Embarking on a medical residency is a significant step in your journey to becoming a practicing physician. As you transition from medical school to hands-on training, understanding your compensation is crucial. This guide provides a detailed overview of doctor salary during residency, addressing key factors that influence your earnings and offering insights for financial planning.
Understanding Resident Salaries: What to Expect
Residency salaries are a common point of curiosity and concern for medical graduates. It’s essential to have a realistic understanding of what you’ll earn during these demanding years.
What is the Average Doctor Salary During Residency?
The average resident salary in the United States is approximately $64,000 per year, based on a 2021 Medscape report. This figure represents a modest increase of about 3% annually since 2015, reflecting gradual adjustments in resident compensation.
It’s important to contextualize this number. While $64,000 is a significant income, it’s considerably less than what fully licensed physicians earn. In 2020, primary care physicians averaged around $243,000, and specialists earned an average of $346,000 annually. As a resident, you’ll earn roughly 26% of a primary care physician’s salary and just 18% of a specialist’s income.
Year-Over-Year Salary Increases for Residents
The good news is that your doctor salary during residency isn’t stagnant. Residency compensation is primarily determined by your Post-Graduate Year (PGY) level, reflecting your advancing training and experience. Each year you progress in your residency, you can expect a salary increase, typically ranging from $2,000 to $5,000 annually.
This progressive structure means that a first-year resident (PGY1) will earn the least, while residents in subsequent years (PGY2, PGY3, and so on) will see incremental salary growth. The table below illustrates this typical salary progression:
| Resident Job Level | Average Salary |
|---|---|
| PGY1 Residents | $63,009 |
| PGY2 Residents | $66,092 |
| PGY3 Residents | $69,136 |
| PGY4 Residents | $71,979 |
| PGY5 Residents | $74,786 |
| PGY6 Residents | $77,276 |
Resident Salary vs. Licensed Physician Salary
The disparity between resident salaries and those of fully licensed physicians highlights the investment in training that residency represents. While the immediate income during residency may seem modest compared to the earning potential after completing training, it’s a necessary phase to gain the expertise and qualifications for a higher future salary. The lower resident salary acknowledges the supervised learning environment and the ongoing education component of residency programs.
Factors Influencing Resident Doctor Salary
Several factors can affect a resident doctor’s salary, beyond just the PGY level. These include geographic location, medical specialty, and even gender.
Location, Location, Location: Geographic Impact on Resident Pay
Contrary to many professions where salary is directly tied to the cost of living, resident salaries are more influenced by supply and demand dynamics within the medical field. Areas with a higher demand for physicians or those considered underserved may offer slightly higher resident salaries to attract talent. Conversely, major metropolitan areas with a concentration of medical professionals might see more competitive, and potentially slightly lower, resident compensation.
It’s interesting to note that the states with the highest average physician salaries overall aren’t necessarily the highest paying for residents specifically, but they can be indicative of the general compensation landscape. Here are the top ten highest-paying states for physicians in general:
| States | Average Annual Salary |
|---|---|
| Kentucky | $346k |
| Tennessee | $338k |
| Florida | $333k |
| Alabama | $332k |
| Utah | $328k |
| Ohio | $326k |
| Oklahoma | $326k |
| Indiana | $326k |
| North Carolina | $325k |
| Georgia | $323k |
It’s important to research the specific resident salaries offered by programs in your desired locations, as these can vary.
Specialty Matters: How Your Medical Focus Affects Your Resident Salary
Your chosen medical specialty can also play a role in your resident salary, although the differences are generally less pronounced than post-residency salary variations. Certain specialties, particularly those requiring longer or more specialized training, might offer slightly higher resident compensation.
Here’s a comparison of specialties with the highest and lowest average annual resident salaries:
| Highest Earners | Annual Salary Expectation | Lowest Earners | Annual Salary Expectation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medical geneticists | $67,500 | Family medicine | $57,400 |
| Allergy and Immunology | $66,500 | Emergency medicine | $57,800 |
| HIV/Infectious diseases | $66,500 | Internal medicine | $58,600 |
| Surgery | $65,700 | Ophthalmology | $59,000 |
| Plastic surgery/aesthetic medicine | $65,600 | Public health and preventative medicine | $60,000 |
While these salary differences during residency might not be the primary factor in specialty selection, understanding the compensation landscape across different fields can be helpful for long-term career planning. Post-residency, the salary variations between specialties become significantly more substantial.
Gender Pay Gap in Residency: Addressing the Discrepancy
It’s important to acknowledge that a gender pay gap exists within the medical profession, and this disparity, although smaller, is also present during residency. While the overall gender wage gap for physicians can be around 25%, the gap narrows during residency.
