There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a plastic surgeon. For example, did you know that they make an average of $168.46 an hour? That's $350,400 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 plastic 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, dexterity and leadership skills.
When it comes to the most important skills required to be a plastic surgeon, we found that a lot of resumes listed 19.0% of plastic surgeons included patient care, while 16.4% of resumes included surgery, and 12.2% of resumes included medical records. Hard skills like these are helpful to have when it comes to performing essential job responsibilities.
When it comes to searching for a job, many search for a key term or phrase. Instead, it might be more helpful to search by industry, as you might be missing jobs that you never thought about in industries that you didn't even think offered positions related to the plastic surgeon job title. But what industry to start with? Most plastic surgeons actually find jobs in the health care and retail industries.
If you're interested in becoming a plastic surgeon, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 23.7% of plastic surgeons have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 6.6% of plastic surgeons have master's degrees. Even though some plastic 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 plastic surgeon. When we researched the most common majors for a plastic surgeon, we found that they most commonly earn bachelor's degree degrees or associate degree degrees. Other degrees that we often see on plastic surgeon resumes include master's degree degrees or doctoral degree degrees.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become a plastic surgeon. In fact, many plastic surgeon jobs require experience in a role such as medical assistant. Meanwhile, many plastic surgeons also have previous career experience in roles such as staff nurse or administrative assistant.
Tell us your goals and we'll match you with the right jobs to get there.
Job TitleCompany  | Company | Start Date | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
Merritt Hawkins Plastic Surgeon Plastic Surgeon | Merritt Hawkins Merritt Hawkins | 06/29/2021 06/29/2021 | $300,00006/29/2021 $300,000 |
Greenlife Healthcare Staffing Plastic Surgeon Plastic Surgeon | Greenlife Healthcare Staffing Greenlife Healthcare Staffing | 06/28/2021 06/28/2021 | $350,00006/28/2021 $350,000 |
Merritt Hawkins Plastic Surgeon Plastic Surgeon | Merritt Hawkins Merritt Hawkins | 05/26/2021 05/26/2021 | $450,00005/26/2021 $450,000 |
California Physician Opportunities, Inc. Plastic Surgeon for West LOS Angeles Cosmetic Surgery Group Plastic Surgeon for West LOS Angeles Cosmetic Surgery Group | California Physician Opportunities, Inc. California Physician Opportunities, Inc. | 05/25/2021 05/25/2021 | $360,00005/25/2021 $360,000 |
Merritt Hawkins Plastic Surgeon Plastic Surgeon | Merritt Hawkins Merritt Hawkins | 05/25/2021 05/25/2021 | $300,00005/25/2021 $300,000 |
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The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 19.0% of plastic surgeons listed patient care on their resume, but soft skills such as communication skills and dexterity are important as well.
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a plastic surgeon. The best states for people in this position are Minnesota, Maine, North Dakota, and New York. Plastic surgeons make the most in Minnesota with an average salary of $234,766. Whereas in Maine and North Dakota, they would average $230,791 and $228,904, respectively. While plastic surgeons would only make an average of $227,160 in New York, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.
1. Maine
$230,791
Avg. Salary
2. North Dakota
$228,904
Avg. Salary
3. Minnesota
$234,766
Avg. Salary
