How many physicians have side gigs?

For the report, Medscape surveyed 1,939 physicians from over 29 specialties between Feb. 1 and May 10, 2023. Of the participants, 58% were men, and 40% were women. The most common specialties were family medicine (19%) and internal medicine (17%).

Overall, 39% of all physicians, including 42% of men and 34% of women, said that they have a side gig. Physicians ages 40 to 49 were the most likely to have side gigs at 48%, followed by those ages 50 to 59 at 43%.

"I call it practicing medicine and," said John Shufeldt, an emergency medicine physician who founded a venture capital firm specializing in health technology start-ups called Xcellerant Ventures. "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.'"

Physicians have a variety of side gigs, both inside and outside the medical field. The three most popular medical side gigs were medical consulting (25%), expert witness (18%), and medical moonlighting (17%). Outside of the medical field, the most popular side gigs were real estate (18%), business or other consulting (17%), and investing/investment advice (15%).

When asked why they were pursuing a side gig, most respondents (53%) said it was to earn extra money. Other reasons include for fun, to use or develop skills, or to build a second career after they retire from medicine. 

On average, physicians earned $34,000 a year from their side gigs. However, there was a gender pay gap, with male physicians ($40,000) earning more than female physicians ($26,000). Compared to 2022, physicians' average income increased by several thousand dollars ($25,300, all; $27,500, men; $20,900, women).

According to Nisha Mehta, a radiologist who founded the Physician Side Gigs and Facebook Physician Community online groups, she expects side gig income to continue growing as interest increases and physicians begin negotiating more effectively.

Currently, most physicians (72%) say they are not earning as much as they want from their side gigs. On average, physicians say they want to earn $49,000 from their side gigs. Among men, this figure rose to $55,000 while women said they wanted to earn $40,000.

How do physicians feel about their side gigs?

In the report, around half (49%) of physicians said they found their side gigs at least as fulfilling as their primary career as a physician while 28% said their side gigs were more fulfilling, and 22% said they were less fulfilling.

"As an expert witness, I try to use my experience … to educate jurors and attorneys about the difficulties involved delivering safe, effective anesthesia," one respondent said.

Around half of doctors with side gigs also said they needed to develop new non-clinical skills for their side gigs. Many doctors learned these new skills by reading and researching (71%), taking in-person or online courses/tutorials (51%), or networking with others (49%).

Many physicians also said that working a side gig made them a more effective doctor. Forty-two percent said their side gigs had "some" impact on their effectiveness as a physician, and 24% said that side gigs had "a lot" of impact.

"If your side gig is clinically related, it can really enhance what you bring to your clinical practice," Mehta said. "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."

However, some physicians also noted disadvantages to working side gigs, saying they sometimes led to more work at their primary job or added stress.

"When I am done with my side gig, I have to deal with messages that stacked up while I was away from my office," one respondent said. (Gooch, Becker's Hospital Review, McKenna, Medscape, 10/12)