Female medical residents earn approximately 1% less than their male counterparts on average. While this is a smaller gap compared to licensed physicians, it still highlights the presence of gender-based pay disparities even early in a medical career.
| Largest Gender Wage Gap | Salary Gap In % | Smallest Gender Wage Gap | Salary Gap In % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pediatric pulmonology | women earn 23% less | Hematology | women earn 4% less |
| ENT | women earn 22% less | Rheumatology | women earn 8% less |
| Urology | women earn 22% less | Radiation oncology | women earn 9% less |
| Radiology | women earn 21% less | Thoracic surgery | women earn 11% less |
| Pediatrics | women earn 20% less | Plastic surgery | women earn 11% less |
Addressing and eliminating gender-based pay gaps remains an important issue within the medical field, and awareness of these disparities is a crucial first step.
Beyond the Base Salary: Residency Benefits
While the resident doctor salary is a primary consideration, it’s essential to remember that residency programs typically offer a comprehensive benefits package that adds significant value to your overall compensation.
Comprehensive Benefits Packages for Residents
In addition to your annual salary, residency programs usually provide benefits such as:
- Paid Time Off (PTO): Allowing for vacation, sick leave, and personal days.
- Health Insurance: Covering medical expenses and often including dental and vision coverage.
- Retirement Plan Contributions: Eligibility to contribute to retirement plans like 401(k)s or 457(b)s, sometimes with employer matching.
- Life Insurance: Providing a safety net for your loved ones.
- Potential Stipends and Allowances: Some programs may offer stipends for expenses like conferences or educational materials, and potentially travel allowances for conference attendance.
- Group Disability Insurance: Access to group disability insurance plans, although these may have limitations, particularly for young physicians.
These benefits contribute significantly to your overall financial well-being during residency and should be factored into your assessment of a program’s compensation package.
Disability Insurance: Protecting Your Future Income Early
While group disability insurance might be offered through your residency program, it’s highly recommended to consider obtaining your own individual disability insurance policy as early as possible, ideally during your last year of medical school or early in residency.
Individual disability insurance offers crucial income protection should you become too ill or injured to work. Group plans often have limitations and may not provide adequate coverage for your specific needs. Securing your own policy ensures you have robust protection tailored to your situation.
Key features to look for in an individual disability insurance policy include:
- True Own-Occupation Definition of Disability: This ensures you can receive benefits even if you can work in another occupation but not in your chosen medical specialty.
- Student Loan Repayment Rider: Helps cover student loan payments if you become disabled.
- Future Increase Option (FIO) Rider: Allows you to increase your coverage as your salary grows in the future, without further medical underwriting.
Investing in disability insurance early in your career is a proactive step to safeguard your future financial security.
Financial Planning During Residency
Residency is a demanding but crucial time to lay the groundwork for your future financial success. While negotiating your resident doctor salary isn’t typically possible, there are key financial planning steps you can take.
Why You Can’t Negotiate Resident Salary
Unlike experienced physicians who often have negotiating power when it comes to employment contracts, residents generally have limited leverage to negotiate their salaries. Resident salaries are usually standardized within a program and institution, and are not typically open to individual negotiation. This is primarily due to the training nature of residency and the structured compensation scales.
Contract Review: Preparing for Your Future
Although you may not be able to negotiate your resident salary, understanding the terms of your residency contract is still important. Furthermore, familiarizing yourself with the benefits of contract review now will be invaluable for your future career.
When you transition to a fully licensed physician role, contract review by a specialist attorney is highly recommended. A contract review lawyer can:
- Analyze all aspects of your employment contract, not just salary.
- Identify potential pitfalls or unfavorable clauses.
- Advise you on fair market compensation and benefits.
- Negotiate on your behalf to improve contract terms, including salary and benefits packages.
Starting to learn about contract review during residency is a proactive step towards securing favorable employment terms in your future physician roles.
Retirement Planning and Investment Strategies for Residents
Even on a resident salary, it’s beneficial to start thinking about retirement planning and explore investment options. Taking advantage of retirement plans offered by your residency program, such as 401(k)s or 457(b)s, and contributing even small amounts can make a significant difference over time due to the power of compounding.
Beyond retirement plans, consider exploring other investment avenues such as:
- Stocks: Investing in the stock market for long-term growth potential.
- Real Estate: Considering real estate investments, which can offer both appreciation and passive income opportunities over time.
Starting early with retirement planning and investments, even on a resident doctor salary, sets you on a path to long-term financial security and wealth building.
Conclusion: Residency Salary as an Investment in Your Future
While a doctor salary during residency may be modest compared to future earning potential, it’s important to view it as an investment in your career and future financial well-being. Residency is a period of intense training and skill development that paves the way for significantly higher earning potential as a licensed physician.
Focus on maximizing your learning during residency, taking advantage of available benefits, and laying the groundwork for sound financial planning. By understanding resident compensation, benefits, and financial strategies, you can navigate this crucial phase of your medical career with confidence and prepare for a financially secure future as a physician.
For further guidance on disability insurance, retirement planning, and contract review, contact Physicians Thrive for expert support and resources. Stay informed and empowered on your journey to financial success in medicine.
