Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between sports medicine physicians and orthopedic surgeons can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 8-10 years to become a sports medicine physician, becoming an orthopedic surgeon takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a sports medicine physician has an average salary of $200,146, which is higher than the $137,571 average annual salary of an orthopedic surgeon.
The top three skills for a sports medicine physician include sports medicine, family medicine and primary care. The most important skills for an orthopedic surgeon are patients, spine, and EMR.
| Sports Medicine Physician | Orthopedic Surgeon | |
| Yearly salary | $200,146 | $137,571 |
| Hourly rate | $96.22 | $66.14 |
| Growth rate | 7% | 7% |
| Number of jobs | 43,921 | 5,046 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Doctoral Degree, 34% | Bachelor's Degree, 39% |
| Average age | 48 | 49 |
| Years of experience | 10 | 6 |
Sports medicine physicians and orthopedic surgeons have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Sports Medicine Physician | Orthopedic Surgeon | |
| Average salary | $200,146 | $137,571 |
| Salary range | Between $100,000 And $397,000 | Between $73,000 And $257,000 |
| Highest paying City | Green Bay, WI | Brockton, MA |
| Highest paying state | Kansas | Maine |
| Best paying company | OSF HealthCare | Trinity Health |
| Best paying industry | Non Profits | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a sports medicine physician and an orthopedic surgeon in terms of educational background:
| Sports Medicine Physician | Orthopedic Surgeon | |
| Most common degree | Doctoral Degree, 34% | Bachelor's Degree, 39% |
| Most common major | Medicine | Nursing |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | New York University |
Here are the differences between sports medicine physicians' and orthopedic surgeons' demographics:
| Sports Medicine Physician | Orthopedic Surgeon | |
| Average age | 48 | 49 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 74.5% Female, 25.5% | Male, 34.1% Female, 65.9% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.8% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 6.4% Asian, 19.9% White, 65.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | 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% |
| LGBT Percentage | 13% | 12% |