General surgeon vs specialist

The differences between general surgeons and specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a general surgeon, becoming a specialist takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a general surgeon has an average salary of $223,321, which is higher than the $58,013 average annual salary of a specialist.

The top three skills for a general surgeon include patients, EMR and medical education. The most important skills for a specialist are patients, customer service, and work ethic.

General surgeon vs specialist overview

	General Surgeon	Specialist
Yearly salary	$223,321	$58,013
Hourly rate	$107.37	$27.89
Growth rate	7%	10%
Number of jobs	45,174	358,433
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 30%	Bachelor's Degree, 49%
Average age	49	42
Years of experience	6	2

What does a general surgeon do?

The General Surgeon's role is to perform operations to treat or prevent diseases, repair damage caused by injuries, and improve the functions of the human body through the use of different surgical instruments. They also assess patients and explain different diagnostic tests that are performed.

What does a specialist do?

Specialists are employees who are responsible for specific tasks or activities in the department they are assigned to. The actions or tasks they work on are related to their educational background or work experiences. They are usually highly skilled in specializations related to the work they are assigned to. Specialists are also highly trained on the competencies that are required of their specialty. As such, they are focused on the skills and competencies that are needed to enhance their experience in their specific field further.

General surgeon vs specialist salary

General surgeons and specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	General Surgeon	Specialist
Average salary	$223,321	$58,013
Salary range	Between $121,000 And $411,000	Between $32,000 And $104,000
Highest paying City	Watertown, NY	Jersey City, NJ
Highest paying state	Connecticut	New Jersey
Best paying company	Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater County	The Citadel
Best paying industry	Health Care	-

Differences between general surgeon and specialist education

There are a few differences between a general surgeon and a specialist in terms of educational background:

	General Surgeon	Specialist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 30%	Bachelor's Degree, 49%
Most common major	Medicine	Business
Most common college	Duke University	Stanford University

General surgeon vs specialist demographics

Here are the differences between general surgeons' and specialists' demographics:

	General Surgeon	Specialist
Average age	49	42
Gender ratio	Male, 53.9% Female, 46.1%	Male, 47.5% Female, 52.5%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 1.8% Unknown, 3.8% Hispanic or Latino, 5.0% Asian, 12.7% White, 76.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%	Black or African American, 11.4% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.4% Asian, 10.5% White, 55.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage	12%	11%

Differences between general surgeon and specialist duties and responsibilities

General surgeon example responsibilities.

Manage insurance authorization and hospital bookings for surgery.
Provide preoperative diagnosis of patients, perform the necessary emergency or elective surgery, and provide postoperative surgical care and treatment.
Provide patient ancillary testing such as EKG, NDX and NCV.
Wash and sterilize equipment, using germicides and sterilizers.
Assist the physician during angioplasty and endovenous laser ablation procedures.
Clean operating room and wash and sterilize equipment, using germicides and sterilizers.

Specialist example responsibilities.

Create, manage, and assist users with SharePoint sites.
Manage an on-site IRB and company good clinical practice (GCP) inspection.
Manage SharePoint sites by creating, editing, and customizing company sites, libraries and security.
Manage the building of accounts, assigning of static IP's, and scheduling of business class installations.
Convert servers from UNIX to Linux, all hardware diagnostics and repair including printers/plotters/desktops etc.
Follow safety procedures such as maintenance of all equipment (Telxon scanners, terminals and ladders).

General surgeon vs specialist skills

Common general surgeon skills

Patients, 34%
EMR, 14%
Medical Education, 9%
Patient Care, 8%
Endoscopy, 6%
Private Practice, 3%

Common specialist skills

Patients, 15%
Customer Service, 11%
Work Ethic, 5%
Patient Care, 4%
Exceptional Client, 4%
Troubleshoot, 4%

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Healthcare Practitioner and Technical Industry
General Surgeon
General Surgeon vs Specialist

Updated January 8, 2025

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