When you think of lucrative career paths, health, and especially surgery, probably isn’t the first thing to spring to mind. The idea of getting rich is often associated with industries like e-commerce and tech. And with the worldwide success of brands like Amazon and Apple, it’s easy to see why.
But while surgery is considered a vocational career, that doesn’t mean there aren’t huge opportunities to make money. This article isn’t suggesting that money should be your only reason for following a career as a surgeon, but if you’re looking for a profession that’s in high demand and scalable, you certainly shouldn’t discount health.
The Changing Landscape of Wealth
It appears that there’s never been more people chasing wealth. And one of the main driving factors of this is the fact that it’s never been easier to chase wealth. From Shopify stores to online coaching businesses, entrepreneurship has never been as accessible as it is today. That’s why our social media feeds have become infiltrated with not just global brands, but small fashion startups and local personal trainers.
The result of this however, is a rise in competition. There’s only so much room in the business world, and we may now be approaching a point where low barriers to entry are leading to saturated industries.
It’s hard to ignore the impact of AI too. With everyone having access to a copywriter or developer in the form of ChatGPT, it’s no surprise that the barriers to entry have lowered.
Why Surgery is a Solution
Evergreen demand
We will always need medical care; there’s no denying that. For a start, there’s the aesthetic side of surgery. People have and always will care about their looks, which obviously benefits beauticians and cosmetic surgeons. Then there’s the area of plastic surgery, which is designed to medically reconstruct an area of the body. This demand for this area of surgery is even more consistent than cosmetic surgery.
AI-proof profession
There’s so much talk about how AI is replacing jobs, so a key consideration when choosing a career path now is, how endangered is it? Creative jobs are most at risk; the arrival of AI has already impacted roles like copywriter and web designer.
But while surgeons may be assisted by technology and AI, they certainly aren’t in danger of being replaced. The precision required, as well as the people skills that are needed, means that humans will instinctively put their trust in other humans.
Global opportunities
Health is a universal language, and surgery is something that’s needed all over the world. As a result, a qualified surgeon has the option of following the money. For example, demand for surgery is currently booming in places like Turkey, which offers potential to earn but also travel.
The Business of Surgery
Price vs. Time
A good indication of how lucrative a job is can be to look at how much time needs to be spent working to earn a set amount of money. While there’s no one-size-fits-all, we can look at the example of a breast augmentation. The operation itself may only take around an hour, but the cost could exceed $8,000. Obviously, there’s more to the procedure than the operation itself, but this does give a general indication of how much money can be earned in such a short space of time as a surgeon.
Scalability
You may start out working in public healthcare, but if you’re a surgeon who’s motivated by earning potential, you’ll probably be interested in working in the private sector, where you can charge your own prices and even build your own business.
Even small-scale cosmetic surgeons have this opportunity; all you need is a small space that can be used as a clinic and the necessary qualifications. This could be your route into entrepreneurship in the medical world.
Reputation as currency
The beauty of being a medical entrepreneur is that what you get out is often determined by what you put in. If you are prepared to build a trusted reputation through high-quality procedures, efficient marketing, and word-of-mouth recommendations, you should find that patients are willing to spend more and will keep coming back to you. Both of which are great for business.
Final considerations
It’s only right to point out that life as a surgeon might not be for everyone. As we mentioned at the start of the article, money shouldn’t be your only motivation when choosing to follow the career path of a surgeon.
Training: Becoming a surgeon takes years of studying and practicing, and you’ll need to be both patient and dedicated.
Early years: It takes time to build up credibility and trust, and your earnings during this period may be lower than you expected.
Management: The most experienced surgeons are responsible for managing teams, so you’ll need to consider leadership, communication, and other skills.
