Facts about a Neonatologist's Salary
A neonatologist is a physician specialized in caring for babies who were born with serious illnesses, birth defects or born prematurely and with a very low weight. They might also consult the obstetrician if a problem gets noticed before the birth of the child.
He also intervenes and treats the child for infections or coordinates the preparations for infants who are born in a critical state and need immediate surgery.
If the baby was healthy, but the C-section or natural birth inflicted health problems, the neonatologist is there to help and give advice in the matter. He will collaborate with other physicians to restore child's health. After the infant is cured, he will still watch closely his progress for a period of months or even years.
The name "neonatologist" is made of the word "neonate", meaning newborn in his first days of life and "logos" the Greek word for science.
The path to becoming a neonatologist is definitely not an easy one. It requires many years of intensive training: an undergraduate pre-medical degree, a doctoral one, residency in pediatrics, a specific fellowship and a board certification examination. This involves about 14 years.
In the U.S., the salary of a neonatologist varies not only according to the experience, but also form one state to another.
Most of the time a new physician will start working for an average salary of $67,760 per year. As he gets more experience and qualifications, the salary will grow over $100,000 a year.
Most physicians who work in this field have an average salary between $187,848 and $268,390 each year.
The average hourly rates in the U.S. range between $37 per hour and $65 per hour. The median salary is regarded to be around $222,743.
Indiana, Georgia, North Carolina, Arizona and Massachussets are the states that offer the highest salaries for a neonatologist. The salary varies of course according to the qualification and experience. But if a specialist has many qualifications and years of working in the field, the salaries in these states are over $323,000 each year.
Being a neonatologist is a very tough job as it involves a long road to become an expert and incredible responsibility once you start working. It's a highly stressful job as you have to deal with newborns that are extremely frail and each wrong decision can be fatal for them. It also brings fulfillment if the baby survives and gets well because of your care.
More info about Neonatologist's Salary at http://www.miminc.org/neonatologist-salary.
