Prospects and salaries in surgery... over the next few decades?

[Lyv]

Hi everyone!
First off, I know I’m about to talk about what some still consider as a taboo subject. But income is integral part of a job, so yet another factor I’d like to be fully aware of before committing myself to a specialty.

As I consider doing some surgical specialty, I have been reading quite a lot about most of them. But when it comes to salaries, the figures are all different depending on the source! Ranging from “Ferrari dealers love you (surgeons)” (S. Eccles, Oxford University Press, 2008) to “The initially attractive appearing sum of £100,000 (per annum a surgeon may earn) actually equates to a real income of about £20,000.” (The Royal College of Surgeons of England, 2010). Also, a huge number of articles foresee the decline of surgery, quoting the major fall in cardiothoracic surgeons posts and salaries (CTSNet, 2005) or the increasing number of surgeries that are being replaced by medical treatments (S. Eccles, Oxford University Press, 2008). I had always thought that surgeons were guaranteed a comfortable living, but some of the papers I’ve come across seem to depict a gloomier picture for these specialists…

1- So at the end of the day, has golden age of surgery long passed, and is it a specialty on the decline, or is it still a promising area with good prospects for the next 50 years?

2- Also, if I go for surgery, can I count on a comfortable lifestyle for my family and myself until I retire? (all I ask for!)

3- And finally, asking for some contribution, if by chance any of you had a concrete example of current net income of a surgeon, everything included (base, private, bonus, insurance, taxes…), I would be very grateful if you could share this valuable information with us all!
(I’m particularly interested if you know the figures about reconstructive, neuro or ENT specialties, but anything will be a great start!)

Thanks a lot for reading!

[edinburghmedic]

My advice is choose what YOU want to do, and not for the money unless that features highly on your aims. Naturally we would all like as much money as possible but go for what your heart tells you. No matter what specialty, doctors tend to have a comfortable lifestyle. Surgery will always be a sigificant part of hospital work and is not in decline - people will always need management involving theaters. No such thing as a concrete example of net incomes - as you identify correctly, it depends on private income (if you opt for that), which country you work in, the hours you work (FT vs PT) and so on and so forth - working conditions are changing constantly in the NHS and there is no crystal ball. All the best.

[zhangyuzhi]

over the next few decades?! We can't even tell for the next few years to be honest lol...to my understanding NHS re-structuring is going to hit hard in the first half of this decade so things could change a lot by the time you and me graduate.

but then, as long as we pursue something we are interested in, and work hard for it, the income would be good. We don't look to compare ourselves with hedgefund managers anyway.

[CluelessJones]

Afraid I don't know any more than you bout surgeons and their pay, but would be v interested to know if anyone out there can enlighten!

I was told by the wife of an oncosurgeon that he works full-time for the NHS (earning I assume standard surgeon pay of a bit more than 100k) and earned two third of his NHS pay again by working one day (two 3.75 hour sessions) a week for BUPA. About a 50 hour week she said.
Plenty of money for school fees and holidays in Australia with a wife working part time!

No idea really about the "future" of surgery, but there are plenty of conditions where surgery remains by far the most effective intervention (e.g. cancer - if you can lop it out, do).
Hope this wasn't pointless reading though I haven't answered most of your questions!

[MAHENDRA]

if not a surgery then what speciality should choose to earn a lot , for a general surgeon , who is willing to plan for some superspeciality in surgery , then which branch