Demand for physicians remains strong, driven by an aging population and the increase of chronic illness. Educational barriers to entry for physicians remain high. A bachelor's degree with pre-medical coursework in biology, mathematics and chemistry is required. Following completion, a medical degree (MD) and several years of post-graduate supervised residency experience in a hospital or clinic is required. Some physicians who intend to pursue research choose to earn joint MD-PhD degrees, which require the additional completion of a dissertation.
Have you gone looking for work but you're not sure where to start? Find the employers you've been seeking on Glassdoor. Browse through first-year resident positions open for new medical school graduates, physician jobs at hospital and clinics, and teaching positions at medical schools all over the country.
Whether you're just starting your career as a doctor or you've been in the field for a while and you're looking for a change, you can browse emergency department jobs for physicians, jobs for physicians in surgery, and many other hands-on careers for working doctors. Higher-level positions are also available, such as hospital administrator and lead researcher jobs. Many positions, such as medical consultants, come with flexible hours and the potential to work from home.
When you've found a new physician job you like, get ready for your interview by reading up on the most common job interview questions for physicians.
No matter what stage of the hiring process you're in for your next physician job, it pays to know how the market compensates qualified applicants. Whether you're applying for your first medical job out of school or transferring to a new area and looking for a promotion at a new facility, here's how to develop a realistic salary range:
In addition to what's usually a generous salary, most physician jobs come with additional perks and benefits that can make them even more attractive to qualified applicants. For example, your bottom line pay-plus-benefits as a physician may come with:
Employment extras like these are especially common for physician jobs with large networks, such as UnitedHealth, Anthem, Humana, and Cigna.