A common question

[LGMAlpha]

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I have read this board for a decent period of time, and I believe this will be my first post. My question is one that I am certain is asked many times. I recently just graduated high school and currently enrolled at the University of Kentucky as a biology major. I am also participating in the guaranteed medical school accept program.

I have wanted to be a physician(anesthesiologist) for several years, but am recently beginning to reconsider. The reason I am beginning to question my original decision, is the total cost compared to the benefits of medicine. The cost being the time invested in medical school and residencies, as well as the very large sum of money. Also as we all know the income for physicians will likely drop in the near future, especially if socialized medicine is accepted.

My reasoning behind being a physician is largely the money, but also the job security, the prestige, and the opportunity for advance. Likewise, I understand that the average income will always be considerably higher than the median income. Where does the income rank in comparison with other professions requiring an equivalent education?

Now I ask you for your opinions. Are the reasons I listed, in your opinions, worth going through what it takes to become a medical doctor, and if not, in your opinion what would be a better career alternative?

 

[piss ant]

and in 3...2...1...


...I-banker



IMHO, your reasons are very common and it's clearly why medicine is so competitive. I also think that they're enough to sustain you through the difficult periods and when the dust settles, albeit some time from now, you'll be happy with your decision.

I could be wrong, but I'm probably not.

 

[deleted74029]

Your reasons are honestly pretty much everyone elses reasons, we're just too old now to admit it so we play the ol' altruism card.

 

[TehDoc]

My reasoning behind being a physician is largely the money, but also the job security, the prestige, and the opportunity for advance. Likewise, I understand that the average income will always be considerably higher than the median income. Where does the income rank in comparison with other professions requiring an equivalent education?

Now I ask you for your opinions. Are the reasons I listed, in your opinions, worth going through what it takes to become a medical doctor, and if not, in your opinion what would be a better career alternative?

Hey man, all of this sounds good. All you have to do is just keep your motives for money and prestige in mind in the next 10-12 years and you'll make it. It will undoubtedly be worth it and you will live a happy life.

 

[Caesar]

I have read this board for a decent period of time, and I believe this will be my first post. My question is one that I am certain is asked many times. I recently just graduated high school and currently enrolled at the University of Kentucky as a biology major. I am also participating in the guaranteed medical school accept program.

I have wanted to be a physician(anesthesiologist) for several years, but am recently beginning to reconsider. The reason I am beginning to question my original decision, is the total cost compared to the benefits of medicine. The cost being the time invested in medical school and residencies, as well as the very large sum of money. Also as we all know the income for physicians will likely drop in the near future, especially if socialized medicine is accepted.

My reasoning behind being a physician is largely the money, but also the job security, the prestige, and the opportunity for advance. Likewise, I understand that the average income will always be considerably higher than the median income. Where does the income rank in comparison with other professions requiring an equivalent education?

Now I ask you for your opinions. Are the reasons I listed, in your opinions, worth going through what it takes to become a medical doctor, and if not, in your opinion what would be a better career alternative?

doctors are in the top 2% of incomes in the US. That won't change. My reasons are that I really do want to do something useful, and I want to raise successful children. Medicine, specifically EM, will allow me to do both. My personality is that I need to be in charge and I need to do important things. If becoming a doctor was terrible, people would stop doing it.

 

[diosa428]

If becoming a doctor was terrible, people would stop doing it.

Not really. You will be in your third year of medical school before you even begin to understand what life as a doctor could be, and you will not be experiencing it fully until you are, in fact, a doctor. Most people are in far too much debt and have already dedicated too much time to getting into the field. Sure, people who would rather die than continue practicing medicine will quit, but the majority will just suck it up and keep practicing b/c it's a good paycheck and they need the money b/c they can't afford the money or time that a career change would cost. I'm not saying that everyone hates it, but just because people aren't quitting doesn't mean they're all happy.

To the OP: yes, doctors make a lot of money. However, the lifestyle specialties are extremely competitive right now, so there's no guarantee that you'll be able to get into an extremely high paying field. If you'd be happy with $150-200k, then medicine would be an ok choice. But consider that you will spend 4 years in graduate school + 3-7 years in residency + 1-3 years in fellowship. That's a minimum of 7 years to be fully trained and receiving a full paycheck. When you consider that, plus the amount of debt you will be in ($200,000 accumulates to almost half a million if you pay it off over 30 years, which is at payments of $1,300 a month) and the extra amount of time you put in... it's not the greatest. Law students, for example, go to grad school for only 3 years and get very high paying summer jobs ($30k for like 10 weeks) to help pay tuition. I'm not sure what they make straight out of school, but my guess is that it's more than a resident makes (hell, my friends with bachelor's degrees make more than residents make). Business has the chance at being very profitable, but it does not have good job security and you have to be very good at your job. The same goes for I-banking. PhDs make less than MDs, but they get paid to go to grad school, so they end up with little or no debt (I'm talking about science PhDs here, I realize that this doesn't necessarily apply to all areas). PhDs also have better hours than MDs. PAs have good salaries, and go to school for only 2 years, but some people have trouble with the lack of autonomy. You could also consider Pharmacy school. Anyway, good luck with whatever you choose.

 

[beancounter21]

i think a good question to ask yourself is, if you could start working at any job you wanted today and they all paid the same, would you still choose to work as a doctor? if there isn't something drawing you to health care other than the money and prestige, then it proabably isn't worth it to you to make the enormous sacrifices required, especially given the direction the field is going. if you're willing to work hard, you can do very well for yourself in many other fields (such as business or engineering) with only a bachelors or masters.

 

[piss ant]

i think a good question to ask yourself is, if you could start working at any job you wanted today and they all paid the same, would you still choose to work as a doctor?

It's not a helpful question. It's so entirely divorced from reality that it proves itself a useless thought experiment.

 

[beancounter21]

It's not a helpful question. It's so entirely divorced from reality that it proves itself a useless thought experiment.

as someone who is currently transferring out of a well paying career, i think it's a very good question. you don't want to be stuck doing something for the rest of your life that you don't naturally enjoy. money isn't everything. but it's pretty darn close 🙂

 

[djfermion]

Wow this is actually kind of interesting because it seems most of the time the topic about money and prestige is raised people have the opposite opinion. It's good to see that people understand and accept these motives and are encouraging the OP to continue. Heck I know I would be lying if I said that money and prestige aren't a big part of my pursuit to be a doctor.