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Medical illustrator : Salary and conditions

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  1. Job description
  2. Salary and conditions
  3. Entry requirements
  4. Training
  5. Career development
  6. Employers and vacancy …
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Case studies

  • Pay and conditions for medical illustrators within the National Health Service are covered by the Agenda for Change . More information is available at NHS Careers . 
  • The typical starting salary for medical illustrators working in the NHS on band 5 is £21,176, rising to £27,534 with experience.
  • Senior medical illustrators can earn £30,000 to £40,000 and a head of department at a university teaching hospital can earn up to £55,945. (Salary data collected NHS Careers, November 2010)
  • There is more flexibility in university teaching hospitals' pay scales: departments are usually larger, so senior staff have greater responsibility and commensurately higher salaries.
  • Income can be increased with freelance work in photography, illustration for medical books, or web design.
  • The typical working pattern is 37 to 40 hours Monday to Friday, although you may be required to work additional hours from time to time. There may also be a need to work some evenings on call, particularly in hospitals that provide emergency services.
  • Work is generally in a team environment, liaising with other illustration staff and medical and healthcare professionals, as well as outside contacts, such as printers.
  • As well as the technical side, this job may involve working closely with patients and may sometimes be distressing.
  • Illustrators who specialise in photography spend much of their time working in departmental photographic studios. Graphic designers and medical artists are largely office-based with little or no interaction with patients.
  • Dress is usually casual, with smarter clothes worn for events. If you are working in a clinical environment, hygiene and protective clothing guidelines must be observed.
  • Self-employment and freelance work are often possible, as are job-sharing and part-time work.
  • A substantial proportion of entrants are women.
  • Jobs are available in most areas of the UK, wherever there are hospitals, but competition may be stiff.
  • Illustrators who do photographic work for a hospital trust may have to travel to various hospital sites to photograph patients in wards, clinics or operating theatres.
  • Overnight absence from home is uncommon, as is overseas work or travel.
 
AGCAS
Written by Andrea Gregory, AGCAS
Date: 
December 2010
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