Overview
General surgery trains 5–7 years (research years common) and lands around $450K. The long training phase accrues significant interest, but also accumulates PSLF-qualifying months if residency is academic.
Physician salary & compensation
Median salary
$450K
Range
$400K – $550K
Source
MGMA 2025 / Doximity 2025
Residency training timeline
Training years
5–7y
PGY-1 salary
$65K
Annual growth
2.0%
Fellowship
Optional
Not baked into training
Most general surgery trainees follow a 5–7y track. PGY-1 pay starts around $65K with roughly 2.0% annual raises.
PSLF & forgiveness strategy
Academic general surgery is PSLF-eligible; private-practice general surgery is not.
Our pick · PSLF at academic center; refi for private practice
Repayment recommendation
A 5–7 year academic residency = 60–84 PSLF-qualifying months before attending. Private-practice surgeons should refinance and attack with high income.
Run your numbers for General SurgeryKey takeaways
- Trauma / critical-care / colorectal fellowships add 1–2 years
- Long residency makes capitalized interest a bigger risk — federal IDR during training matters
- Surgical income comes online late — crossover year typically 4–6 years into attending
Ready to model your debt strategy?
Compare PSLF, refinancing, and aggressive payoff for your General Surgery scenario — pre-filled with the salary and training defaults from this page.
Open the calculator