Specializing in preventing, diagnosing, and treating diseases of the heart and circulatory system may have been your dream job from little up. Having the highly-recognized title of a cardiologist can be rewarding after such a long educational investment. Once satisfaction sets in, you may eventually find yourself craving something a little more.
There are numerous career advancement opportunities for those in the field of cardiology. Most specialize in particular diseases or patient age groups. However, there are a wide variety of teaching and administrative careers as well. You should start by thinking about what you’re looking to gain. For some, it’s the thought of more money. For others, it’s the challenge of learning more specialized work. By taking a few moments to determine what it is that you’re looking to gain, you can help to steer yourself in the right direction when advancing in your cardiology field.
Choosing A Specialty
Look at job posting websites and you’ll find a number of interventional cardiologist jobs. This is because it’s a highly in demand cardiology specialty. There are tons of specialties that you can opt to partake in. Some of the most common include:
- Electrophysiology
- Echocardiography
- Interventional
- Pediatric Cardiology
- Preventative Cardiology
- Nuclear Cardiology
- Advanced Heart Failure
- Transplant Cardiology
Many of these career specialties are taught through fellowship programs. The American Board of Medical Specialties doesn’t have any certifying exams for these specialty areas. So, you need to pass an exam to practice in these areas. Employers will be looking for individuals who have years of experience in these specialty areas when hiring.
Educational Jobs
While you know that interventional cardiologist jobs are in high demand right now, there are still cardiology education jobs available every day. Many medical schools are facing the challenge of rapidly evolving technology the drives constant research and development on the part of educators. If you love learning new things and passing along that knowledge, then a job in teaching cardiology may be for you.
Jobs in this sector include heading various cardiology departments at medical schools and hospitals throughout the country. As a teacher, your job will be to provide supervision of clinical learning, promote collaborative teaching, and encourage your students to constantly learn about new innovations in their field.
Medical Directors
If you want to move out of the clinical environment and into the administrative one, then you can opt for being a medical director. Medical directors work at hospitals, long-term care facilities, community health centers, outpatient care centers, and clinics. This career involves overseeing clinical operations at a specific organization. You’ll work alongside other senior organization administrators to develop on-going organization goals and advancements. Depending on the position, you may need to gain a second master’s degree in business administration or public health.
Entrepreneurial
Once you invest a good 10 years in obtaining your degree in cardiology, you may be stricken with the entrepreneurial spirit. There are various ways that you can use your cardiology degree in an entrepreneurial setting. The most obvious is opening your own private practice. This will include a large financial investment on your part. You can also start a joint practice with other heart specialists to spread the financial burden.
A Look At Compensation For Different Advancements
If one motivator of advancing in your medical career is to increase your salary, then you’re going to want to know what these positions pay. The jobs paying out the most amount of money are usually those in specialty careers. Right now, the highest paying cardiology specialties are electrophysiology and interventional. These physicians make around $675,000 per year.
Other specialties like pediatric and transplant cardiology will vary in salary. Most range anywhere from $150,000 up to $540,000. The specific specialty, the healthcare facility that you work at, and the years of experience that you’re bringing to the table are all going to play a pivotal role in your earning ability.
If you like the idea of educating others in the field of cardiology, you can opt for a teaching profession. Teachers make anywhere from a low of $86,000 up to $150,000. This is one of the lowest paying professions in the cardiology field. Many of those who go into this field are not overly motivated by income enhancement.
Opting for a more administrative job as a cardiology director will also put you towards the lower end of the earning spectrum. The average salary for a director ranges from a low of $130,000 to a high of over $211,000. The size of the facility is going to play a large role in what your annual salary will be as a cardiology director.
Cardiologists who choose to open their own private practice can enjoy the freedom of control. However, their salaries remain stagnant at around $130,000 a year. Those who retain an education in varying specialties can set themselves up for receiving a higher annual income.
A Look At Additional Education Requirements
When it comes to advancing your career in the field of cardiology, you’re likely going to need to invest in some additional education. Depending on the advancement field that you pick, this may mean a couple of years of additional training or completing an entirely new degree program.
In general, cardiology specialties like nuclear or transplant cardiology typically require one to two years of additional education. If you’re more interested in the educational positions, you may need to obtain a teaching degree. Most establishments require that you have some form of formal training in the educational sector along with your cardiology background.
For those looking at the administrative advancements of being a medical director, you can expect to undergo a whole new degree program. While some smaller healthcare facilities may allow you to apply with just an associate’s degree in business administration, bigger facilities will likely require at least a bachelor’s or master’s degree. Lastly, entrepreneurial advancement doesn’t require any additional schooling. However, one may want to undergo training in the business field to become more knowledgeable in private practice management.
