Work Experience

• The average salary an immunologist earns depends largely on her work experience, reports Payscale.com. In October 2009, immunologists with 4 or less years of work experience earned between $98,264 and $174,086. Immunology specialists with 5 to 9 years of experience average salaries of between $107,736 and $177,653. With 10 or more years of work experience, an immunologist had the potential to earn an average maximum salary of $250,493.
  
  

Employer Type

• Some immunologists work in hospital settings, treating patients who are admitted due to a medical emergency like an anaphylactic allergic reaction. Such doctors averaged annual salaries of between $95,000 and $174,441 in October 2009. Other immunologists are members, partners or owners of a private practice that diagnoses and treats allergies through testing, injections and other in-office procedures. These immunologists earned higher salaries than their peers who work in hospitals at an average between $124,291 and $202,374.
  
  

Geography

• Where an immunologist lives and works also affected his annual compensation in 2009. In New York City, the average salary for immunologists was $256,000, while Los Angeles, California, immunologists averaged salaries around $245,000. In Seattle, Washington, and Miami, Florida, allergy-immunologists earned an average of $239,000 and $217,000, respectively. Generally speaking, large cities tend to offer much higher pay for immunologists than smaller cities, greater metropolitan areas or more rural settings.
  
  

Benefits

• In October 2009, many immunologists received additional benefits that increased their overall compensation packages. Immunologists earned an average between 2.4 and 3.3 weeks of paid vacation and average annual bonuses between $2,035 and $25,000.
  
  

Considerations

• The overall national average salary for immunologists was $215,000 in 2009. When considering how much money an immunologists gets paid, there are other issues to factor in besides income and benefits. Self-employed or private practice immunologists have numerous expenses that other immunologists do not, including the high cost of liability and malpractice insurance. In addition, new advances in allergy medications and treatments frequently require fewer trips to the immunologist, meaning possible reductions in salary levels over years to come.