9 Best Gigs for Doctors To Bring In More Income

If you're a doctor, you probably have your hands full with work trying to pay off your student loan debt and stay on top of your responsibilities.

With the current cost of living, it’s almost insane to not actively seek supplemental income, no matter how much you’re paid!

Seeking other opportunities providing healthcare services can be a great financial boost.

Here are some of our top gigs for doctors to get you started:

1. Online Consulting

Telehealth is a physician side hustle where health care providers hold consultations with their patients without the need for office visits.

Like with in-person consultations, your job is to provide medical advice, assist postoperative care, and establish therapies.

Online consultations can be done via audio or video calls, but some provide asynchronous consultations in the form of chat messaging or Q&A.

All you need to become a medical consultant is your medical license, a stable internet connection, and a computer with a web camera.

You can expect to earn upwards of $100 per hour at some of these telemedicine companies, making this one of the best physician side gigs.

Some of the best consulting services on the internet are Apollo247, iCliniq, DoctorAnywhere, and even Curednation.com.

2. Locum Tenens Physician Work

Locum tenens work involves temporarily working as a physician at a location other than yours.

Locums provide staffing by filling in for doctors who aren't available, most commonly because of vacations, sabbaticals, illness, and maternity leave.

You'd take on all obligations and duties of the previous doctor and would perform patient care in place of them.

Note that you can't do locum tenens work if you're still in medical school.

It's for licensed medical doctors only, as it has all the same obligations as being a full-time doctor.

The pay varies, but expect an hourly or daily wage in line with your current salary, plus some extra for accommodation and travel.

Locum tenens work gives you an opportunity to explore and see what it's like to work at different institutions.

Who knows, you might even decide to apply there once your tenens work is over.

Speaking of, the best platforms to find locum tenens work are LocumTenens, Staff Care, and Weatherby Healthcare.

You can also find work using a specialized Locum Tenens agency.

3. Medical Consultant

Not to be confused with doctor consultations, a medical consultant is an individual who examines healthcare facilities.

The job is to look into the legal and technical aspects of the business and optimize the day-to-day operations and relations between healthcare professionals.

This is a role for business-oriented individuals, and it may require additional certifications or degrees in business management and healthcare administration.

If you're a senior physician looking for extra income through applying your extensive medical knowledge and expertise, this is the job for you.

You can work as an independent contractor or apply to work at a consulting agency.

Either way, expect to make around $95 per hour. A great place to find medical consultant work is at bmjcareers.

4. Medical Advisor

You should consider becoming a medical advisor if you want a full-time job at a single company.

It's a more involved role that requires your undivided attention and focus on achieving long-term goals.

To become a medical advisor, you need a medical degree with several years of experience working as a doctor.

You also need excellent analytical skills, and familiarity with data analysis.

As you can imagine, a job with such high requirements has a salary to match it — in the neighborhood of $200,000, to be exact.

Medical advisors typically work at various healthcare and pharmaceutical companies, government agencies, and insurance firms. A great place to find a medical advisor job is at Only Medics.

5. Medical Educator

One of the most rewarding and best-paid jobs for a doctor is that of a university lecturer.

You get to train prospective young students who'll one day step into your shoes.

Professors of Medicine start at $150,000 per year and can make well over $200,000.

The only major drawback is that, in addition to your medical undergrad degree, you'll need additional academic qualifications, typically a PhD, along with published medical research contributions.

If pursuing academics isn’t your priority, you can still choose from a wide selection of education jobs in the 6-figure range.

You can become a clinical instructor or preceptor, mentor, supervisor, simulation instructor, or hospitalist educator.

You can find jobs on bmjcareers and Times Higher Education.

6. Medical Writing

Medical professionals find that one of the best sources of additional income is writing.

It's one of the better side hustles for doctors that enables you to pay off your student loan debt quickly, as it's scalable and in high demand.

Just think of all the famous health websites like WebMD and Mayo Clinic — somebody has to write all these resources.

You may not even know it, but writing could come as second nature to you.

The best part is that you'll get to publish something under your name, allowing you to establish yourself as a reputable practitioner.

The pay for freelance writing varies significantly, but as a qualified doctor, you should expect at least several hundred dollars per 1000-word article.

A good website for medical writing jobs is Pharmiweb.

7. Medical Editing

If writing sounds too tedious, editing is the perfect alternative. It's less research-focused, but you'll likely have to do a lot of fact-checking.

In addition to that, you're expected to have solid writing skills and a thorough understanding of grammar.

You'll be editing books and articles by other doctors and medical professionals.

Either way, your job is to ensure all information presented is 100% accurate and up-to-date.

Like writing, the pay varies significantly, but it's typically in the six-figure range for doctors.

The best places to find editing work as a doctor is by contacting clinics and hospitals that have a well-established online presence, as well as traditional publishers who need a medically-trained editor on board.

8. Expert Witness

An expert witness is a highly qualified expert who gives an impartial, knowledge-based opinion about a case in court.

In this case, you'd be asked to explain medical concepts and protocols in plain terms to help the judge and jury serve justice.

If you want to aid the judicial system and make large sums of cash doing it, this is the job for you.

You'd have to be a board-certified doctor and a notable researcher who stays up-to-date for this role.

Only the best doctors can become expert witnesses, as it's a massive responsibility.

And this massive responsibility pays extraordinarily well.

Preparation, attendance, and occasionally even travel time are all accounted for and will earn you several hundred dollars per hour.

If you want to become an expert witness, check with your local court to see if they have any openings.

9. Online Surveys

Paid medical surveys are an easy source of extra money for doctors.

Since you have first-hand insight into how things function at your place of employment, medical and pharmaceutical companies and their stakeholders highly value the information you can provide.

It ranges from questions about the efficacy of certain medicines to whether health protocols are being adhered to.

Surveys are tedious and boring, but they're an effortless way to make several hundred dollars per hour. After all, you'll be answering questions that directly relate to your job and experience.

There's a wide range of survey sites for doctors. Some of the best include MDforlives, MedSurvey, and InCrowd.

Other Gigs to Consider

If none of the jobs above fit your schedule, here are some excellent alternatives:

• House Flipping: House flipping is a great way to make passive income by investing your cash in rundown homes, renovating them, and selling them for a profit.
• Remote Medical Training: If you'd like to train and educate medical professionals while working from home, become a remote medical trainer.
• Jobs That Pay $100 an Hour: Your side gig should ideally pay more or close to your current hourly rate. Here are a few jobs that are in the ballpark.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why Consider Taking on Additional Gigs for Doctors?

Besides making more money to pay off student loan debt or mortgage, side gigs can help you explore alternative career paths.

Doctors are in high demand everywhere, not just hospitals. Use it to your advantage by getting a high-paying gig.

Can Doctors Pursue Side Jobs While Maintaining Their Primary Medical Practice?

Yes, they can. The experience of working at a different workplace can give new insight into complex problems in the medical field and help you solve them.

You'd also make significant contributions to society while doing side jobs.

Final Thoughts

Doctors have plenty of gigs to choose from, from physician surveys to writing. The best thing about these side jobs is the above-average pay.

Have you already done any of these jobs? Let us know in the comments below, and make sure to share this article with your colleagues.