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What You Love or Loathe in Your Side Hustle: Medscape Physician Side Gigs Report 2023
Jon McKenna | October 12, 2023
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What You Love or Loathe in Your Side Hustle: Medscape Physician Side Gigs Report 2023
Jon McKenna | October 12, 2023 | Contributor Information
People sometimes are startled to learn how many physicians, who log long hours in an extremely stressful profession, also manage to take on outside work in or outside the medical field or devote considerable energy to passive businesses like investments. For this report, Medscape asked US physicians who work side gigs to delve into the what and why of those pursuits.
In this report, gender is based on how physicians self-identified in our survey.
Some totals in this presentation do not equal 100% because of rounding.
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What You Love or Loathe in Your Side Hustle: Medscape Physician Side Gigs Report 2023
Jon McKenna | October 12, 2023 | Contributor Information
Around the same share of doctors as in last year's report (37%) said they currently have a side gig going.
"I call it practicing medicine and," says John Shufeldt, MD, a Phoenix emergency medicine physician who advises other doctors on entrepreneurship and founded a venture capital firm called Xcellerant Ventures that specializes in health technology start-ups.
"Physicians, and even residents in highly demanding specialties, these days are interested in pivoting [careers] or at least having something else going. More and more physicians are starting to think, 'That and thing seems pretty cool.'
"I am impressed with this (39%) number and think it's going to go up. Many physicians are so focused on practicing medicine, they develop a need for an outlet, to do something else besides this all-encompassing lifestyle."
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What You Love or Loathe in Your Side Hustle: Medscape Physician Side Gigs Report 2023
Jon McKenna | October 12, 2023 | Contributor Information
Interestingly, doctors aged 60 or older were about as likely to have a side hustle going as were those in their 30s, who joined a workforce that popularized side gigs.
"I think COVID was the slap in the face" that led to this widespread interest in side gigs, Shufeldt suggests. "A lot of physicians fell victim to COVID and a lot of us retired from that high-burnout time in healthcare.
"People needed an outlet…and decided not to be a one-trick pony."
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What You Love or Loathe in Your Side Hustle: Medscape Physician Side Gigs Report 2023
Jon McKenna | October 12, 2023 | Contributor Information
These numbers each jumped markedly from last year's report (when they were $25,300 for all physicians, $27,500 for men, and $20,900 for women).
That jump can be explained by earlier side gig earnings suffering from the COVID-19 pandemic, and by a more recent recovery in the broad economy.
For the next couple of years, Nisha Mehta, MD, expects income from side hustles to continue climbing for most physicians. She is a radiologist who founded the Physician Side Gigs and Facebook Physician Community online groups.
"Number one, the interest in side gigs among physicians has gone up significantly. As they get to know their markets better, they are negotiating more effectively for their real worth.
"Also, the overall number of (side gig) opportunities continues to rise as more money is infused into the health-related start-up space," Mehta says.
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What You Love or Loathe in Your Side Hustle: Medscape Physician Side Gigs Report 2023
Jon McKenna | October 12, 2023 | Contributor Information
The great majority of physicians told us that their side gigs are at least as fulfilling as their primary role as a doctor.
Shufeldt thinks there is some variation in this attitude, however, depending on medical specialty. "There are some specialties whose practitioners find it incredibly rewarding, where they feel like you made a real difference that day.
"In others, a lot of physicians look to side gigs for fulfillment because they activate a different part of the brain than they are using in practicing, give a shot of adrenaline."
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What You Love or Loathe in Your Side Hustle: Medscape Physician Side Gigs Report 2023
Jon McKenna | October 12, 2023 | Contributor Information
When doctors decide to pursue side work, it could either be in their same realm of clinical practice or something completely afield.
Indeed, among physicians who lined up side gigs, they frequently chose a shift into outside consulting or medical moonlighting work that doesn't require a major transition.
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What You Love or Loathe in Your Side Hustle: Medscape Physician Side Gigs Report 2023
Jon McKenna | October 12, 2023 | Contributor Information
Teaching and writing have long been popular destinations for physicians eager for a late-career shift. But who knew that working in real estate or as an investment advisor might so appeal to a doctor?
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What You Love or Loathe in Your Side Hustle: Medscape Physician Side Gigs Report 2023
Jon McKenna | October 12, 2023 | Contributor Information
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What You Love or Loathe in Your Side Hustle: Medscape Physician Side Gigs Report 2023
Jon McKenna | October 12, 2023 | Contributor Information
As powerful as the itch to just do something different may be, more than half of doctors (vs 48% in last year's report) conceded that the extra money was the primary motivation behind a side hustle.
But it's important to be realistic about the money from side gigs, Shufeldt cautions. An average $34,000 a year in side-gig income (see slide 4), divided by 252 hours a year (see slide 11) devoted to the side hustle, equals about $135 per hour. That may not be all that different than, say, a family physician is paid.
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What You Love or Loathe in Your Side Hustle: Medscape Physician Side Gigs Report 2023
Jon McKenna | October 12, 2023 | Contributor Information
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What You Love or Loathe in Your Side Hustle: Medscape Physician Side Gigs Report 2023
Jon McKenna | October 12, 2023 | Contributor Information
Although physicians told us they logged virtually the same hours each month as a full-time doctor that they for last year's report, their side gig time demands rose 31% (from 16 hours per month).
