valuemd (Admin) hey everyone, been seeing this question pop up a lot lately so figured I'd open it up here. For those of you who've just matched or are about to start residency, what can you realistically expect to take home in your first year?
ronalda (Alumni) it really comes down to specialty and location. Internal medicine at my program started around $56k but a friend doing surgery in NYC was closer to $64k, mostly because of the cost-of-living adjustment built into their contract.
sclark563 (Student) Agree with @ronalda (Alumni) on this. also worth flagging hospitals in the Northeast or California advertise higher numbers, but that barely stretches once rent's factored in. people I know training in the Midwest or South are actually doing better with a "lower" stipend just because everything costs less.
zainab.jackson (Student) Building on what @ronalda (Alumni) mentioned, don't sleep on PSLF or income-driven repayment if you're heading into an underserved area. That can offset a lower first-year salary more than people expect, especially over the full residency stretch.
meibello (Student) Adding to zainab.jackson (Student) point, also check whether your program allows moonlighting in PGY-2/3. a couple of seniors I know picked up extra shifts and it made a noticeable dent in their loans before they even hit attending pay.
anitab (Alumni) honestly my first year was tight but doable if you budget properly. Meal stipends, free food on call, and moonlighting once I was cleared for it all helped. Its rough for about 12 months and then things ease up a lot once youre through residency.
