She got her looks from her father. He’s a plastic surgeon.

Groucho Marx, Comedian

Pros and Cons of Working as a Cosmetic Surgeon

advantages and disadvantages of being a plastic surgeon

You think about becoming a plastic surgeon but are still not entirely sure whether this is really the right career path for you or not? Great!

Stick with me since I will show you all the pros and cons of being a plastic surgeon in the following chapters so that you can make a profound career choice in this regard.

Table of Contents

Cosmetic Surgeon Job Profile

Job DescriptionPlastic surgeons try to improve the visual appearance of their clients so that they feel better through their improved looks.
Salary$430,000 per year on average, most cosmetic surgeons make between $220,000 and $545,000 per year.
Job SecurityDecent since cosmetic surgery is in high demand right now.
Job SatisfactionGood if you love to improve the looks of people.
Work-Life BalanceDecent since you will have freedom of choice whether you want to work on weekends or not.
Physically / Mentally Demanding?Working as a cosmetic surgeon can be mentally and emotionally demanding.
Future OutlookDecent since good cosmetic surgeons will always be needed.
RequirementsYou need a college degree and also need to get lots of experience in the medical sector before you can work as a cosmetic surgeon.

Advantages of Being a Cosmetic Surgeon

  1. Plastic surgeons can make really good money
  2. You will be able to afford many nice things as a cosmetic surgeon
  3. Easy to plan your life as a plastic surgeon
  4. High social status of plastic surgeons
  5. Cosmetic surgeons have an easy time in the dating market
  6. You will be able to save enough money for retirement
  7. You can also start your own cosmetic surgery office
  8. Cosmetic surgeons can afford the best health insurance plans
  9. You can work indoors
  10. Plastic surgeons often don’t have to work on weekends
  11. Cosmetic surgeons don’t have to do heavy physical work
  12. You can avoid working in classical office environments
  13. You can get in touch with many different people
  14. Good job prospects for plastic surgeons
  15. You can make people happy
  16. You may be able to retire early
  17. Cosmetic surgeons can meet many famous people
  18. You can improve the look of your partner

Plastic surgeons can make really good money

One advantage of being a plastic surgeon is that you can make really good money from your job, similar to dentists and other people in the medical industry.

In fact, you can easily make a six-figure income at the beginning of your career and if you are willing to work hard and are able to build a good reputation, you may even be able to make millions from what you are doing in the long run.

Consequently, becoming a cosmetic surgeon can make quite a lot of sense for you in case money is really important to you and you just can’t get happy with a job that barely pays enough to pay your basic expenses.

You will be able to afford many nice things as a cosmetic surgeon

Thanks to your good salary, you will also be able to afford many nice toys as a plastic surgeon.

In fact, you will be able to afford a nice new car almost every year and you will also have an easy time paying your bills.

Moreover, also banks will be glad to grant you a mortgage if you want to buy a home and while many other people who don’t make that much money will struggle to get a mortgage and will often have to rent for quite a long time, you will be the one who will be able to afford to buy a nice house at a rather young age.

Easy to plan your life as a plastic surgeon

Since you will make really good money from what you are doing, it will also be rather easy to plan your life way ahead in the future.

In fact, you will be able to pay back loans pretty soon and this will give you lots of financial freedom to operate your life the way you want it to be.

You will also be able to send your kids to the best colleges and to make sure that they have everything they need to succeed in life.

High social status of plastic surgeons

Another upside to becoming a plastic surgeon is that you will also have a pretty high social status. In fact, cosmetic surgeons are admired by many people out there.

Hence, you can also get lots of nice comments from people and working as a reconstructive surgeon can therefore make a lot of sense for you in case you need the confirmation of others to be happy.

Cosmetic surgeons have an easy time in the dating market

Thanks to your high social reputation and your good income, you will also have a pretty easy time in the dating market.

In fact, the majority of plastic surgeons almost has freedom of choice in this regard and if they get divorced, they will easily find a new partner.

In fact, many potential mates will be lining up and waiting to be the partner on your side.

Consequently, while many other people out there who neither make good money nor have a high social standing struggle to find a partner, you will rather struggle to keep all the potential partners away from you since many people would just love to be part of your life.

You will be able to save enough money for retirement

You will also not have to worry about old-age poverty as a cosmetic surgeon, at least if you save and invest your money wisely.

In fact, due to your high salary, you will be able to set aside lots of money that you can invest in the stock or real estate market and in the long run, you should see pretty decent returns.

Hence, while many other people struggle to pay their bills once they get older and are no longer able to work, you will not have to worry about those things too much since you as a surgeon will often be able to have a comfortable lifestyle until the end of your life.

You can also start your own cosmetic surgery office

Another benefit of working as a plastic surgeon is that you will also not have to work as an employee forever.

While it can make sense to start out working as an employed cosmetic surgeon, it can make sense to quit your job after a few years and to start your own surgery office since you will just make much more money and will also have a high level of freedom to do what you want to do at any given point in time.

Sure, this is not for everyone and you will also have many more things to do.

However, if you have the entrepreneurial type of DNA, you will just not get happy with working as an employee and you should therefore know that you can go both ways as a plastic surgeon, depending on your individual preferences and ambitions.

