How much do doctors really make? Compare your salary to various specialties

Physicians-to-be, practicing physicians, and many of their patients take great interest in how much money doctors make. Physician compensation surveys can offer some eye-popping numbers — orthopedic surgeons make more than $450,000 a year! — but they are often highly misleading. A key shortcoming is that surveys neglect what’s called opportunity cost, which is the amount of money lost from choosing the next best alternative.

Given the extensive and expensive nature of training, medicine has a : Future doctors must endure four years of medical school, three to six years of residency, and sometimes an extra year or two of fellowship before earning).