Average Salary

• According to PayScale.com, the average yearly salary of a cardiac surgeon working in America is between $152,131 and $402,546, through December 2010. This is a calculation based on basic salary only and does not account for the individual package of bonuses and benefits that a cardiac surgeon may be offered as part of his contract.
  
  

Experience

• In terms of experience PayScale.com puts those with between 10 and 19 years of experience as having the best remunerative capacity: $240,605 and $481,213. There is a large variation for newly qualified cardiac surgeons with less than a year of experience, listed as between $143,797 to $491,318. Other factors, such as location, may impact upon who achieves these averages.
  
  

Location

• Location lays a significant role in determining remuneration. For cardiac surgeons, Pennsylvania, New York and Illinois offer the highest levels with upper levels of $493,523, $483,416 and $450,000 respectively. New York also provides the widest range, PayScale.com listing its lowest average as $101,736.
  
  

Employer

• PayScale.com shows hospitals to have the broadest range of basic salaries for cardiac surgeons: $122,883 to $390,366. The most lucrative type of employer is, however, education, with universities and colleges offering pay of between $270,000 and $412,121. Working for a private company also pays well, with an upper level of $406,946.
  
  

Requirements

• To become a heart surgeon, individuals must pursue an extensive course of education and training. Four years at undergraduate level is followed by four at medical school then five years as a general practitioner. To then specialize in cardiac surgery, she must complete a two- or three-year fellowship in the area, assisting a qualified surgeon and going through further examination.
  
  

Outlook

• According to the American Association of Thoracic Surgery (AATS), demand for cardiac surgeons will continue to rise. A significant factor in this will be the expansion of the elderly sector of the American population as the baby-boomers reach retirement age. Cardiac surgeons should, therefore, see salary levels continue to rise. Practitioners willing to relocate to low-income and rural areas may achieve even better rates as these locations usually struggle to attract professionals and will likely offer more enticement than their wealthy, metropolitan counterparts.