Salary
Average Salary: $258,000
Expected Lifetime Earnings: $10,770,984
You might want to be a pathologist because you have a burning desire to save some lives, but there's no doubt that dollar signs are a big part of the equation. If you manage to wade through those grueling years of school (and not get buried in an avalanche of student loans), you'll be sitting way prettier than most Americans.
Bottom-rung pathologists with less than ten years of experience usually make around $201,000 per year (source). Sure, you won't be zipping around the country in a Lear jet, but you won't be living on microwave dinners either.
For the next twenty years after those first ten, you can expect to rake in about $260,000 a year. Plan on sticking it out for more than thirty years? For pathologists in those later stages the pay rises again, to around $279,000.
While no pathologist is going to starve in the street, your hospital location and choice of specialty can make for a big difference in your salary.
Forensic pathologists, to name a particular path, usually don't do quite as well as others, making an average of $150,000-$180,000 per year (source). But no matter how you slice it, you're most likely looking at a salary of at least six figures.
Before we move on, a quick word of warning about going out on your own as a pathologist: out on your own means...out on your own. Medical liability is no joke, and there are plenty of patients out there who won't hesitate to sue.
You'll also have to think about all the other costs of running an office—employee salaries and benefits, keeping the lights on, medical supplies, and many other things. Don't strike out on your own until you've really thought about the money drain and brain drain that comes with being your own boss.