Choosing hours in the medical profession

[PWA 33]

Hi all, I couldn't find a general medicinal work forum but I figured this would be a good place to ask a general question about the medical profession.

Now, I really like medicine and science, but the one thing I like more is free time. I am going into medicine because I think it's a very interesting, rewarding, and enjoyable field, but truthfully I don't need or want a big house and cars and $250k a year (if I have to work 8 hour days all year for it...).

So, once I've worked full time a while and payed off my debts (which should be relatively low), I figure 50-60k a year is enough for me. Is it possible to work 4 months a year, and make 1/3 (even 1/4 is fine) of the yearly salary? That would be my preferred option, but working around 3 hours a day all year for a proportional pay would be fine as well.

Is this possible and in which specialties would it be easiest to do this in?

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[Team Zissou]

EM docs usually work 3 weeks out of the month.. I heard they can work 9 months straight and then have 3 months off.. but i have no idea if that is true. Im probably totally wrong, and if so I apologize b4 i get the "u dumbas* you should worry about making it through med school first before you give advice bla bla"

 

[Law2Doc]

but truthfully I don't need or want a big house and cars and $250k a year (if I have to work 8 hour days all year for it...).

Um, medicine isn't a 40 hour a week job, it's more frequently a 60+ hour a week job. If you think the dudes with the big houses and cars are only working 40 hours per week, you really need to take a step back and get some perspective. It's pretty common for folks in medicine to work 12 hour days. If you want to earn less, you might be able to find a "part time" gig where you are working closer to 8 hours per day. If that seems like too much, then you are looking in the wrong field. As mentioned, ED docs do shifts which tend to be long days but fewer of them with the end result that you might end up working fewer than 40 hours per week. However those hours are often overnights. I kind of doubt you will find any physician job that allows you to just work 4 months out of the year (continuity of patient care basically makes this impractical), nor will you find an employer that allows you to work 3 hours per day. I suppose if you did psych you could probably hang out a shingle and schedule a couple of patients per day, working for yourself, but it's hard to imagine you'd earn much of a living after paying medmal insurance and overhead. Sounds like a good way to go broke, actually.

 

[patzan]

ED, Anesthesia, Derm, and Radiology are very conducive to part-time work. Many women who go into these fields can raise children and work part time.

 

[Law2Doc]

ED, Anesthesia, Derm, and Radiology are very conducive to part-time work. Many women who go into these fields can raise children and work part time.

The average hours in two of those three fields are consistently over 60 hours per week. So we aren't talking anything close to the 4 months out of the year or 3 hours per day OP is seeking.

 

[asm436]

anything is possible...it depends on your specialty I suppose. I know a doctor that has a huge house and 2 cars, 2 teenagers, and works about 20 hours a week. She's a urologist and has her own practice. Who knows how much she had to work to get to that point though.

 

[yadayadadude]

Who knows how much she had to work to get to that point, though.

Exactly. OP, you do know how medical training works, right? It's a crapload of work for about a million years.

Purely out of curiosity, what's your deal? Who wants to work 3 hours/day? Do you want to homeschool your kids? Do you have some consuming hobby or passion? Are you lazy?

 

[PWA 33]

I don't see why you can't just say "I want to work 1/4 of the year so give me 1/4 of the yearly pay." For some specialties where continuous patient coverage is needed this won't work but I don't see why you can't do it in something like EM where the work changes every day.

 

[PWA 33]

I want to work 3 hours a day because I want to enjoy my life and not spend it all working for stuff I don't need.

 

[Team Zissou]

 

[Green Chimneys]

The average hours in two of those three fields are consistently over 60 hours per week. So we aren't talking anything close to the 4 months out of the year or 3 hours per day OP is seeking.

True, but with the exception perhaps of derm, you carry no long term patients with any of those specialties. Everyone you see is one-and-done, so taking a planned leave of absence from your job is much easier.

 

[Reimat]

I want to work 3 hours a day because I want to enjoy my life and not spend it all working for stuff I don't need.

