Most of us are in this forum are potential and future doctors. We all share the same dream but the reasons for it are subjective. However, in the end we all have the face the root of all evil—money. As medicine is gradually declining, the salaries are becoming more and more unreasonable. Can you possibly blame the competitive spot for derms? With a 250k+ debt, We will be chasing all the money we can.

To keep this short and simple.

Which specialties right now are top paying?
And which specialties might be hot and demanding in 10+ years?

Sure we are all doctors, but we also are humans first. We need to take care of ourselves and families before we do others. Money is essential to survival, lets think in those terms (at least for this thread). Thanks all.

Sure we are all doctors, but we also are humans first. We need to take care of ourselves and families before we do others. Money is essential to survival, lets think in those terms (at least for this thread). Thanks all.

Although what you are saying sounds reasonable to most of us, good luck convincing politicians and managed care to believe you. We are expected to put our patients' desires and needs before our own, hence the word altruism. And unfortunately managed care is ignoring the fact that physicians have families, and that they have limited income. Politicians are on the sides of insurance companies (with very strong lobbies), tort lawyers (no need to explain), and nurses (DNPs getting the Dr title), and they seem oblivious to the skyrocketing medical school tuition.

A politician can easily say this:
"Physicians are all rich because they earn $200K on average, over 5 times as much as average americans. These greedy jerks dont need all that money, I mean look at other countries, Germany pays doctors $70K, why can't we? No wonder health care is so expensive!!!! Our well being is more important than those doctors' lamborghinis, let us have some money please!!!!!!"

As ridiculous as the last paragraph sounds, it is sufficient to convince most americans that doctors earn way too much money.

And which specialties might be hot and demanding in 10+ years?

No way to say. No one could have seen the cash boom of derm or the precarious position of CT surgery these days back 15 years ago. Every physician I've posed this question to also has the same answer. The ebb and flow of reimbursement in medicine is too hard to predict, especially now that any semblance of control of reimbursement is out of physicians' hands.

A politician can easily say this:
"Physicians are all rich because they earn $200K on average, over 5 times as much as average americans. These greedy jerks dont need all that money, I mean look at other countries, Germany pays doctors $70K, why can't we? No wonder health care is so expensive!!!! Our well being is more important than those doctors' lamborghinis, let us have some money please!!!!!!"


And I can easily say this: A physicians workweek is 50% longer than the average american, they missed on earning wages and investing during there 20s, and are 200K in the whole (which is 500k in repayment due to interest), so 200k average salary really is not too much to ask for.

And I can easily say this: A physicians workweek is 50% longer than the average american, they missed on earning wages and investing during there 20s, and are 200K in the whole (which is 500k in repayment due to interest), so 200k average salary really is not too much to ask for.

I completely agree with you, but again, this will fall to the deaf ears of our politicians and insurance companies.

Most of us are in this forum are potential and future doctors. We all share the same dream but the reasons for it are subjective. However, in the end we all have the face the root of all evil—money. As medicine is gradually declining, the salaries are becoming more and more unreasonable. Can you possibly blame the competitive spot for derms? With a 250k+ debt, We will be chasing all the money we can.

To keep this short and simple.

Which specialties right now are top paying?
And which specialties might be hot and demanding in 10+ years?

Sure we are all doctors, but we also are humans first. We need to take care of ourselves and families before we do others. Money is essential to survival, lets think in those terms (at least for this thread). Thanks all.

Hard to say which specialty will be popular in 15 years time.

I remember back in the mid-90's (yes, I'm that old :D) when we had foreign medical graduates who ended up in anesthesia because no one else would go into it. US medical graduates avoided it because they all thought technology would make it useless and the salary was going to go down the tube.

Now it's considered a ROAD specialty and people saying it's big bucks. The funny thing is when I ask some of current medical students applying to anesthesia about this, they all assume that anesthesia has always been a cushy, competitive job! It amazes me how easily people forget the trends in medicine. The moral of the story? Never judge a specialty by it's current "hotness". There are so many factors that contribute to physician bottom line. Plus, with health care in constant flux, who knows how it's going to end?