Average Income

• The annual income for medical doctors varies widely depending in part on whether the doctor is a specialist or a general practitioner. Specialists earn significantly more on average than general and family practitioners. Medical doctors who specialized had a median annual income of nearly $340,000 as of May 2008, while general practitioners earned approximately $186,000 during the same time frame. Medical doctors who were self-employed tended to earn a higher average income than salaried doctors who were employed by other organizations.
  
  

Specialty

• Medical doctors who specialize in a particular field of medicine typically must undergo additional training which may include schooling, internships and residency beyond that required for a general practitioner. These specialists are frequently rewarded with a higher rate of pay. Family physicians earned approximately $139,500 per year as of January 2011, according to PayScale.com. Psychiatrists earned a median salary of more than $154,000 per year. Surgeons earned more than than $229,000 and anesthesiologists averaged more than $245,000 per year.
  
  

Employer

• Most medical doctors worked in physician's offices as of May 2009. General and surgical hospitals offered the second largest employment opportunity for medical doctors. Doctors who worked in physician's offices earned a mean annual income of $174,280 while those who worked for hospitals earned $157,470 per year. Less traditional employers such as outpatient care centers, medical laboratories and administrative offices offered higher average wages for medical doctors than either physician's offices or hospitals.
  
  

Experience

• Experience plays an important role in determining a medical doctor's level of income. Those who are fresh out of medical school can expect to earn less than $118,000 during their first year of practice, according to PayScale.com. Medical doctors with more than five years experience earned a median income of more than $153,000 per year as of January 2011. Those with more than 20 years practicing medicine earned more than $177,000 per year.