These questions are from a recent Q&A with the fantastic pre-med society at BYU-Idaho. We wanted to be sure to give each question its due attention for their benefit and for any others with similar questions.
I remember when I was in undergrad and people would tell me that residents barely made enough to live on and then occasionally, I would hear about “somebody’s friend’s brother-in-law” who is making $300K in his residency.
I now realize that this person was mistaken. Either that brother-in-law is cooking meth in his basement, or he is not a resident.
The good news is that if you know how to work the google button on any internet machine, you can find out exactly how much every resident in the country makes. Medicare funds all the residency positions in the US so they require transparency about salary. It might take a little digging, but they are available.
I can also tell you that there is little variation in pay program to program. The highest paid residents reside in the highest cost of living areas. Therefore, you have to take into account many variables when comparing residency salaries. Also, other perks can make a big impact. Such as free parking, free meals/meal allowance, book/education funds, paying for licensing exams, etc.
A trend you will notice is that big name institutions really cut down on perks because they know they will fill their cohorts regardless of what they offer. Smaller community programs will typically load you up with free food, free parking, and book funds to try and entice you away from the Ivory Towers.
Residents’ salaries start around an average of $52K-$63K (PGY-1). Each year you get a small, predetermined bump in pay with an inflation adjustment built in. They don’t actually care about keeping up with inflation and it’s set at a baseline of 2%. So, when inflation is 8%, like now, you are actually earning 6% less than residents in your shoes last year. Cheers.
If you are interested in finding exact figures and other perks for specific programs, I’ve compiled a list of resources to use to research residency programs here.
There are a couple of strategies for getting through medical school with either zero debt or less than average debt. And a few strategies for getting debt forgiven afterwards (if that sort of thing continues).
These are competitive programs that allow you to complete the first two years of medical school, then transition to graduate work for 3-4 years to earn a PhD, and then come back to complete your final 2 years of medical school. Your education will be free, and you typically get a small stipend to live on. But you spend 7+ years just to get your MD. That’s a long time. You’ll be starting residency when all your classmates are getting real attending jobs.
Just had a chat with an MD/PhD who said he definitely regretted trading time for debt. He is going into an incredibly high earning specialty and could’ve paid his loans off in a year if he wanted. He also doesn’t plan on using his PhD, which probably further exacerbates his regret.
I went through all the steps of joining the HPSP scholarship program through the Airforce. Decided against it at the last second.
Every branch of the military has a program where they agree to pay for your education in return for service after completing training. It’s typically 4 years of active-duty payback. You can always elect to stay in as well.
You get tuition, books, and fees covered. They also give you a small living stipend while in school. Sounds really good, especially if you talk to recruiters. Some branches will have special recruiting campaigns where they offer signing bonuses to sweeten the deal (usually in exchange for extra pay-back time).
There are drawbacks though…Particularly if you plan on doing a competitive, high paying specialty. Military matching has some nuance to it and can sometimes make it more difficult to get what you want. If the military has no need for orthopedic surgeons one year, well looks like you’re doing something else for a while until you can re-apply. Sometimes you have to serve as a primary care doctor for 1-3 years as a “flight surgeon” or doing a “general medical officer” tour before you can reapply for the match.