How long does it take to become an expert injector? The easy thing to miss is that the answer on this page is a set of averages, and averages get quoted as if they were rules.
What the study estimated
PubMed Central carries the study behind the figures: "Regardless of medical specialty and experience level, averages of 3.85 (1.8) years, 786.4 (2628) filler injections and 549.9 (1543) toxin injections were estimated to progress from novice to advanced injector, while averages of 6.10 (3.7) years, 1842.2 (4793) filler injections, and 1308.5 (3363) toxin injections were estimated to advance from advanced to expert injector."
For a clinician in Parsippany, New Jersey, that sentence is the whole finding. Everything else in this note is a reading of it.
Why a calendar is a weak yardstick
The study pairs years with injection counts, so time served is only one of the two measures. A clinician who has held a license for six years has not necessarily reached the second count. A clinician who has reached the count in fewer years still has the years to account for.
Questions for an injector you train under
Before the count even starts, ask where a clinician got their practice. Cadaver work and medical simulation are two settings worth asking about.
Then ask any injector you plan to train under how many filler and toxin cases they have done, and over how many years. Use the published averages as a rough map, not as a certificate.