Cosmetic surgeons can afford the best health insurance plans

As a plastic surgeon, you will also be able to afford pretty decent health insurance plans.

Thus, while many other people out there are only able to afford basic plans and some people are even not covered by health insurance at all, you can be sure that you are protected in case of medical emergency and that you get the best medical treatment possible.

In turn, your life expectancy will also be significantly higher compared to the average person out there since money and good health insurance plans are highly correlated with the life expectancy we all have.

You can work indoors

You will also have the privilege of working indoors as a cosmetic surgeon.

While this may not seem important to you at first, think about all the people who have to work outdoors during times of bad weather.

Don’t you think those people also secretly wish to work indoors in a comfortable working environment? You can bet they do!

Consequently, you should also really appreciate the fact that you could work indoors as a cosmetic surgeon and you should not underestimate what this means for your overall quality of life.

Plastic surgeons often don’t have to work on weekends

While you could work on weekends to make even more money, many plastic surgeons already make enough and rather enjoy their time with their families.

Some also make nice weekend trips with their favorite people or spend time on hobbies.

Opportunities are endless in this regard and I am sure you will find something that is even more exciting for you than working as a cosmetic surgeon on weekends.

Cosmetic surgeons don’t have to do heavy physical work

While you will have some exercise during work since you will have to do surgeries with your hands, you will still not have to lift heavy things as construction workers or roofers do all day long.

Consequently, you will not come home as tired as most of those other people do every day and will have more energy left after work.

Moreover, also your risk of developing physical health issues once you get older will be significantly lower as well.

You can avoid working in classical office environments

While some people like working in classical office jobs and staring at a computer screen all day long, many others will just not get happy with that kind of work in the long run and if you are one of those people who just need some exercise during work and don’t want to do presentations and other digital stuff all day long, you will be far better off working as a plastic surgeon compared to working in many other office jobs out there.

You can get in touch with many different people

During your career as a cosmetic surgeon, you will also meet many different people. Many of them will have lots of money and influence in the political or social landscape.

In turn, you can also make many important connections from which you can benefit for your professional as well as for your private life in various ways.

Good job prospects for plastic surgeons

If you are willing to work hard and are able to build a solid reputation, chances are that you will not actively advertise for getting new clients.

People will just recommend you to their friends and you will often get more jobs than you could ever carry out.

In fact, good plastic surgeons whom people can really trust are rare these days and if you are one of those honest people who can really do high-quality work at a fair price, you will have more than enough clients to make a decent living from what you are doing.

You can make people happy

Many people also come into your office with pretty high expectations and since they just want to look better.

In fact, looks really matter if you want to succeed in the world we live in right now and you as a plastic surgeon can therefore make the lives of people better in many different aspects of life.

Consequently, your clients will also be able to live a happier life with your help and this can give you plenty of motivation to carry on.

You may be able to retire early

If you invest your money wisely, you will also be able to retire rather early from your cosmetic surgeon career.

In fact, once you get a little bit of experience, you can easily make a quarter or even half a million bucks per year and if you only set aside a small fraction of this money and invest it in assets, you can save up millions of dollars within just one decade and can easily retire in your 40s or 50s.

Hence, becoming a plastic surgeon can also make quite a lot of sense for you in case you don’t want to work as long as most other people and rather want to enjoy your leisure instead.

Cosmetic surgeons can meet many famous people

In most cases, people who will come to you will also have lots of money to spend.

Many of those people will also be well-known to the general public and you may even be able to meet some real celebrities in the long run.

In fact, it can be really exciting to get a job from your idol and if you do your job quite well, you may even be able to stay in touch with those celebrities and to get nice benefits from those connections in the long run.

You can improve the look of your partner

If you are not happy with the look of your partner right now, you may even be able to improve the visual appearance of your partner quite a lot thanks to your knowledge and skills in cosmetic surgery.

Of course, your partner also has to be willing to accept this kind of body alteration.

However, if you have such a partner, you can make him or her just better-looking than most other people out there, at least in your personal opinion 😉.

As you can see, there are many advantages of a plastic surgeon career.

However, we should also talk about all the problems that come along with it to give you a profound impression of what working as a cosmetic surgeon really looks like.

Disadvantages of Working as a Plastic Surgeon

  1. Cosmetic surgeons are not able to work from home
  2. You will have a high level of responsibility
  3. Only one mistake can ruin your whole career
  4. People may sue you
  5. Working as a plastic surgeon can be stressful
  6. You will not save lives as normal doctors do
  7. Some people think that cosmetic surgeons are obsolete
  8. Cosmetic surgeons may get a flawed picture of reality
  9. You will often operate in a bubble of rich people
  10. You may get unmotivated in the long run
  11. Your confidence may go away over time

Cosmetic surgeons are not able to work from home

One disadvantage of being a cosmetic surgeon is that you will not be able to work remotely.

Instead, you will have to be present at work in person.

In turn, you will just not have this high level of flexibility that digital marketers and other people who can work from home will have.

Moreover, you will also have to spend lots of time and money commuting to your workplace.

