Starting Salary of a Radiologist
A radiologist is someone who is trained to read the results from X-ray scans and can diagnose and recommend treatments for what they find in the results. A radiologist must hold the degrees of Bachelor of Medicine and a Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS). Some radiologists may opt to work in the development of radiology technology while others become practitioners.
Salary
A radiologist can earn anywhere from $190,000 a year to well over $900,000 a year. Starting radiologists can expect to earn between $190,000 to $350,000 a year. Salary ranges depend on experience and the location of employment.
Significance
A radiologist is a doctor who specializes in reading various X-ray and body scans and is licensed to make diagnoses and recommend treatment plans for the results. In addition to at least a four-year degree in medicine and surgery, radiologists must also spend one to two years as a junior resident surgeon. Afterward this students typically spend around five years in training at a radiology department of a hospital to become a specialist. Additional clinical experience may be needed depending on the student's specific radiology interests. At least six months of the five-year clinical experience must be in nuclear radiology.
Misconceptions
A radiologist is not a radiology technician. Radiology technicians work with patients, setting up the tests and equipment while the radiologist studies the results and works on write-ups for the results. Patients visiting an X-ray or CAT-scan center may only initially interact with a radiology technician who operates the equipment. Radiology technicians earn far less than a radiologist, and usually a training program leading to an associates degree is needed for technicians.
Potential
The average starting salary continues to increase for radiologists. Average starting salaries in some areas of radiology is as high as $350,000 a year for those coming out of their clinical training years. Radiologists are employed in a variety of settings ranging from hospitals to private X-ray imaging businesses.
Considerations
Radiologists are some of the highest paid medical professionals, which may be due in part to their extensive schooling. A minimum of four years of formal schooling followed by up to eight years of clinical experience (one to two years hospital resident, four to five years radiology intern, one year additional experience for some jobs). The time commitment to become a full-fledged radiologist is more than a decade but, with experience and time, the starting salary can nearly triple over the years.
Tags: clinical experience, five years, radiology technician, Radiology technicians, Starting Salary Radiologist
