[xaa]

I am a researcher at a nonprofit research institution that does both basic and clinical research. When I work with MDs (or MD/PhDs), it is usually to analyze clinical and/or genomic data that they have collected from patients. Sometimes I am roped into building web applications either for data analysis or patient questionnaires. Once in a while, I develop prototype algorithms to aid in diagnosis from e.g., histology images.

The ratio of research to clinical practice for MD(/PhD)s is basically whatever you want it to be. At my institution, it seems more like 70% research / 30% clinical on average, but that's because it's a research institution with a clinic, not a clinic that does some research. Several of the MDs I work with have dropped clinical practice altogether for full-time research as well.

Also at my institution there are researchers and/or clinicians who spend most of their time on building a business. The administration very much encourages this because they get a cut of the IP royalties. In academia, your value is basically proportional to the money you bring in, so these people are actually treated like gods.

Basically, there are a LOT of jobs out there; if you are qualified and productive, you can easily find one that suits your preferences.

(I have no hard data on what specialties are more or less likely to automate. I would expect GPs/family practitioners to be the least likely, but who knows.)

[piggyback]

That sound pretty good to me! Can you tell me about the salary range of those MD/PhDs doing research and about the cut such an institution gets? I'm asking I'm guessing the hours that your institution are sane (read: 9-5ish)? Thanks a bunch.

[xaa]

I live in an inexpensive part of the country, so salaries obviously vary based on that. $80-150K is the normal range for a PI here, but the sky's the limit if you can pull in a lot of grants/royalties.

There are no set hours. You work when and where you want. (I usually roll in around 11-noon). They don't really care how you spend your time, as long as you publish and get grants. Patents are just icing. Obviously clinical hours are in the 9-5 timeframe though.

I don't really know the normal IP cut in detail. I believe it is roughly 50% of the patent royalties, negotiable depending on how much pull you have. But if you are the actual owner of the business as well as the patent creator, then you get both the royalty cut and the business profit, whereas if you just sell the patent you get only the royalties (but obviously that is a lot less work).

EDIT: I feel compelled to point out that it's not all roses. The flip side of the freedom is that you are judged solely on your results. If you can't produce, for whatever reason, you're going to have a hard time. There's little job security. And so forth.