,000. In Canada, the pay rises incrementally in the beginning and end of a career and plateaus in the middle. The total pay increase is 55 percent. Experienced pathologists in India earn 67 percent above the average. The most frequent respondent in the United Stated, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and India had 1 to 4 years of experience. The only country that saw a different experience level with a high number of respondents was South Africa where those with 1 to 4 and those with 5 to 9 years of experience equally participated in giving their salary information. 3. INDUSTRY All pathologists work in the medical field. They went to medical school and completed a residency. The pathologist job description entails working for a lab that gets samples sent to it from many different hospitals but other times they will work directly for a hospital or physician office. The other typical industry setting for them is to work for a lab company that is housed within a hospital. SCHEDULE & WORKING HOURS Pathologists are medical doctors who rarely interact with patients. They typically work lab hours which are from 6 or 7 AM to 4 PM. A typical day for a pathologist begins with catching up on emails and then reviewing various cases that the pathologist needs to diagnose. The pathologists will meet together and review the various cancer cases that they have. This diagnosis will ultimately stage the cancer and influence the treatment given. The pathologist will receive new slides throughout the day of illnesses and abnormal cells that they need to diagnose. Some slides have more urgency than others and will be prioritized. There are a couple more meetings throughout the day that a pathologist may attend. Finally, they leave for the day. BONUSES & BENEFITS Pathologists are medical doctors. Therefore, full-time pathologists enjoy many benefits such as medical care, retirement, flexible spending accounts, paid time off, and tuition benefits. One of the considerations to be made when deciding to be a pathologist is that looking into a microscope all day can be hard on your eyes. Therefore, taking breaks when needed can benefit your eyes. One of the biggest benefits of being a pathologist is that there is a team of fellow doctors who can work together on challenging cases. This is a rewarding experience and helps to grow the knowledge in the field. The table below shows healthcare benefits by country. As can be seen, the majority of pathologists do receive some sort of medical, dental, or vision benefit. The overall projected growth for physicians in the United States is 14 percent. Since pathologists have such an important role to play in the diagnoses and treatment of cancers, they will see similar job growth. As the population ages, cancer becomes more likely. CAREER OUTLOOK The gender makeup of pathologists is interesting. In the United States and Australia, females dominate the field at 53 and 67 percent. However, in Canada, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and India there are more males than females. These percentages range from the United Kingdom at 76 to India at 67 percent. CONCLUSION A pathologist career is a great choice for someone who likes to practice medicine, is focused on details, likes to work on a team, but does not necessarily want to work with patients every day. They have a nice salary but pursue many years of education in order to become a pathologist. Another position that you might want to consider that is very much in demand and does not require additional education is that of a phlebotomist. Source
