Earn More MoneyFebruary 15, 2021March 15, 2021

Do Heart Surgeons Make As Much As People Say?

As you’re growing up, your parent most likely wants the best for you. Therefore, many cultures and households want their children to become successful in life. However, this means going into fields that are prestigious and are known to earn a considerable amount of money. A few of these professions are lawyers, engineers, and, most notably, doctors. I’ve known many people who were aspiring to become a doctor. However, this wasn’t always their choice. Many times it would be at the request of their parents. That brings up the question of whether or not doctors, more specifically heart surgeons, earn as much as people say. Many people just assume that they earn a lot of money. However, there are bound to be many caveats when looking into such an illustrious profession. Therefore, we will take a look at a few key factors that’ll help us get a better understanding.

First, we need to look at what a heart surgeon does. It’s easy to say that they just do heart surgery. However, their job requires more than that. Second, we need to take a look into how to become a heart surgeon. Going into such a profession requires a lot of time, dedication, and investment. Therefore, analyzing this is necessary. Lastly, how much do they earn? In the end, when we’ve discussed how to become a surgeon and what it takes, it’ll be up to you to decide whether or not it’s worth it. Whether you’re looking to become a surgeon or want to acquire general information.

Primary Duties As A Heart Surgeon

When many people think of a heart surgeon, they think of a prestigious doctor who just operates on one organ. Performing heart transplants and other incredibly difficult tasks. However, heart surgeons have many tasks that go beyond just performing surgeries on the heart. For example, heart surgeons, or more specifically, cardiothoracic surgeons, are doctors who work and operate on various chest organs such as the lungs. Therefore, heart surgeons need to know how to work and operate on various different organs.

Another duty that these surgeons have is to both treat and diagnose diseases that infect those organs. That means that heart surgeons need to have a holistic knowledge of the organs. Furthermore, these doctors need to know the telltale signs of these infections. This means going in for an examination, doing blood work, and the doctor being able to deduce whether or not you have a disease. This can be extremely difficult at times. However, there are a lot of commonalities in which everybody reacts to certain diseases. In other words, doctors will have an easier time diagnosing you since they’ve most likely seen it before in a different patient.

A cardiothoracic surgeon is viewed to be relatively safe. However, there are many things that can happen. Therefore, monitoring patients who are in intensive care is absolutely crucial to their line of work. Many complications can happen to a patient such as a stroke or even death.

Some of the surgeries include, but are not limited to are coronary bypass, heart valve, and key-hole thoracic surgeries.

How To Become A Heart Surgeon

Becoming a heart or cardiothoracic surgeon in Canada is no easy feat. There is a lot of studying, schooling, and monetary investment that goes into becoming one of these specialists. However, this is for good reason. This field of medicine is in extremely high demand and is one of the most challenging fields you can get into. It’s very hands-on and precise in nature. This means the smallest mistakes can have colossal outcomes. Therefore, only the people who’re at the top of their class and show an outstanding aptitude for medicine are the ones who specialize in this field. Due to this fact, you can’t perform this job without going through the necessary schooling and taking the mandatory tests.

With that being said, let’s take a look at the schooling you will need to do in order to become a surgeon. After that, we will take a look at home much money this will approximately cost you.

First, you need to complete a 4-year pre-med undergraduate degree. However, this needs to have a heavy emphasis on science, as it is a critical aspect of medicine. This is similar to many other degrees with the bare minimum being that you need to complete a 4 your undergrad. After you finish your undergrad you must attend and complete 4 years at a medical school. However, there is good news. In Canada, you’re not required to absolutely required to take the MCAT. However, many schools still require it and it’s mandatory in the United States. It’s the gold standard and you be strongly considered when looking to advance in the field of medicine.

Lastly, you will need to do a 5-year general surgery residency. Followed by a 2 – 3 year cardiothoracic residency. However, you do have the option to take a 6-year integrated cardiothoracic residency. As residencies are extremely competitive, having high marks and being the top of your class in medical school is crucial to your advancement in this field.

Cost

The cost of your schooling can vary. However, it will more than likely exceed well over $100,000 per year. As there is a lot of information and the just is in-demand, you’ll have to invest a lot to acquire your reward. For the undergraduate degree, you can pay a varying amount. This can be anywhere from $7,000 – $13,000+ per year. However, for the article’s sake let’s say it’ll cost $10,000 per year. This will bring the total up to $40,000 for the entire undergrad. Medical school is another 4 years which means a whole other set of tuitions that need to be paid.

Above is an example of various universities and their yearly tuitions for medical school. Some ranging from $7,000 per year to close to $30,000. This, however, does not include the expenses you’ll incur outside of education. According to afmc.ca, the average Canadian pursuing a degree in medicine incurs $80,000+ in education-related debt and another $80,000+ in non-education related. Combine that with your undergrad tuition and you can be paying close to if not, over $200,000 in total. However, this amount can be mitigated by choosing less expensive options on both schooling and non-education related costs. Luckily enough, you get paid during the residency which means you can begin to pay off your debts as soon as possible.

How Much Money Do Heart Surgeons Earn?

Next is the big question, how much money do heart surgeons earn? To put it simply, cardiothoracic surgeons earn a substantial amount of money. As you probably already guessed. However, it’s more than I personally thought.

Above is the average salary in Canadian based on 75 reports. This brings us a total of $305,000 per year with the range (including bonuses) of $151,000 – $482,000. This is a substantial amount and well over the average Canadian income. Of course, much of your salary at the beginning will go to paying off your debts. Furthermore, you can expect an amount lower than this once you start off. However, if you’re good at your job, have the knowledge, and excel, you’ll be able to earn the average amount or more. Becoming a surgeon is extremely rewarding and a vital job in our society. However, it is up to you if that fact, plus the wage is worth the journey.

Shameed Chris Khan

Shameed is just a man on a mission to help those around him gain financial success. Obsessed with writing about all things finance, this GTA native is constantly learning and sharing his experiences with others.