Endovascular vs. Spine: Better job market and earning potential?

[Guest]

If one is interested in doing research about 50% of the time and clinical work to supplement their income, which is a better fellowship to pursue: Endovascular or Spine?

[Guest]

That's not how this works. People who get a 50/50 gig do so because they have a good track record in their respective research fields and get grants. Without that, you're a net negative for a department. And to do so, you do the kind of fellowship that aligns with your research. You do not and you cannot plan out scientific careers like that.
Both fields lean more toward the clinical side and there aren't many that can actually get 50/50 positions within these subspecialties. Functional and Oncology would be a safer route if you truly want to spend that much time in the lab as the grants are, on average, a lot bigger. But again, the way you phrased your question is not how academic careers develop

[Guest]

The above poster is absolutely correct. It’s an absurd notion to think you’ll pick your subspecialty based on the premise that you’ll split your time and spend half ur career in a lab. You don’t start ur career with 50% lab time. You EARN the dedicated lab time, with a proven track record of meaningful discovery and publication. The above poster is also correct that both spine and endovascular are heavily clinical specialties, which the other neurosurgical subspecialties depend on to keep departments profitable. There are not many hospitals or departments looking for a “part time” spine or endovascular guy. The only way you will be tolerated is if u already bring significant funding with you, but even then u will be pressured to be surgically productive, because spinal and endovascular RVUs will almost always earn more than any lab (which is all the hospital will care about).


Additionally, within both spine and endovascular there already exist exceptionally clinically busy surgeons, who also produce good research. Since they do both, the expectation is that you will be able to do both as well. If you don’t, you will rapidly be replaced.

[Guest]

Myron Rolle

[Guest]

Not endovascular currently. The market is saturated. The narrative that every hospital is looking for endovascular coverage is at least 2 years outdated. Plus a ton of new fellowship spots are opening up, which will inevitably be filled by neurology candidates.

Generally speaking if you're doing endovascular fellowship + want to do academic, you better have significant research and/or a solid open skillset. If private, be prepared to do trauma + spine to supplement.