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.
How to Become a Transplant Surgeon
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.
What Does a Transplant Surgeon Do
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.
How To Become a Transplant Surgeon
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.
Average Salary for a Transplant Surgeon
What Am I Worth?
Top Colleges for Transplant Surgeons
1. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
2. Stanford University
Stanford, CA • Private
3. Harvard University
Cambridge, MA • Private
4. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
5. New York University
New York, NY • Private
6. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor, MI • Private
7. Cornell University
Ithaca, NY • Private
8. University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA • Private
9. University of Virginia
Charlottesville, VA • Private
10. Ohio State University
Columbus, OH • Private
Transplant Surgeon Demographics
Transplant Surgeon Gender Distribution
After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
- Among transplant surgeons, 18.2% of them are women, while 81.8% are men.
- The most common race/ethnicity among transplant surgeons is White, which makes up 81.7% of all transplant surgeons.
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Best States For a Transplant Surgeon
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a transplant surgeon. The best states for people in this position are Alaska, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Maine. Transplant surgeons make the most in Alaska with an average salary of $254,633. Whereas in South Dakota and Minnesota, they would average $225,228 and $223,726, respectively. While transplant surgeons would only make an average of $223,306 in Maine, 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. Alaska
$254,633
Avg. Salary
2. South Dakota
$225,228
Avg. Salary
3. North Dakota
$221,987
Avg. Salary
How Do Transplant Surgeon Rate Their Jobs?
Top Transplant Surgeon Employers
Most Common Employers For Transplant Surgeon
| Rank | Company | Average Salary | Hourly Rate | Job Openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aurora Health Care | $311,919 | $149.96 | 3 |
| 2 | INTEGRIS Health | $306,257 | $147.24 | 1 |
| 3 | Tampa General Hospital | $291,207 | $140.00 | 1 |
| 4 | Dartmouth-Hitchcock | $290,586 | $139.70 | 1 |
| 5 | Allegheny Health Network | $290,030 | $139.44 | 5 |
| 6 | St. John's Riverside Hospital | $287,290 | $138.12 | 1 |
| 7 | University Hospitals | $285,879 | $137.44 | 1 |
| 8 | Sanford Health | $285,287 | $137.16 | 1 |
| 9 | Cleveland Clinic | $279,824 | $134.53 | 9 |
| 10 | The Iowa Clinic | $278,668 | $133.97 | 11 |