By T.J. Porter, WCI Contributor

The average physician earns more than $360,000 each year. But we also know that the majority of doctors aren’t satisfied with that. According to recent Medscape numbers, 61% of doctors believe that most physicians are underpaid, while 34% believe they’re paid just right (5% think most physicians are paid too much). Just because a physician is well-paid doesn’t mean that there aren’t other opportunities to make more money or that physicians shouldn’t look to increase their incomes.

Taking physician surveys is one l0w-hassle way to increase your income without having to negotiate a raise or take on more work with your employer. In some cases, surveys can earn you thousands or tens of thousands of dollars each year (some can make as much as $30,000). Plus, you can use your knowledge to indirectly improve care for millions of patients you’ll never see. 

What Are Paid Physician Surveys?

A paid physician survey is a lot like other types of surveys. An organization (such as a pharmaceutical or device company) puts together a list of questions and solicits people to answer those questions, looking to gain insight into specific topics.

Paid physician surveys are specifically targeted at doctors and other healthcare professionals. They ask questions regarding healthcare and the issues that are important to doctors and their patients. The companies conducting these surveys often use the answers to help medical companies make decisions about what direction to take their products and services, or they may use them to lobby politicians regarding policies that can impact healthcare.

As their name suggests, paid physician surveys involve compensation for the time it takes to take the survey and answer the questions. Doctors can earn as much as hundreds of dollars for each survey they take.

Which Companies Offer Medical Surveys for Doctors?

There are many companies out there that offer to pay people for taking surveys. Often, the audience for these surveys is broad and the pay is just a few cents. Paid physician surveys are specialized and focused specifically on doctors and their unique expertise and experience, so some companies focus specifically on physician surveys.

Some of the best companies to use for medical surveys are the following. Note that we have an affiliate relationship with each of these companies. If you sign up with them, we get paid a few bucks. Thank you for going through these links to support the mission of The White Coat Investor. You also sometimes get a special deal by going through these links that you can’t get by going directly to the company.

• Sermo: The world’s largest global healthcare professional network. Its surveys focus on important current topics like AI and innovative treatments. Payment options are flexible, including PayPal, gift cards, and charitable donations. The company paid out $20 million last year and claims its members can make $15,000 or more by taking surveys.
• InCrowd: InCrowd is a mobile-focused survey company. Its MicroSurveys take just 5-10 minutes to complete, making it ideal for physicians and other medical professionals who want to productively fill short bursts of time.
• OpinionSite: OpinionSite offers both paid surveys and interviews, giving you multiple ways to earn some extra cash. You also don’t have to hunt for surveys to take because the company will automatically match survey opportunities to you based on your profile.
• MDForLives:. MDForLives is a fast-growing community of medical professionals. Its surveys are mobile-focused so you can easily fill them out on your phone. Payments range from $5-$500 per survey and come in the form of Visa gift cards and Amazon vouchers.
• ZoomRx: This company’s surveys are designed to be quick and easy, and they work well on mobile devices. If you need to stop partway through a survey, you can seamlessly resume from where you left off. Payment is sent to your PayPal account instantly after you complete a survey.

You can also check out All Global Circle, M3 Global Research, or m-panels (all of which will give you a bonus for starting with them) for more survey-taking options.

Different Types of Paid Surveys Doctors Can Take

There are two types of paid physician surveys:

Qualitative surveys are focused on gathering information related to opinions and motivations rather than hard numbers. You may be asked about things such as why you chose your specialty or how you handle different tasks. Be prepared to get very in-depth with your answers.

Quantitative surveys, by contrast, are focused on facts and numbers. You’ll see fewer “how” and “why” questions and won’t have to get quite as in-depth. 

Which Specialties Can Make the Most Taking Physician Surveys?

Your specialty will impact the number of surveys you can take and the amount of money that you earn. This makes sense. A company looking for data on cardiologists, for example, won’t want to survey a group of doctors that includes radiologists, dermatologists, and surgeons. They’ll want to focus on getting responses from the target specialty.

In general, specialties that work with high-cost treatments and drugs can earn more from taking surveys. Some top specialties for earning money from surveys include endocrinology, rheumatology, neurology, oncology, and dermatology, but you might be surprised to learn just how much your opinion is worth no matter your specialty.

How to Start Getting Paid for Medical Surveys

If you’re ready to get started with paid medical surveys, you should follow these steps.

1. 1. Sign up for an Employer Identification Number: It’s free and is always a good idea for self-employment work. Plus, it’ll only take you 30 seconds. It is also mandatory if you end up making enough that you want to open a solo 401(k) for this income. You simply use the EIN in place of your Social Security number to set up a business entity (an automatic sole proprietorship is fine; there is no liability in this work, and income/expenses are easily reported on Schedule C) to receive payment from these surveys. You can then get access to beneficial tax treatment and some other perks.
   2. Open business PayPal and bank accounts: Most survey companies will pay you via direct deposit or PayPal. Use your new EIN to open business accounts with PayPal and your preferred bank. You should keep personal and business income and expenses separate. 
   3. Sign up with as many survey companies as possible: The more companies you sign up with, the more surveys you’ll get offers to take. The more you take, the more you earn, so there’s no reason not to sign up for them all.

Other Benefits for Physicians Taking Paid Surveys

Taking paid physician surveys offers a number of benefits beyond earning some extra cash.

One is that your opinions could make a difference in how companies develop or market their future products and treatments. Companies pay you to take these surveys because they want your opinions and will take them into account.

Another is that you can get the opportunity to learn about new products and services while taking these surveys. Plus, if these companies are going to advertise to you anyway, why not get paid while you learn about their products?

If you signed up for an EIN before taking surveys, another big perk is the opportunity to open a solo 401(k). This is a retirement account designed for self-employed people, and earning money from surveys is a type of self-employment. Solo 401(k)s offer similar tax benefits as other 401(k)s, but contributions work slightly differently. As your own employer, you can theoretically make employee, after-tax employee (Mega Backdoor Roth IRA), and employer (generally 20% of profits) contributions into the solo 401(k). Individual contributions to 401(k)s are limited to $23,000 per year [2024]. Even if you’re maxing retirement contributions from your regular job, you can get more tax-advantaged investment space by using a solo 401(k) and contributing your survey earnings, but make sure you understand the relevant rules to using more than one 401(k) or 403(b).

Taking surveys can be a fruitful way to spend a few minutes of your free time during your train commute, between halves of your kid’s soccer game, or while vegging in front of the TV before bed. And if you do, be sure to use the WCI links above for special deals and to help support our mission.

Have you done physician surveys as a side gig? How much did you make? With which companies did you enjoy working? Comment below!