Honestly? Don't do medicine - you're talking at least 4 (college) + 4 (med school) + 3-7 (residency) years of hard work to get to the point where you'd even have the option of working 3 hours/day. And to really get into a specialty where you could do that, you'd need to work your a$$ off to get there. Here's some sage advice from Office Space:

"Peter Gibbons: What would you do if you had a million dollars?
Lawrence: I'll tell you what I'd do, man: two chicks at the same time, man.
Peter Gibbons: That's it? If you had a million dollars, you'd do two chicks at the same time?
Lawrence: Damn straight. I always wanted to do that, man. And I think if I were a millionaire I could hook that up, too; 'cause chicks dig dudes with money.
Peter Gibbons: Well, not all chicks.
Lawrence: Well, the type of chicks that'd double up on a dude like me do.
Peter Gibbons: Good point.
Lawrence: Well, what about you now? what would you do?
Peter Gibbons: Besides two chicks at the same time?
Lawrence: Well, yeah.
Peter Gibbons: Nothing.
Lawrence: Nothing, huh?
Peter Gibbons: I would relax... I would sit on my *** all day... I would do nothing.
Lawrence: Well, you don't need a million dollars to do nothing, man. Take a look at my cousin: he's broke, don't do ****."

 

[coldweatherblue]

I want to work 3 hours a day because I want to enjoy my life and not spend it all working for stuff I don't need.

I think the assumption going into medicine is that you will work long hours not to "get stuff you don't need" but because there is a constant flow of people who need your professional skills and it's very hard (maybe unethical?) to refuse giving care when you're the only one who can do it.

Also I plan on really enjoying my life but that means I need to have a worthwhile career. No way would I be content working less than 40 hrs/week (at least right now at a young age). I know from experience that when I have too much free time I waste it and end up feeling like crap for not being productive.

But I think one of the easiest specialties to have a "controlled lifestyle" is EM. You will work maybe 3 or 4 12hr shifts a week but honestly that isn't THAT much.

 

[JacobSilge]

I don't see why you can't just say "I want to work 1/4 of the year so give me 1/4 of the yearly pay." For some specialties where continuous patient coverage is needed this won't work but I don't see why you can't do it in something like EM where the work changes every day.

Because you can't make your overhead, liability insurance, and benefits also cost 1/4 of the amount by saying that. You can probably take home 1/2 of the pay for working 2/3 of the hours though.

 

[PWA 33]

well what other stable profession should I choose that I can make enough money in 3 months to do nothing the rest of the year. Physician jobs are the highest paying in America. Things like starting your own business are very hit and miss and all other stable professions are lower paying than medicine so therefore you would have to work more hours to make enough to have fun and have lots of free time. Not to mention I am good and interested in science (just more interested in free time) so doing this seems like the best option.

 

[J ROD]

Be a doc on a cruise ship some of the year.

 

[Slide]

well what other stable profession should I choose that I can make enough money in 3 months to do nothing the rest of the year. Physician jobs are the highest paying in America. Things like starting your own business are very hit and miss and all other stable professions are lower paying than medicine so therefore you would have to work more hours to make enough to have fun and have lots of free time. Not to mention I am good and interested in science (just more interested in free time) so doing this seems like the best option.

Be a high school science teacher, and go for a private well-funded one if you want a bigger salary. Teachers are generally in need, especially those with good with science.

It looks like you're trying to do medicine for the wrong reasons (read: money and an easy lifestyle). You need to research the field much more than what you have currently done so far to get a good idea of what to expect. It's hard for most physicians to attain a 40hr work week. Primary care docs are working their butts off due to a high volume of patients and specialists are doing a ton of procedures to work off that overhead, not to mention train and hone their skills.

The fact of the matter is that pursuing medicine is a heavy time investment you must be willing to take. A half-assed attitude won't get you very far.

 

[notdeadyet]

well what other stable profession should I choose that I can make enough money in 3 months to do nothing the rest of the year.

Your question is kind of like asking what's the best hangglider for someone who is afraid of heights...

"Stable professions", for the most part, hire stable people. This means, not folks for 3 month stretches who have their eyes on chilling for the other 9. You're looking for pick-up work, which you'll find in the temping and tourism industries, but not a lot come to mind for ones that you can make a whole lot of money in.

 

[howelljolly]

well what other stable profession should I choose that I can make enough money in 3 months to do nothing the rest of the year. Physician jobs are the highest paying in America. Things like starting your own business are very hit and miss and all other stable professions are lower paying than medicine so therefore you would have to work more hours to make enough to have fun and have lots of free time. Not to mention I am good and interested in science (just more interested in free time) so doing this seems like the best option.

