A transplant surgeon is a surgeon that specializes in organ transplants. Transplant surgeons are superheroes that are able to conduct life-saving operations that are often hours and hours long. However, they do not spend all of their time in the operating room.
Before an operation, transplant surgeons meet extensively with patients and their loved ones to go over their medical history and explain the procedures. They examine the compatibility of donors and recipients extensively in order to prevent a transplant failure. Some transplant surgeons specialize in particular organs, such as heart transplants; others are multi-organ transplant surgeons. Whatever their specialty, transplant surgeons need steady hands and a cool head.
Transplant surgeons are extremely well-paid, earning an average salary of $261,733 a year. However, the lucrative paycheck only comes after over a decade of preparations.
First, transplant surgeons need to get a bachelor's degree and a diploma from medical school. They complete a general residency just like any other prospective doctor, but then they need to complete an additional three years of a transplant surgery fellowship. Only then can they become certified transplant surgeons.
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a transplant surgeon. For example, did you know that they make an average of $133.97 an hour? That's $278,668 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 transplant 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 transplant surgeon, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 12.5% of transplant surgeons have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 25.0% of transplant surgeons have master's degrees. Even though most transplant 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 transplant surgeon. When we researched the most common majors for a transplant surgeon, we found that they most commonly earn doctoral degree degrees or master's degree degrees. Other degrees that we often see on transplant surgeon resumes include high school diploma degrees or bachelor's degree degrees.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become a transplant surgeon. In fact, many transplant surgeon jobs require experience in a role such as reviewer. Meanwhile, many transplant surgeons also have previous career experience in roles such as resident or associate professor of surgery.