How does a military doctor's salary compare to a citizens?

Question

My highschool grades are looking great and I really think I have what it takes to be a doctor.

I would like to be in the military but I'm not so sure about the pay comparison (I don't want to be a doctor for money, but I have relatives in poverty).

Answer 1

The Military should pay more and it also has great benefits you wouldn't find in the civilian world

Answer 2

c**p.  with one very large difference:  the MILITARY pays your malpractice insurance.  

also, Medical personnel can often receive hefty bonuses for staying in.  

Answer 3

there is no comparison in pay private practice pays tens of thousands more per year  

Answer 4

I know one of the docs at Wilford Hall was making 180K a year (pay plus bonuses) but I don't know how many years he had in etc.  

Answer 5

i knew two spouses of drs at fort bragg one was an allergist the other a lung dr....they lived d**n well...they did deploy alot though both of them....i think they were close to what they would make in civilian world especially when you take into account the other benefits...insurance things like that

Answer 6

You make your rank salary, which can be found on the internet. You start as an O-3 (captain in the army/af, LT in the navy). Then you make specialty pay and board certified pay, which depends on how many years you've put in, and what your specialty is, the higher the bonus, the more you would have been paid as a civilian.

If you don't owe the military any years of service for paying undergrad or med school, you get a retention bonus depending on how long you promise to stay in the military, up to 75K a year.

An ER doc I know makes about 140 a year, and would make 220 with his retention bonus. His time's coming up to get out, and he's getting offers to work as a civilian for 2-3x his salary. But that doesn't include malpractice, the other bonuses you get, and especially if you got med school paid for.

Don't join up for money. I have to explain why I picked a career where I get paid half as much, and often get sent for extended periods of time to uncomfortable places full of people who want to kill me. (Because I want to, that's why)

Answer 7

You mean a civilians?

Well, considering that just about every doctor in the civilian "medical sector" is like a phony car salesman who looks to keep you sick to make money off of you, instead of a military doctor who doesn't work on commission, you're probably going to make more money being a civilian doctor. Military doctors have a static salary, unlike civilian doctors who earn more, the more sick people they get (like a car salesman working on commission).

A word: Please don't join any branch of the military for any other reason but because you want to do something that you consider honorable. I've had enough of it with these kids nowadays who join a military branch because of money. They're bad for the war effort and they're weak...