Beginning Salary

• With less than a year of experience, the salary scale for a plastic surgeon is $81,389 to $247,399, according to PayScale. The annual mean wage for all surgeons falls within this scale at $219,770. With experience, plastic surgeons can expect their salaries to increase; PayScale indicates that the peak salary for a plastic surgeon with over five years of experience is $325,000, while that for one with ten or more years of experience is $350,312.
  
  

Industry

• State University states that "the current trend in cosmetic surgery is private practice," and that it is recommended that a beginning plastic surgeon spend the first few years of his career under the guidance of an experience surgeon. Those surgeons working in private offices of physicians earn an annual mean wage of $227,860, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. General medical and surgical hospitals offer surgeons an average salary of $191,200, while outpatient care centers pay a mean annual wage of $214,090.
  
  

Location

• Due to cost of living and demand, location has a bearing on the salary of a plastic surgeon. PayScale names New York as the highest paying state with a salary range of $103,225 to $340,237 for this profession, followed by Illinois with a scale of $196,527 to $338,145. Texas comes in third with a salary range of $101,736 to $305,209 for plastic surgeons, and California follows with a range of $117,916 to $300,834.
  
  

Expectations and Benefits

• Reputation plays a large part in the overall salary a plastic surgeon can potentially earn. With time and a list of satisfied clients, State University reports that some experienced plastic surgeons have reported an annual salary of up to $408,065. They also note that, unlike other medical practitioners, plastic surgeons receive full payment immediately without waiting for insurance checks to clear. Beginning plastic surgeons can also expect paid leaves, vacations, health insurance and retirement plans.