There is always opportunity out there for the enterprising young surgeon. I'm in no way saying that it is easy (hence, why many people just want to be employed). And I definitely understand that "luck" plays a significant role. But I am also sick of hearing new grads complain about not making mid-6 figures for their first job out of training. I've been hearing the "doom-and-gloom" of Medicine since I was in college. Yes, cataract surgery reimbursements have been cut... but in its place are the cash payments of FLACS and premium lenses. There will always be something that an entrepreneurial spirit will be able to accomplish.
You have to realize that there is no defined career path. A perfectly-sound plan is to first join a practice...save up as much money as possible while employed... and also build up one's surgical skills. Then after "x" number of years, consider hanging your own shingle. When you start off, you don't have to have a massive office building or 20 techs working for you. Many people I know have ~3 exam rooms and a few staff members -- that's it.
And always remember the saying, "The harder I work, the luckier I seem to get."
And actually, I'm Generation X
There really is not that much employed radiologist although I will admit that is changing.
In today’s world it’s really to start your own optho practice fresh out. It’s going to cost you 500k-1M in a bank loan before you see your first patient. Oh do you have student debt to pay while you growing your practice? What’s say you work really hard and do phenomenal. Your ceiling is 500 maybe 700k and your working you but off for that last number. Rads can get legit 750k with 9 weeks vacation granted you work when you are there. Why? Because you don’t own a surgical center which is the only way to make 7 figures in optho today. I agree you have a great job! You will fix an 80 year olds cataract and she will bring you cookies and think your a genius! You won’t tell her it’s one of the safest procedures in medicine with potential for going blind of approximately 1/3000 cases. But unless you get a great partnership opportunity that lets you buy in to a surgical center your not making that 7 figure check or even close to it for that matter.
Agree, that this is highly inaccurate on many accounts. You can't even spell Ophtho correctly.
Being married to a surgeon and having a ton of friends in internal medicine and family medicine, trust me when I say this but when you get a bit older all you want is to get home at a reasonable time, spend time with family, and enjoy your weekends and vacation, which Ophtho will allow you to do. You will also end up making more than enough money, especially compared to internal medicine or family med.
He won’t wanna do uveitis. LOL, trust thé uveitis retina person.
I was just making an argument based on him “missing medicine.” I agree that uveitis is way more work than comp, but it also keeps you in the medicine world. I say this as someone who occasionally misses the information side of medicine without missing inpatient medicine at all.
It’s fairly common in our population. It’s probably nothing compared to your population, but I have sarcoidosis patients and HLAB27 patients. I find it pretty interesting, but I imagine it’s much harder when you have all of the train wrecks.
