Hand surgeons are orthopedic, plastic, or general surgeons who specialize in hand surgery. Before you can be certified as a hand surgeon, you must undergo a year of extra training and pass the certification exam. Hand surgery is an aspect of surgery that focuses on problems of the hand, wrist, and forearm. Although they are called surgeons, they can always recommend non-surgical treatment options to remedy hand problems. The hand surgeon is responsible for finding and treating hand conditions. These conditions include rheumatic disease, carpal tunnel syndrome, wrist pain, and the likes.
A hand surgeon uses tools like X-ray, MRI, etc. They schedule surgery and monitor the patient's condition after the surgery. The average gross salary of a hand surgeon is $378,848 or $182 per hour. Their bonus on the job can sum up to $35,536.
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a Hand Surgeon. For example, did you know that they make an average of $168.55 an hour? That's $350,589 a year!
Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 7% and produce 55,400 job opportunities across the U.S.
There are certain skills that many Hand Surgeons have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed Communication skills, Compassion and Detail oriented.
If you're interested in becoming a Hand Surgeon, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 35.4% of Hand Surgeons have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 2.1% of Hand Surgeons have master's degrees. Even though some Hand Surgeons have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Choosing the right major is always an important step when researching how to become a Hand Surgeon. When we researched the most common majors for a Hand Surgeon, we found that they most commonly earn Bachelor's Degree degrees or Associate Degree degrees. Other degrees that we often see on Hand Surgeon resumes include High School Diploma degrees or Diploma degrees.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become a Hand Surgeon. In fact, many Hand Surgeon jobs require experience in a role such as Medical Assistant. Meanwhile, many Hand Surgeons also have previous career experience in roles such as Occupational Therapist or Administrative Assistant.