You will have a high level of responsibility

You should also not underestimate the level of responsibility that comes along with a career as a plastic surgeon.

In fact, mistakes on your side can ruin the looks of people and those people may never become happy again.

Hence, you will also have a certain level of pressure to do your work as well as possible so that your clients are happy and can get a really positive impact on their lives from your work.

Only one mistake can ruin your whole career

As a plastic surgeon, your reputation is everything that matters.

Consequently, only one big mistake can ruin your career since news about this mistake will spread fast and potential clients will stay away from your office.

Moreover, official authorities may also investigate your office and your work and if you are pretty unlucky, they may even shut down your business and will no longer give you permission to work in this field.

People may sue you

If you do a poor job, your clients may even sue you. In fact, those lawsuits can be pretty expensive and you may also have to pay lots of money to your clients in case you make noticeable mistakes.

Consequently, make sure to get proper insurance in this regard so that you are covered in case of emergency and will not financially struggle to pay for those things.

Working as a plastic surgeon can be stressful

Another problem with working as a plastic surgeon is that you will also experience high levels of stress at work.

If you want to make really good money, you will also have to do many surgeries per day.

In turn, you will always need to stay focused and can never relax during your workday. In the long run, this may lead to serious mental issues and you may also just burn out sooner or later.

You will not save lives as normal doctors do

While you can make people happy by improving their looks, you will just not be able to save lives as normal doctors do on a regular basis as a plastic surgeon.

Consequently, you may also feel kind of unimportant when you go to work and people may also belittle you and will not accept you as a real doctor.

Some people think that cosmetic surgeons are obsolete

While some people will admire you, many others may also be quite critical about what you are doing for a living.

If you live in a conservative region, people will often think that your work is obsolete and that we should accept our looks since god made us the way we look right now and that there is just no need for cosmetic surgery at all.

In such a case, you may also often have to deal with snarky comments in this regard and it can also be really annoying and frustrating to convince people about the importance of your work.

Cosmetic surgeons may get a flawed picture of reality

Another downside of being a cosmetic surgeon is that you will often also get a flawed perception of reality.

Quite often, you will work with people who do everything to look good and this may lead to a state where you take great looks for granted and will no longer be happy with your own partner at home.

You will often operate in a bubble of rich people

Since most of your clients will be wealthy or even rich, you may also get stuck in a bubble full of rich people and will not spend enough time with people of the general public.

In turn, you may get a flawed picture of the struggles of normal people and may lose compassion for those people and get arrogant in the long run.

You may get unmotivated in the long run

If you are just in this field for the money, chances are that you will also get unmotivated sooner or later.

In fact, you should make sure that you have a real passion and also some talent in plastic surgery before you go for a career in this field to avoid becoming unmotivated in the long run.

Your confidence may go away over time

Since you will deal with so many beautiful people, you may also become over-critical about yourself and may lose confidence in your own look.

In turn, due to your flawed perception of reality, your own quality of life may drop significantly.

Top 10 Being a Plastic Surgeon Pros & Cons – Summary List

Being a Plastic Surgeon ProsBeing a Plastic Surgeon Cons
Plastic surgeons make really good moneyPlastic surgeons have lots of responsibility
You will be able to afford some luxuryMistakes can ruin your clients’ looks
You can save and invest lots of moneyCosmetic surgeons may get sued
Cosmetic surgeons can make clients happyYou may be liable for mistakes
You can start your own officeOnly few mistakes can ruin your reputation
Surgeons have a high social statusWorking in this field can be stressful
Easy to find a partnerYou have to deal with many legal issues
Cosmetic surgeons can work indoorsYou will not be able to save lives
Decent job prospectsNormal doctors have higher social standing
Cosmetic surgeons can retire earlyYou may live in kind of a bubble

Should You Become A Plastic Surgeon?

As you can see from the previous discussion, there are many advantages and disadvantages of plastic surgery.

In the end, you have to decide for yourself whether you still want to become a cosmetic surgeon or if you rather want to go for a different career instead.

You still want to become a plastic surgeon? Also make sure to get detailed information on the salary, job prospects, future outlook, educational requirements, duties, responsibilities and job satisfaction of cosmetic surgeons.

Also make sure to check out the following articles to get more information on other job options:

Advantages and disadvantages of being a professor

Advantages and disadvantages of being a welder

Advantages and disadvantages of being a clergyman

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plastic_surgery

https://www.statista.com/topics/3734/cosmetic-surgery/

Own research and interviews.

About the author

My name is Andreas and my mission is to educate people about the different career paths that are possible in our current state of the world. In my opinion, people often make the mistake to choose their profession solely based on how much money they can earn from it instead of doing what makes them really happy.

This is quite sad and I just want to give people a more objective picture of how a fulfilling career could look like. I did the same when I started working in consulting after finishing my Master’s degree in Economics. However, I’ve quit pretty soon after that since I haven’t found true meaning in my job.

Now I can do what I really love to do and I want to enable as many other people as well to go this exciting path towards happiness instead of money.

I conducted various interviews with employees to give you a good impression of what working in different fields will look like and that you can make the best possible decision regarding your future career choice.

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