What planet are you on? Medicine is not a "stable" profession compared to others. Physicians' reimbursement has been, and will continue to decrease. It is certainly not anywhere near the highest paying job in America.

If you are looking to put in the least amount of effort into your work from the outset, you'll never survive medical school... maybe not even undergrad. If by some miracle you get into residency, you'll find that you work harder than in any other job in America which pays $8/hour.

Its nice that you are "good and interested in science". Being "good and interested in science" won't help you become a physician. A bit of work ethic will, though.

 

[deleted77919]

If you are looking to put in the least amount of effort into your work from the outset, you'll never survive medical school... maybe not even undergrad.

I was going to say this, but you made the point for me. I can't imagine anyone lasting through this process if medicine is something they only want to do for a few hours a week. By the time someone has finished 4 years of medical school and 3-7 years of residency (+fellowship if that's your thing) you have sunk a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into this. Medicine does not lend itself well to hobby status.

 

[ZagDoc]

Hell I'm hoping to shoot for 65 hours a week, and even that may prove difficult in the long run...

 

[Long Dong]

I know a dermie she works Mon-Thurs 10-12 and then 2-5 that adds up to about 20 hours a week and still makes a killing while her PAs do most of the work at 2 different offices.

 

[PWA 33]

What planet are you on? Medicine is not a "stable" profession compared to others. Physicians' reimbursement has been, and will continue to decrease. It is certainly not anywhere near the highest paying job in America.

If you are looking to put in the least amount of effort into your work from the outset, you'll never survive medical school... maybe not even undergrad. If by some miracle you get into residency, you'll find that you work harder than in any other job in America which pays $8/hour.

Its nice that you are "good and interested in science". Being "good and interested in science" won't help you become a physician. A bit of work ethic will, though.

Why do you assume I have no work ethic? I work hard enough to have a 4.0 in a tough undergrad. When I look at my future, however, I don't want to do the same thing every day for 30 years and ride off into the sunset with some expensive automobiles and property to show for it; that is boring. I just want to live the happiest and funnest life. And it just happens that the most enjoyable future profession for me is also one of the highest paying. I don't need or want all that money though, so it makes sense to make enough during the shortest possible time and spend the rest of the year doing my most enjoyable activity -- whatever I want (spending time with friends, family, sleeping, playing games, and drinking).

As far as the payment goes, every place I have looked at shows doctors as making the most money on average:
http://www.money-zine.com/Career-Development/Finding-a-Job/High-Paying-Careers/

http://www.degreeselect.com/degreeSelectLogin.do?articleId=23


So are there any suggestions of other professions (outside of selling drugs) for the lifestyle I am seeking?

I am also talking about starting up a private practice with a buddy later on so that would make it easier to make my own schedule as well.

 

[ZagDoc]

Why do you assume I have no work ethic? I work hard enough to have a 4.0 in a tough undergrad. When I look at my future, however, I don't want to do the same thing every day for 30 years and ride off into the sunset with some expensive automobiles and property to show for it; that is boring. I just want to live the happiest and funnest life. And it just happens that the most enjoyable future profession for me is also one of the highest paying. I don't need or want all that money though, so it makes sense to make enough during the shortest possible time and spend the rest of the year doing my most enjoyable activity -- whatever I want (spending time with friends, family, sleeping, playing games, and drinking).

As far as the payment goes, every place I have looked at shows doctors as making the most money on average:
http://www.money-zine.com/Career-Development/Finding-a-Job/High-Paying-Careers/

http://www.degreeselect.com/degreeSelectLogin.do?articleId=23


So are there any suggestions of other professions (outside of selling drugs) for the lifestyle I am seeking?

I am also talking about starting up a private practice with a buddy later on so that would make it easier to make my own schedule as well.

The reason people have been heaping it on is that the select few specialties left out there are which fit your criteria for the most part the most competitive to get into (for that very reason). You had to bust your *** even more so than your classmates through med school, hope for some lucky breaks, and sometimes even that isn't enough. And success in undergrad is in no way a guarantee a success in medical school. I've seen classmates who burnt up their GPA in undergrad fall flat on their face in medical school and have had to temper their amibitions for a field that is less competitive and more realistics.

