Despite many earning close to $400,000 annually, over a third of U.S. physicians are taking on side gigs to supplement their income in 2024, according to Medscape's 2024 "Physician Compensation Report," published April 12.
While 61% of surveyed physicians said they do not take on extra work to boost their incomes, 20% said they take on other medical-related work, 11% take on medical moonlighting gigs, 7% add more hours to their primary job and 6% take on nonmedical work.
While some physicians take on side gigs as a passion project, others take them on out of a need or desire for more money.
"I moonlight because I am not as financially stable as I would like to be at this stage of life," one physician told Medscape surveyors.