Staring Salary for New DCs

[DrNewbie]

I am currently in my last semester of Chiropractic School and will be license by the time I graduate (May 2008).  I have been to numerous interviews here in Texas/California and it is extremely disappointed in the offer to work for these clinics.  The majority of clinics offer ranges from $2000 - $4000 a month for an associateship position plus bonuses which can be range from $100 to $500 per month.  Let say the median is going to be $4000 with bonus included just for the sake of it.  By the way, the best offer so far as my classmates and I confirmed was $60K/year for this one satellite clinic but they fill up fast.  So we took out some times and do a little research in comparison between DC degree versus others health related Ph.D and Masters.  Here is what we come up with along with the formula:
(Amount per year / 12 months = (earning per month)
(Earning per month / 160 hours of work per month) = $/hr

Entry Level Ph.D in Healthcare (Nationwide Avg Income)

Doctor of Audiology: 67737/12 =$5644 mo./160 hrs = $35/hr
Doctor of Pharmacy: 102336/12 =$8528 mo./160 hrs = $53/hr
Doc of Veterinarian: 71990/12 =$5999 mo./160 hrs = $37/hr
Doctor of Dentistry: 136960/12 =$11413 mo./160 hrs = $71/hr
Doctor of Optometry: 91040/12 =$7586 mo./160 hrs = $47/hr
Doctor of Podiatry: 108220/12 =$9018 mo./160 hrs = $56/hr
M.D or D.O : 141912/12 =$11826 mo./160 hrs = $74/hr
Doctor of Psychology: $69,510 per year
Doctor of Chiropractic: 48000/12 =$4000 mo./160 hrs = $25/hr

Masters and Bachelor Degree (Nationwide Avg Income):

Registered Nurse: 57280/12 =$4773 mo./160 hrs = $30/hr
Nurse Practitioner: 74980/12 =$6248 mo./160 hrs = $39/hr
Physical Therapist: 66200/12 =$5516 mo./160 hrs = $35/hr
Dental Hygienist: 57600/12 =$4800 mo./160 hrs = $30/hr
Elementary Teacher: $44000 per year
Speech Pathologist: $63240 per year

Sources: http://www.bls.gov/oco/home.htm

It gets even worse if you're not license with wages in the low $10-$15 an hour for a Ph.D degree.  Sure I can understand that being a new doc without proven anything and demand such salary ($48000) but the same goes with the above mention professionals.  Chiropractic education doesn't come cheap anymore with debt in the $100K and rising.  My classmates and I are mind boggling when we finish with this statistical analysis.  Some even consider a different career which is sad considering what we all went through these last few years together. 

They often say love and care for your patient and you never have to worry about money.  But reality strike back, everyone has a family to look after, mortgage, school debt, foods and etc. to worry about.  I am all for the natural/innate intelligence approach to healthcare as evidence by not vaccinate and adjust my 6 months old daughter.  I am now officially confuse for what should I do when I graduate.  Associate or purchase a clinic (which I don't have the money by the way).  I just hope the future will be brighter for our profession as we heal the sick through chiropractic care. 

Newbie DC

[yomama]

Repeat after me "Do you want fries wid dat sir?"

 Yo New meat, you think your'e worth more? Prove it.

 

[markgermany]

Dear Newbie;

Please don´t get discouraged.  Remember when you get out of school you have no requirement to work for anyone.  Although many chiropractors need to work for an office first before starting off on their own business adventure, remember, you get paid to learn.  Granted 4,000 per month is not alot of money, but do you have any friends who are MD´s?  They need to work for some years (residency), work 80 hours per week and get paid peanuts. 

We as a profession make a good living.  Granted there are many at the top and many at the bottom, but you want to end up somewhere in the middle.  My advice to you is find a practice environment that is comfortable for you and your personality and try and aquire a job in that office.  Don´t worry about the pay.  Make sure you can live off of it, and learn how that doctor does it, when you are ready, go out and reproduce that system on your own. 

You serve your patients needs, and they will serve yours!

Mark

[Michael Beattie]

In any profession you can pick your income level.

There is nothing better than to pick your hours, your practice style, you level of 'play' and then be told 'thank you so much' by a patient, and then be financially rewarded.

If you build your clinic in your ideal, you will succeed!

Michael

[bkdoc96]

newbie,
 the time to do this research was before you spent the money to go to school. this shows  the lack of judgement and unrealistic attitude you and your friends have. this is not said to insult or belittle you it is to wake you to the reality of this industry. you are in essence, complaining that you are not going to be paid the salary you are worth, even though you are not experienced enough to know how to build a practie or even to handle a myriad of the situations you will see in the field. " love and care for your patients and you will not have to worry about money"? are you really that gullible? this is what the instructors at school say to you to encourage you to complete college. ( if thy had a clue about how to run a chiropractic clinic they would not be at the school.wake up ! this is a bussiness! 1/2 the pts. wont pay you , all the insurance companies will rob you, everyone will come with there hand out for your money the minute you open your doors.and on and on and on.here is some more reality the dc that is offering you a job doesnt really have as much money as he wants you to believe let alone the amount you think you are worth. what is relly going on is he has reached a point of stagnation in his practice and burn out in his life, ( probably) he wants you to come in, a new face , new energy , he wants you to work and he will make money off of you. ( the more you work the less he has to. beware, he really does not want to pay you a big salary he wants to work you as cheap as he can and max his own pofits becuse he is in business. finally ,I am  a twelve year veteran of this industry what makes you think you are prepared to run a clinic as well as I can? or even adjust as well as I can? I have treated 200 to 300 pts a week for twelve years, you are not out of school yet you have not become the doctor you want to be yet, if you or your friends are so meek that these stats or the harsh realities of what i have relayed to you have scared you enough to change professions, you will NEVER be the doctors you want to be and should find another profession. you wanted the truth , this is not some noble quest to right the wrongs of the world and thwart the evil MDS, it a business ,no get rich quick , no easy money, just hard work and the fruits of that hard work, the sooner you accept that the better off you will be. sounds like you want to skip all the work and BS and go right to the big check and life of liesure.......GOOD LUCK

[vardis]

You have a big choice - either do more study ( that won't necessarily earn you more money ) or get working and start your own business ( a gamble that may well pay off ).

The most knowledgable lawyers/doctors/surveyors are not neccessarily the most well off.

If money motivates you, think about your business, not your qualifications.

[matthewloop]

If you're looking to make a fair amount of money doing an associate out of school, get-in with a Personal Injury (PI) or Work Comp clinic. My friends got jobs making 70K their first year in Maryland in a PI clinic.

The absolute best way to do well is to own a practice or be an independent. In my office, I have 3 independent doctors that work and pay rent. All they need to worry about is getting new patients.

[heidi]

As you will be more experienced and get to know your field, your salary could be much more.

[john435]

I am currently in my last semester of Chiropractic School and will be license by the time I graduate (May 2008).  I have been to numerous interviews here in Texas/California and it ......

I would like to be
Doctor of Dentistry: 136960/12 =$11413 mo./160 hrs = $71/hr