Salary Determination

• Since naturopathic doctors tend to be self-employed, they are the ones who ultimately determine the salary that they earn based on the number clients they acquire. This means that the naturopathic doctor must be able to effectively market his medical services to a wide array of potential clients who may have an interest in nontraditional approaches to healing. The Association of Accredited Naturopathic Medical Colleges indicates that naturopathic doctors generally begin establishing their clientele while completing their medical residency and working part-time.
  
  

Residency

• The Association of Accredited Naturopathic Medical Colleges indicates that the general salary range for medical residents specializing in the field of naturopathic medicine is about $20,000 to $30,000 per year. By comparison, medical residents pursuing traditional medical residency paths generally make somewhere between $45,000 and $60,000 per year. Naturopathic residents have the disadvantage of having a smaller client base to work with and must typically retain clients to make money over time, whereas traditional medical residents work in facilities like hospitals and are in demand most of the time they are working.
  
  

Earning Potential

• The earning potential for naturopathic doctors is typically much greater than what they earn while serving as medical residents. According to the Association of Accredited Naturopathic Medical Colleges, an average salary range for naturopathic doctors tends to be in the $80,000-to-$90,000 range, with the highest paid naturopathic doctors making as much as $200,000 on an annual basis. Physicians and surgeons nationwide made average salaries of about $180,000 in 2010, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This provides some indication that naturopathic doctors who have a well-established practice can possibly make as much as other physicians and surgeons.
  
  

Job Outlook

• The overall job outlook for the medical profession is expected to be very good through 2018. The BLS projects a rate of job growth that will exceed 20 percent and that is nearly double the average rate of growth for other professions. Even though the bureau does not specifically mention naturopathic practitioners in its projections, it does indicate that job prospects for all physicians should be good. Naturopathic physicians have the opportunity to carve out their own niche within the medical field, especially if modern medicine continues to recognize the validity of some nontraditional approaches to medicine.