What Do Ob/Gyns Get Paid an Hour?

Most pregnant women make a number of visits to the office of their Ob/Gyn.
i Keith Brofsky/Photodisc/Getty Images
Most pregnant women make a number of visits to the office of their Ob/Gyn.

A career as an Ob/Gyn would earn you up to $55.97 per hour, even if you are among the bottom 10 percent in earnings, according to May 2011 data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. These physicians and surgeons are also known as gynecologists and obstetricians. And as an Ob/Gyn, you would primarily treat disorders of the female reproductive tract as well as deliver babies. Another important duty would be counseling woman on nutrition during the gestation period.

Average Pay & Benefits

You certainly won't starve working as an Ob/Gyn. The average hourly pay for these doctors was $105.10, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, or about $218,610 per year. And if you worked full time, as most do, you would probably get medical benefits as well as paid time off.

Pay by Industry

Your hourly earnings as an Ob/Gyn would be highest if you worked in private practice. Ob/Gyns with their own practices earned hourly rates of $107.09, according to the BLS. These doctors earned the second highest pay in outpatient centers at $105.20, just above the national average. Expect to earn slightly less working in a hospital, at $96.49 per hour. And you better enjoy working with young women in a college or university setting if you choose this route. Ob/Gyns in university settings made about $55.17 per hour or about half what the highest earners grossed. Many teach courses in obstetrics and gynecology. Some are also employed by universities as practitioners in a university-owned clinic, for example.

Pay by State

A move to Idaho would yield you the highest pay as an Ob/Gyn. They made $120.49 per hour, according to the BLS. You would also earn a relatively high hourly rate in Pennsylvania at $117.08. Expect to make about $106.15 per hour in North Carolina. And your earnings would be below the national average in Ohio at $96.96 per hour. Pay rates usually vary among states because of living costs or the demand for certain specialists in an area.

Education & Training

Most of these professionals start by obtaining bachelors' degrees,usually in a curriculum that includes a lot of science courses: biology, anatomy, chemistry and microbiology. After college, you will need to spend four years in medical school. The first couple years are usually spent in classrooms and labs. And like other medical students, you would then spend two years in a hospital or clinic, working with experienced supervisors or physicians, according to the BLS. You would spend the second year specializing as an Ob/Gyn, diagnosing and treating patients. Expect to complete between three and eight years in a residency program at a hospital after medical school graduation.

Job Outlook

The BLS expects jobs for Ob/Gyn and other physicians and surgeons to increase by 24 percent between 2010 and 2020. Population increases will spur most of the demand for these services. There will be more opportunities in rural or lower income areas, which typically have more difficulty attracting qualified physicians.

2016 Salary Information for Physicians and Surgeons

Physicians and surgeons earned a median annual salary of $204,950 in 2016, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. On the low end, physicians and surgeons earned a 25th percentile salary of $131,980, meaning 75 percent earned more than this amount. The 75th percentile salary is $261,170, meaning 25 percent earn more. In 2016, 713,800 people were employed in the U.S. as physicians and surgeons.

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