Name: 10 Doctor Specialties with the LOWEST Hourly Rate
Uploaded: 2022-01-01T17:40:50.000Z
Duration: 9 min 52 s
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When considering which specialty to pursue, many  premeds place a heavy emphasis on annual salary.  

What they often fail to consider though is  the time required to make the big bucks.

We’ve already covered the Top 6 Doctor  Specialties with the Highest Hourly Rate. Now,  

we’re looking at the other end of the spectrum  – the specialties with the lowest hourly rate.

As with the previous video, the  average hourly wage was calculated  

by taking the average annual salary  for each specialty and dividing it  

by the number of hours worked per week  and the number of workweeks per year.

It is important to mention that these  are averages, and variation is expected.  

Even within specialties, salary and weekly hours  can vary widely depending on the type of practice,  

Just because your cousin’s goldfish’s twin  sister’s boyfriend is making ten million  

dollars per year as a psychiatrist doesn’t mean  the data is wrong. It just means he’s an outlier.

Number ten is psychiatry,  which focuses on the diagnosis,  

prevention, and treatment of mental disorders.

Psychiatrists have an average  annual salary of $275,000  

and work an average of 47 hours per week,  giving us an hourly wage of approximately $117.

Psychiatry is unique within medicine as it  is less algorithmic than most specialties.  

If you enjoy thinking deeply and holistically  about your patients and want the freedom to  

individually tailor their treatment  plan, psychiatry may be a good fit.

Psychiatry also offers a lot of  flexibility, both in terms of your  

career as well as work-life balance. You  can work in multiple clinical settings,  

with multiple patient populations, and even  have multiple jobs at once. Psychiatrists  

also tend to work regular business hours with  few overnight emergencies or weekend calls.

Number nine is neurology, which focuses on  the diagnosis and treatment of diseases of  

the nervous system including the  brain, muscles, spine, and nerves.

Neurologists earn on average $290,000 per  year and work an average of 51 hours per week,  

yielding an average hourly  wage of approximately $114.

Neurologists focus on arguably the most  fascinating organ system of the human  

body - the nervous system. If we look at even  just the last 20 years, we have seen dramatic  

improvements in our understanding of the brain  and spinal cord. This is likely to continue too  

as neurologic diseases are consistently in the  top 3 most funded diseases by the NIH each year.

Approximately 80% of neurology is outpatient  as well, which means you’re less likely to  

work weekends and more likely to  have regular 8-5 business hours.

Number eight is allergy and immunology, which is  the area of medicine focusing on the diagnosis,  

treatment, and management of disorders  related to the immune system.

Allergist-immunologists have an average  annual salary of $274,000 and work an  

average of 49 hours per week, translating to  an average hourly wage of approximately $112.

As an allergy and immunology  physician, you get to see a  

wide variety of patients and conditions  - from young to old and acute to chronic.

You also get the opportunity to be on the cutting  edge of medical research as our understanding of  

the immune system and the many other areas  of health it affects continues to develop.

Of note, allergy and immunology physicians also  spend the least amount of time on paperwork and  

administrative tasks out of any specialty  on our list at just 14.6 hours per week.  

For perspective, this is a similar amount of time  

to dermatology which is known for being  one of the best lifestyle specialties.

Number seven is preventive medicine, which focuses  on the overall health of individuals to protect,  

promote, and maintain well-being as well as  prevent disease, disability, and premature death.

Preventive medicine physicians have  an average annual salary of $237,000  

and work an average of 45 hours per week,  giving us an average hourly wage of $105.

Preventive medicine, as the name implies, is  all about addressing health issues before they  

become a problem - something that we often  don’t focus enough on in Western medicine.  

So while preventive medicine isn’t perceived  to be cutting edge and doesn’t make headlines,  

it’s arguably more important and  impactful in terms of lives saved.

These doctors also tend to be heavily involved  in influencing public policy, public health,  

and designing healthcare systems to  prevent and control the spread of disease.  

So not only do you have the opportunity  to help patients on an individual level,  

but you can also help to prevent  disease on a much larger scale.

Number six is rheumatology, which focuses on the  

diagnosis and treatment of diseases of  the joints, muscles, bones, and tendons.

The average rheumatologist earns $276,000 per  year and works an average of 54 hours per week,  

Rheumatology also has the highest change  in salary between 2020 and 2021 of any  

specialty on our list with an  increase of 5% year over year.

One of the biggest draws of rheumatology  is the amount of time that you get to spend  

with patients. The nature of the diseases that  rheumatologists treat often require a close,  

long-term relationship where treatment decisions  

are constantly refined depending on the  patient’s unique life, needs, and biology.

You get to be a sort of “medical detective”  

and sort through the most complex  clinical facts and physical exam  

findings before ultimately giving your final  diagnosis and treatment recommendations.

Number five is endocrinology,  which focuses on the diagnosis,  

treatment, and management of  diseases of the endocrine system.

Endocrinologists have an average  annual salary of $245,000  

and work an average of 49 hours per week,  giving us an average hourly wage of $100.

Endocrinology also shows the second-highest  

change in salary on our list with an  increase of 4% between 2020 and 2021.

Much like with rheumatology, endocrinologists  get to be medical detectives. They focus heavily  

on building patient relationships  and exercising clinical reasoning.

In addition, lifestyle diseases like obesity  and diabetes are the bread and butter of  

endocrinology. So if you enjoy helping your  patients make lifestyle modifications that  

will improve their health for years to  come, endocrinology may be a good fit.

Number four is pediatrics, which  focuses on the care of babies,  

children, and adolescents from  birth up to the age of twenty-five.

Pediatricians earn on average $221,000  

and work an average of 47 hours per week,  yielding an average hourly wage of $94.

It should be noted that pediatricians  have the lowest annual salary out of  

any specialty on our list; however, they also work  

fewer hours than most specialties which is  why they are only number four on our list.

The biggest draw for pediatrics is that you  get to work with children and adolescents.  

You have the unique opportunity to  make an impact early in someone’s life  

which can compound to yield tremendous  changes over their lifetime. As such,  

pediatrics could be considered one of the  most powerful forms of preventative medicine.

Are you ready for the top three?  If you’ve been surprised by at  

least one specialty on the list so  far, let us know with a thumbs up.  

And if you think we’ve missed one,  let me know with a comment below.

Number three is infectious disease.  These physicians are the experts in  

the diagnosis and treatment of diseases caused by  bacteria, viruses, fungi, parasites, and prions.

Infectious disease physicians have  an average annual salary of $274,000  