Most pediatric subspecialties cost their physicians money over a career — up to $1.59 million of it. Peer-reviewed research established the pattern; this calculator lets you run your numbers. Every assumption is visible and editable, because the answer depends on inputs the headlines don't show you.
Educational tool only — not financial advice. Methodology adapted from Catenaccio, Rochlin & Simon (Pediatrics, 2021) with current salary benchmarks. A physician's individual circumstances vary; consult a financial professional for personal decisions.
Using academic subspecialty salaries against private-practice general pediatrics, Catenaccio et al. found 12 of 15 subspecialties produced negative lifetime returns — from cardiology at +$852,129 to adolescent medicine at −$1,594,366 (emergency medicine, −$69,637, was the mildest negative). A 2023 re-analysis (Freed & Wickham, JAMA Network Open) showed the count of money-losing subspecialties drops to 7–8 when salary data sources are kept consistent — which is why every salary here is editable. The direction of the effect survives every specification; the size is yours to test.
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