Plastic surgeons devote their lives to assisting patients who require surgery to repair facial features or limbs that have has damage due to catastrophic accidents, severe burns, congenital anomalies, or illnesses such as cancer.
Many also have enough education to undertake elective cosmetic operations that people want to improve a physical feature they dislike, so they can many things, and the job is not easy; that is why many people, including you, might wonder how much do plastic surgeons make.
Even when compared to other physicians, plastic surgeons have great earning potential. The typical compensation of a cosmetic surgeon is roughly double that of a pediatrician.
And if you live in San Francisco, then even better for you because, according to Comparably, the salary of Plastic Surgeons in San Francisco is 46% greater than the US average.
To learn more such interesting details about this career option, keep reading!
Who Are Plastic Surgeons?
Plastic surgeons spend years and years honing their skills in mastering the delicate art of restoring faces and other body parts.
They conduct complex procedures, including correcting a child’s cleft lip, recreating breasts after a mastectomy, and minimizing scars.
They spend their days checking on surgical patients, meeting with new patients to discuss procedures, and conferring with colleagues on complicated surgeries.
As per the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, they may use microscopes to do reconstructive microsurgery to mend tiny nerves and blood arteries that are smaller than a few millimeters wide.
They respond to medical emergencies that may need reattaching severed body parts, and they improve patients’ lives by boosting aesthetics and restoring functionality with modern skin grafting procedures.
Also Read: How Much Does A Cosmetologist Make?
How Much Do Plastic Surgeons Make?
Plastic surgeons average salaries $479,000 per year, according to several employment sites on the internet and the 2020 Medscape Plastic Surgeon Compensation Report, making them one of the highest-paid doctors on the market.
Plastic surgeon salaries vary a lot, and if you have your own clinic, you earn way more than the average salary considering you have some clients coming in, but if you are working at someone’s office or at a hospital, then you most probably get around the average salary if you do not have decades of experience.
The salary of a plastic surgeon is consistent with the level of training necessary to do this highly specialized job.
Practitioners with fewer years of specialized training, such as pediatricians and family medicine doctors, earn an average income of $232,000 and $234,000, respectively.
1. How Much do Plastic Surgeons Make an Hour?
A Plastic Surgeon makes a minimum of $47.60 an hour and a maximum of $193 an hour.
2. How Much do Plastic Surgeons Make a Month?
A Plastic Surgeon makes a minimum of $8,250 a month and a maximum of $33,458 a month.
3. How Much do Plastic Surgeons Make a Year?
A Plastic Surgeon makes a minimum of $99,000 a year and a maximum of $401,500 a year.
Highest Salary of Plastic Surgeons in 2023
When you are a plastic surgeon, there is no limit as to how much you can earn, the highest-earning plastic surgeons in the world earn millions of dollars, some tens of millions of dollars, but they are an exception because they are incredibly famous.
However, as a plastic surgeon on payroll from a hospital or a clinic, you can still make a good amount of money.
Highest salary of plastic surgeons we have on record is around $950,000 annually—an incredible increase from the average salary of plastic surgeons we have mentioned above.
Is Being a Plastic Surgeon Good or Bad?
Being a plastic surgeon requires years of experience, an incredible amount of patience, and hard skills to handle the surgeries with precision.
Not everyone is the best kind of patient, as well. However, the pay is fantastic, and many doctors opt for being a plastic surgeons because it is actually more accessible and the pay is excellent.
We can clearly say that being a plastic surgeon is good if you think you can handle the hardships that it brings with itself, just like every other job in the world, but this one has a good salary and requires nearly a decade of experience.
Pros And Cons of Being a Plastic Surgeon
Pros
- Good money
- High social status
- You can retire early
- Flexible working hours
Cons
- High level of responsibility
- Complex & stressful job
- People may sue you
How to Become a Plastic Surgeon?
- Take pre-med college classes in anatomy, physiology, chemistry, arithmetic, physics, and English.
- Enroll yourself in a good medical school and get a bachelor’s degree by learning topics like biochemistry, pharmacology, and medical ethics while providing patient care in clinics and hospitals.
- Now you will need to get a state medical license in order to practice medicine. However, according to the American Board of Cosmetic Surgery, physicians who want to be board-certified plastic surgeons must complete six to eight years of combined residency training in general surgery and cosmetic surgery.
- You may be required to obtain cosmetic surgery training as part of your residency.
- Following this, some plastic surgeons pursue a fellowship in cosmetic surgery.
How Many Hours Does a Plastic Surgeon Work?
Plastic Surgeons are self-employed, so they have the flexibility to choose the working hours as per their choice, but less number of hours will mean less money.
So on average, an experienced plastic surgeon works for 40 hours a week, while the new surgeons work for up to 60 hours a week to hone their skills.
What is the Starting Pay of a Plastic Surgeon?
Being a plastic surgeon is not easy, and it requires years of experience to master this skill.
With experience, you can make a lot of money from this profession, and if you’re just starting out, then you should know that the starting pay of a plastic surgeon is approximately $286,190 annually.
The pay may differ based on your location, any additional certificates that you may have, knowledge, and other factors.
Plastic Surgeon Training Programs
Independent plastic surgery programs (3 years) and integrated plastic surgery programs (2 years) are the two options for plastic surgery residency (6-year duration). 5 All integrated programs now run for six years.
All medical school graduates are eligible to apply for the integrated pathway, which combines 1 to 2 years of general surgery training with 4 to 5 years of cosmetic surgery training.
A candidate must finish a formal training program in a surgical specialty (e.g., general surgery, neurology, ENT, orthopedics, urology, or maxillofacial surgery) before training in plastic surgery for three years.
Who is the Richest Plastic Surgeon?
The 63-year-old Terry Dubrow is the richest & the top most plastic surgeon in the world. He rose to fame after appearing on television shows like Botched by Nature, The Swan, and Botched.
This celebrity plastic surgeon charges $30,000-$100,000 and has an estimated $50 million net worth, which is growing daily.
Conclusion
To conclude, you need to study for years to become a plastic surgeon and get a lot of training to be familiar with the profession and have amazing both hard and soft skills to maintain your surgeries and your patients.
However, the salary of plastic surgeons starts from six figures and could even go to seven figures annually if you are famous enough or you have your own clinic.
It is definitely a career choice many think about, and many doctors actually opt for plastic surgery.
FAQ
How much does a plastic surgeon make as a resident?
As a resident, you generally get an intern’s salary which is close to the lowest bracket of the profession, being lower than the average.
How much does a plastic surgeon make after about a decade of experience?
When you have at least a decade of experience, generally, you become a little bit famous locally, and people start to choose you over other plastic surgeons. With this, your income increases substantially, and you can get the highest salary.
How much does a plastic surgeon make when they start officially after their residency?
They start with a salary that is a little bit close to the average salary of plastic surgeons.
Shefali Jain is a Content Writer & Editor at USWorkforce.org
After completing her graduation in hospitality, Shefali decided to follow her passion and started writing. Shefali has been writing for two years now and contributes to our website as a skilled editor and content writer with strong research skills. Writing product and service reviews, biographies, and book reviews are some of her key areas, among many others in which she specializes. In her time at the organization, she has written and edited content on a range of topics, including employment law, human resources, and business management.
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