As most of us already know, employees don’t get paid for their hours, but for the value they bring to the hours. And if we were to single out a profession that epitomizes this concept of bringing value per hour, neurosurgeons would certainly be among the front runners. These people literally save lives for a living.
As such, the neurosurgeon salary is reflective of the value they bring to their patients. Neurosurgeons are one the top ten highest-paid medical specialists and among the highest-earning professions in the USA. Let’s see how much money neurosurgeons make.
What Is the Starting Salary for a Neurosurgeon?
According to Zippia, the average annual entry-level neurosurgeon salary in the USA is $188,000. This adds up to $15,000 per month, or around $85 per hour.
There is little information available online about the starting salary of neurosurgeons. The BLS only reports information on the combined earnings of all types of surgeons and doesn’t separate them by specialization. For this reason, we have to rely on other sources, like employment marketplaces and recruitment agencies, to learn about the neurosurgeon starting salary.
Besides Zippia, other websites report different figures as their estimations for the entry-level salaries for neurosurgeons, and these can be significantly higher or lower, depending on the website in question.
For example, according to Payscale, the average total compensation, including bonus and overtime, for a neurosurgeon with less than one year of experience is $380,042. The website came up with this number based on 50 reported salaries. In terms of a monthly wage, this is equal to $31,670, and about $182 as an hourly salary.
On the other hand, the lowest-paid 38% of the neurosurgeons that reported their annual salaries to ZipRecruiter earn between $81,000 and $116,999 per year. Considering that neurosurgeon pay increases with experience, we can safely assume that the people who reported these salaries were most likely beginners.
All in all, the starting salary for neurosurgeons in the US ranges from $81,000 to $380,042, averaging at about $230,521 per year. This figure is more than 300% higher than the median yearly income of $57,200 of the full-time US workforce, as reported by the BLS.
What Is the Average Salary for a Neurosurgeon?
Glassdoor’s data indicates that the average neurosurgeon salary in the US is $399,267 per year. $261,737 of this figure is base pay, while $137,530 comes as additional pay from bonuses.
Once again, using data from various websites that focus on employment earnings and average salaries we can try to estimate how much does a neurosurgeon make.
Neurosurgeon Yearly Salary
As we mentioned above, according to Glassdoor, neurosurgeons make an average annual salary of $399,267, though information on other websites is slightly different.
The national average salary for neurosurgeons reported by ZipRecruiter is notably lower at $263,260. Conversely, information on PayScale suggests that the average neurosurgeon salary is actually higher at $434,503. Finally, according to Zippia, the average yearly earnings for neurosurgeons are $365,411.
The average figure we can draw from the above salaries is $365,610, and that’s more than five times the median US salary.
Neurosurgeon Salary per Month
Now let’s see how the reported earnings look like when presented as monthly salaries:
- According to Glassdoor, the average neurosurgeon in the US makes $33,272 per month;
- Based on ZipRecruiter’s data, the neurosurgeon’s average monthly wage is $21,938;
- PayScale’s info suggests that neurosurgeons earn $36,209 per month on average;
- Data from Zippia estimates the average monthly neurosurgeon wage at $30,451.
The average from the four figures above adds up to $30,467.
Neurosurgeon Hourly Pay
Finally, let’s see how the reported salaries translate to hourly wages:
- Based on Glassdoor’s estimations, neurosurgeons in the US make $192 per hour;
- ZipRecruiter’s data indicates that the average neurosurgeon’s hourly wage is $126;
- According to PayScale, neurosurgeons earn $209 per hour, on average;
- Zippia’s information, places the average neurosurgeon hourly wage at $175.
The average neurosurgeon wage we can draw from these figures is around $175, which is a good approximation of how much American neurosurgeons make per hour.
What Is the Highest Paid Neurosurgeon Salary?
According to PayScale, the highest paid neurosurgeon salary average, which is paid to neurosurgeons with over 20 years of experience, is $513,479.
In comparison, high-earning neurosurgeons earn $513,625 per year, according to Zippia, and $559,000, according to Glassdoor, while ZipRecruiter estimates the salary of the highest paid neurosurgeons at around $400,000.
Overall, the average neurosurgeon salary we can draw from the reported figures is around $469,526, or more than 720% more than what the average American employer makes, per year.
Translated to monthly earnings, high-earning neurosurgeons in the US make $39,127 per month, or in hourly wages, $225 per hour.
FAQs
What is the hardest doctor to become?
Neurosurgery, cardiovascular surgery, and orthopedic surgery are considered the most challenging because of their complexity and demanding training. To become a neurosurgeon, one must complete extensive medical education, and a 6 to 7-year intensive residency focused on specialized training and hands-on experience.
Which doctor get paid the most?
Doctors who specialize in fields such as neurosurgery, orthopedic surgery, and cardiovascular surgery tend to earn higher salaries compared to other medical specialties.=
How much does a neurosurgeon make per year?
The annual salaries for neurosurgeons range from $230,521 for inexperienced, to $469,526 for neurosurgeons with more than 20 years of experience.
How much do brain surgeons make?
According to our estimations, the average brain surgeon salary should be around $365,610 per year.
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