Let me start by saying that I appreciate yours and a few others input in the resident forum.
10 years ago, I wouldn't go into this field but for the last 4-5 years or so things have been getting better slowly and one example of this is the accepted stats of students; they have been a lot better than what they were back in 2011-2015. Scope of practice also gotten better in certain areas like within the VA (for example).
Now, almost all the current attendings/pod that post regularly are making over 200K (or at least according to their posts I have seen); to say that they are the "outliers" or the top 10-15% of the profession and then say this profession is "crap" (and no one else can make that much) is just hypocritical & selfish IMO. Also, those that are doing well in this profession don’t have time for SDN; it is the ppl that are not happy with their current situation that bitc* and moan than others. True for failed students at Pod programs or those in practice or life in general.
No one on this forum is oblivious about the current scope of practice for this field or how the older pods/ppl working at the admin level are screwing the new residents (either with salary or board certifications)...That said, I don't remember reading here anyone saying that this field is "AMAZING"...lol. Granted, 1/3rd of my class is in this field because they couldn't get into an MD/DO program but that doesn't they think it will be all rainbows and ponies after residency (when compared to other healthcare fields). People taking acceptances do their search before they enroll, believe it or not. But as you said, you know ppl that are doing well and then others that are not...so its not up to you or me to tell anyone here that they shouldn’t pursue this field because it’s a career “suicide”. Let the applicant do their research and decide what they want to do for their life.
I like to believe that we are on a trend that will make this profession better 5-10 years from today and with current older pods retiring, newer mindset for new/young pods, work ethics, and hunger to be the best, will only allow this profession to move forward. Those that are in this field and are good at their job can easily make more than a general FM/IM. Period.
To the pre-pods, again, do your research before enrolling, shadow as many ppl as you can, take what I or ANYONE else say on these forums with a grain of salt.