Why the growing willingness to invest scarce free time in a side hustle?
"All of the physicians I know who work side gigs hope to turn their side hustle into their primary hustle at some point," Shufeldt says. "They expect an increasing return on their investment and to eventually be able to go part-time practicing medicine."
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What You Love or Loathe in Your Side Hustle: Medscape Physician Side Gigs Report 2023
Jon McKenna | October 12, 2023 | Contributor Information
Interestingly, around 3 in 4 physicians with side gigs told us their main job as a doctor offered at least some flexibility needed to devote time to their outside interest.
Even though medicine is among the most time-pressed professions, "most people find time for what they really want to do," Mehta notes. "Most physicians really enjoy their side gigs, especially how they use a different part of their brains. They make time for them even though they are really busy."
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What You Love or Loathe in Your Side Hustle: Medscape Physician Side Gigs Report 2023
Jon McKenna | October 12, 2023 | Contributor Information
Income from side hustles can't be expected to replace their primary income as a physician, for the great majority of doctors. Still, ambitions for money are growing.
In last year's report, the average anticipated near-term income from a side gig was $35,400. That number was $37,300 for male physicians and $32,000 for women.
Even at $49,000, "you're not yet talking about money that really moves the needle, unless you're trying to pay off student loans or meet the mortgage," according to Shufeldt. As physicians become more selective in picking a promising side gig and move it out of the start-up phase, that number will keep increasing, he says.
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What You Love or Loathe in Your Side Hustle: Medscape Physician Side Gigs Report 2023
Jon McKenna | October 12, 2023 | Contributor Information
Although physicians with side gigs reported growing expectations for outside income, they aren't there yet. Around 3 in 4 of those doctors said they aren't bringing in as much extra cash as they hoped. So, ambitions don't match their present-day reality.
Even so, Mehta believes those ambitions are frequently based in sound thinking.
"Doctors are just starting to realize how much these sectors need them," she says. "Before, they might have looked at their side gig as a random ancillary income stream — really just for fun. They have figured out they build a lot of value for these industries and want to be paid accordingly for their expertise."
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What You Love or Loathe in Your Side Hustle: Medscape Physician Side Gigs Report 2023
Jon McKenna | October 12, 2023 | Contributor Information
As in last year's report, physicians told Medscape they saw fears of how investing more hours in their side gigs would affect their family lives — as well as their enjoyment of the outside work — as bigger impediments than any competitive factors.
"We say all the time in our online communities, 'Your side gig should be something you love, something that enhances your life,'" according to Mehta. "They shouldn't turn into another source of burnout for you or that steals even more time from your family and personal life.
"If they do, a side gig is usually going to be the first thing to go."
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What You Love or Loathe in Your Side Hustle: Medscape Physician Side Gigs Report 2023
Jon McKenna | October 12, 2023 | Contributor Information
About half of doctors with side gigs told us they needed to develop new skills they weren't using in clinical medicine. Most often to gain those skills, they did their own research, signed up for a course, or talked with someone who had the necessary expertise.
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What You Love or Loathe in Your Side Hustle: Medscape Physician Side Gigs Report 2023
Jon McKenna | October 12, 2023 | Contributor Information
Two in 3 physicians said they felt that the outside work experience and the new skills their side gig demanded combined to help their effectiveness in clinical practice.
"If your side gig is clinically related, it can really enhance what you bring to your clinical practice," Mehta observes. "Writing articles for a company in your clinical specialty, writing board exam questions, speaking engagements, podcasts — all of these require that you keep your knowledge up-to-date."
In the same vein, she says, physicians whose side gigs sharpen their business and finance acumen can explain the healthcare and pharma industries better to confused patients.
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What You Love or Loathe in Your Side Hustle: Medscape Physician Side Gigs Report 2023
Jon McKenna | October 12, 2023 | Contributor Information
Starting with the 2023 tax year (for returns filed next year), new IRS rules say anyone paid more than $600 for selling goods and services through third-party payment platforms will receive a Form 1099-K for reporting the income. Platforms like PayPal and Venmo are popular among people with side gig businesses, and the old threshold was $20,000.
So, will these new filing requirements scare physicians away from side hustles? A strong majority told us no.
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What You Love or Loathe in Your Side Hustle: Medscape Physician Side Gigs Report 2023
Jon McKenna | October 12, 2023 | Contributor Information
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What You Love or Loathe in Your Side Hustle: Medscape Physician Side Gigs Report 2023
Jon McKenna | October 12, 2023 | Contributor Information
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What You Love or Loathe in Your Side Hustle: Medscape Physician Side Gigs Report 2023
Jon McKenna | October 12, 2023 | Contributor Information
Do US Doctors Have It Better? Medscape International Physician Compensation Report 2023
An average physician’s annual earnings and current net worth in the US is compared with doctors in 10 other countries in North America, Europe, and South America.Medscape Features Slideshow, Oct 2023
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Jon McKenna
Senior Editor, Reports, Medscape Business of Medicine
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