Salary
Average Salary: $408,000
Expected Lifetime Earnings: $17,033,184
You make a lot of money but your expenses are through the roof. That Mercedes SLS AMG convertible doesn't pay for itself, after all, and California taxes will clean you out of half your profits from the get go. Bottom line is it takes an extraordinary amount of effort and money to live such a perfect life, so you’ll have to charge a whole bunch for those nips and tucks.
Here is a menu of what the typical Beverly Hills plastic surgeon will charge:
A full nose job, including bridge implants, cartilage tips—the whole enchilada will run you around $12,000.
The average cost of laser lipo to suck all the lard from your tummy, hips, and thighs runs around $5,000.
The average cost of one Botox session will freeze you out of a mere $500.
A typical, non-complicated boob job with set of ample implanted floatation devices, can be had for around $8,000.
A lip plumping will give you that bee stung look for around $800.
Eyelid wrinkle removing surgery will cost about $5,000.
A Brazilian butt lift, will set you back close to $9,000 (those tiny tush-tucking Brazilians don't come cheap).
A full-on facelift in Beverly Hills will cost you around $25,000, although it could run as high as $150,000 depending on who does the job and whose face is being lifted.
Whereas a Mommy Makeover, of boobs, belly, and a little lipo is a steal at a mere $15,000.
The way you really make your money is in combinations. Most patients don’t come in for only one procedure. It's more like a Chinese Restaurant approach with one from column A, two from column B, a few from column C, and a side of egg roll. When you tally up the procedures, say a nose job, a chin implant, a tummy tuck, and some lip, you're looking at an average patient's bill being close to 40 or 50 grand, not including follow up visit fees and incidentals. Many successful BH plastic surgeons make earnings in the high 6 figures.
However, there are expenses. That money isn't tax free and Uncle Sam will take close to half over a certain amount. Then there are office expenses, insurances, and your surgery nurse and anesthesiologist to pay for. Which is why you schedule in plenty of those quickie Botox parties as often as you can, where the bucks are much higher for the amount of time you have to put into the job, and quick 10-minute touch ups for face fillers pay the rent.
For those who are just starting out in the field, you can intern with a hot shot name surgeon who already has the patients and the overhead worries. The profits are a lot less, but the headaches are the boss' and you get a decent livable salary (by Beverly Hills standards, probably enough to feed and bring water to a small third world country for the better part of a year). You're also making a name for yourself while you put in your dues, so while you may not be as in demand as the head honcho, you're developing your own fan base that will help you when it's time to strike out on your own.