How do the finances work for research-oriented neurosurgeons?

[Guest]

I'm trying to figure out the logistics of a research-oriented career in neurosurgery.

From what I understand, the department will hire you and provide start up funds (~$1-2 million) to start a lab. Academic-oriented neurosurgeons will take a pay cut and from what I have seen, the salaries seem to be in the 350-400k range. Does that seem right? 

If so, how does that change with grant funding? For example, if I was to get a K award, I would be required to spend 50% of my time in research and only $110k of my salary would be paid from grants. Does this mean the rest of my salary would be whatever the department decides is 50% of that clinical specialty. In the example above, this would put me at 200k for a 400k neurosurgery job, putting me at $310k instead of $400k ($220*50% + $400*505)? Are you essentially taking a pay cut when you get these grants that require a specific dedicated effort to research?

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Sorry that should read ($220*50% + $400*50%)****

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Sorry that should read ($220*50% + $400*50%)****

[Focus]

Your academic salary is separate from your clinical salary. So, for example, maybe you make 400-700 as your clinical base + RVU incentive (if any), but you also get a professorship stipend that may be a few thousand dollars as an assistant all the way up to the NIH cap (or more possibly) of 200ish thousand. Your grants pay into that professorship salary only. So if your assistant prof salary is 30K, then 10% effort would cost the grant 3K + indirect costs, so maybe 3500 total.

Maybe better researchers can get better start up packages, but I have never heard of it being that high. I got 100K over two years as a clinical researcher. I've heard some getting maybe 200-500K max for a basic science lab. If you're serious about a research career you should be prepping grant proposals at the end of your training so that you can fire them off at the first cycle when an attending. Helps if you know where you are going.