How much does a family doctor earn?

[Guest Lorne Park]

HI there...

 

This is a beautiful Saturday afternoon...^.^

 

I just wonder how much a typical family doctor earns if he/she has his/her office nearby North York center (Toronto). As well, he/she is just graduated from med school (I've heard that you don't need to get Ph.D. to become a family doctor... so it'd take him/her about 7 years at university.)

 

Is this enough for you to answer? if not tell me what you need to figure this out...^^

 

Thanks..

[Guest strider2004]

It's actually quite a hot evening in NYC. I can't sleep.

 

NEways, back to the topic at hand.

At family physican in North York can look at earning around $200,000/yr before tax. This is minus all office expenses, etc.

 

To reach this state, I'm assuming a fairly full workload so 9am to 5pm 5 days a week. Let's assume that this physician is no longer accepting new patients. Education-wise, the doctor has attended a minimum of 3 years of university(not counting UofA or UofC) plus 4 years of med school. After that, 2 years of residency. This last requirement only came about after 1995 I believe. You used to be able to practise straight out of med school. So in total, you're looking at 9 years of training after high school. Now after your residency, you'll probably align yourself with some kind of clinic so you can get a decent patient load. 3 years after that, at age 31, you'll be making $200,000.

 

Let's compare this to an investment banker in NYC. Graduate from high school and study commerce(or finance or management) at a reputed school. Take a 16 month internship to beef up your work experience. Graduate from university 5 years after entering and work at Goldman Sachs in Manhattan. Begin at $US60,000. After 2 years, attend MBA school. Graduate at age 26 and earn >$US150,000 at Morgan Stanley or Solomon Bros.

 

If you're looking for a list of professions and their salaries, there's a website around that has this answer. I just forget it right now. Can anybody help me out?

[Guest Ian Wong]

You can try: www.salary.com

 

Unfortunately, as with much of the information on the internet, this site is geared to a US audience. Search under Healthcare: and then Physicians: to reach the salaries of different kinds of doctors.

 

Regarding the original question, I am getting the sense that you're probably at an early stage in your education, and mulling over your career options. Might I suggest that you contact your local hospital or other health care centers, and ask you you can volunteer there? This may help answer more of your questions, particularly if you talk to other people there, including the doctors, nurses, and most likely the other volunteers working there.

 

Suffice it to say that if you are a doctor you'll likely never be poor, nor be unemployed if you don't want to be.

 

Ian

UBC, Med 3

[Guest MEDCOMPSCI]

Well from talking to most doctors and from working in a hosptial, etc. I wanted to add my two cents to this.

 

Doctors, on average, will be the highest paid profession. So, as a doctor, you will probably be making into the 6 digits as long as you are competent and work a reasonably tough schedule. Obviously, some specialities are much more highly paid (ie - opthamlogoist), but on the whole you can expect to have a steady, reasonably paying, and secure job.

 

However, that is not to say thatother professions cannot make as much (or more!) money doing less work. I tend to know this first hand b/c my brother is taking an alternative route. Imagine someone who attends Waterloo Computer Engineering for 5 years (it's co-op) and thus graduates at age 23. Now tack on 2 more years of an MBA to age 25, and then imagine this person working or starting up their own company. Such a route will easily pay into the 6 digits as well, with much less of a workload (no residency!) and at a much younger age.

 

If you are going into medicine for the money, there are two things to consider (I got this froma doc I know):

 

1) Yes doctors are paid very well

2) but if you smart enough to get into med school you can probably make more money doing something else.

[Guest Kirsteen]

Hi there,

 

Playing a bit of a devil's advocate, the business route is not an infallable road to riches. To give birth to and lead a successful company more often than not, takes a special skill-set, the most important components of which, schools cannot teach. This may be a lesson learned by those who find themselves in the majority of business start-ups which fail. An MBA is therefore, not necessarily a sure-fire way to make more than the average medical specialist.

 

In addition, heading one's own business is not normally near a nine-to-five job. This is especially true in the infancy years, when business owners must place their heart, soul and majority of their waking hours into their businesses if they wish to see them grow. Therefore, the schedules of independent business owners, at least in the early years, rival those of most medical residents, if not surpass them.

 

Added to business and positions within the realm is a large amount of risk that is generally not shouldered by medical doctors. Risk is inextricably tied to reward. Supply and demand fluctuate; trends come and go; markets change. Sickness is omnipresent; good economies are not.

 

As with any field, pick the one that impassions you most. If you do, there will be a tendency for more rewards (and not simply monetary) to come your way.

 

Cheers,

Kirsteen

[Guest strider2004]

Kirsteen's right. Not only should you follow your passions, but excellence in any career will lead to riches. As for the proportion who have success, I believe that the proportion of students entering university with medicine in mind and those in med school is probably similar to the proportion who take business in university and get cushy jobs.

 

I've found that the best businesspeople do not necessarily take business in school. There are opportunities in every field, including medicine. I've met many doctors who start projects on the side and the majority of their income comes from those projects. If you want to learn more about this, read Rich Man, Poor Man by Robert Kiyasaki.

 

I heard once that there are 3 main reasons for pursuing medicine: a desire to help people, respect, and money. I think this is true for ANY career, just perhaps in a different order of importance.

[Guest MEDCOMPSCI]

I agree with what you guys have said here, but I was not personally alluding to a simple MBA or opening a business. I was talking in specifics about a Waterloo Computer Engineer who got an MBA. I believe most people will concurr that this route is widely perceived as being the best for monetary gain.

 

The only point I was trying to say was that almost everyone in Medical School could have made more money doing something else if they wanted to. It is kind of like the Prime Minister or President in Canada/US; sure they make 200 grand a year, but they could make much more in their law practice.

 

So while docs make quite good money, if you are smart enought to get into med school and all you want is the dough, then you can maek more doing something else.

[Guest YongQ]

To answer the initial topic question: exactly $126,014.75.

 

No, really, if you <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> just<!--EZCODE ITALIC END--> got out of medical school, your income stinks because you basically don't have a practice, you could get maybe 1 to 5 patients a day in your first year, earning mid-5 figures. Then it picks up, and how much you earn really depends on how many hours you work, and if you delivers babies by night, etc.