Reimbursement for physicians is trending down in nearly all areas, and isn't going to get any better. And private practice isn't the golden ticket anymore. Group practice is the only way most places stay financially viable anymore, and a group of physicians would be highly hesitant to bring in a colleague who openly only wants to minimally practice. This isn't the 90's, that sort of niche just doesn't exist anymore. While private practice does reimburse higher, a lot of private practice docs I've talked to have found they have to work harder to keep their practice afloat than they would contracted in a hospital. The overhead has simply gotten that high and the line between success and failure has gotten to be very thin (to only get thinner).

Is it worth an additional 7+ years of training, significant debt, and forfeited years of your life? Only you can decide that, but if you can't find gratification in the hard work itself I'd strongly steer you away from medicine.

 

[Law2Doc]

Why do you assume I have no work ethic? I work hard enough to have a 4.0 in a tough undergrad. When I look at my future, however, I don't want to do the same thing every day for 30 years and ride off into the sunset with some expensive automobiles and property to show for it; that is boring. I just want to live the happiest and funnest life. And it just happens that the most enjoyable future profession for me is also one of the highest paying. I don't need or want all that money though, so it makes sense to make enough during the shortest possible time and spend the rest of the year doing my most enjoyable activity -- whatever I want (spending time with friends, family, sleeping, playing games, and drinking).

As far as the payment goes, every place I have looked at shows doctors as making the most money on average:
http://www.money-zine.com/Career-Development/Finding-a-Job/High-Paying-Careers/

http://www.degreeselect.com/degreeSelectLogin.do?articleId=23


So are there any suggestions of other professions (outside of selling drugs) for the lifestyle I am seeking?

I am also talking about starting up a private practice with a buddy later on so that would make it easier to make my own schedule as well.

I'm not sure what your point is with those links if you supposedly aren't interested in the money. Sure, eg surgeons are well paid, but those are folks working 80+ hours a week after a decade of training. If you want a job where you can work only part of the year or a few hours of the day, a profession isn't going to be the best option because, as mentioned by JacobSilge above, your overhead is going to be the same whether you work full time or part -- meaning you are just as expensive to your employer as the guy who is working full time, but won't be generating enough revenues to make it worth his while. So if an employer is going to shell out medmal insurance and other costs, he comes out way ahead if the person is working 10 hours a day than if the guy works 3. So your option may be limited to being self employed in those kinds of hours. But as I mentioned, I kind of doubt you can earn enough in 3 hours/day to offset your overhead and still earn a salary. People pay for physicians via insurance, and insurance reimbursements severely limit what you can charge per patient visit.
I agree with the prior poster who indicated that a high school science teacher sounds like your dream job. That is a stable job (there is a huge shortage), the hours are short, and you get many months of vacation per year. You won't earn a decent living, but you have already indicated that isn't important to you. If you opt to go into a business (as medicine is), you have to make business sense. And 3 hours per day or 4 months out of the year simply doesn't.

 

[mules05]

Why do you assume I have no work ethic? I work hard enough to have a 4.0 in a tough undergrad. When I look at my future, however, I don't want to do the same thing every day for 30 years and ride off into the sunset with some expensive automobiles and property to show for it; that is boring. I just want to live the happiest and funnest life.

Call me crazy, but I'm in this because I love it. I don't want to do the same thing every day either, but that's why I'm not going into internal med.

Also, a 4.0 in undergrad isn't necessarily an indicator of good work ethic; if you're fairly bright you can get that with minimal work put in.

And it just happens that the most enjoyable future profession for me is also one of the highest paying. I don't need or want all that money though, so it makes sense to make enough during the shortest possible time and spend the rest of the year doing my most enjoyable activity -- whatever I want (spending time with friends, family, sleeping, playing games, and drinking).

This may seem like fun while you're 18, but what normal 30 year old would continue to aspire to getting wasted and playing xbox all day?? Most people find a career that they enjoy and derive some pleasure from that in addition to their leisure activities, rather than attempting to maintain the college lifestyle for another 20 years.

 

[Slide]

Why do you assume I have no work ethic? I work hard enough to have a 4.0 in a tough undergrad. When I look at my future, however, I don't want to do the same thing every day for 30 years and ride off into the sunset with some expensive automobiles and property to show for it; that is boring. I just want to live the happiest and funnest life. And it just happens that the most enjoyable future profession for me is also one of the highest paying. I don't need or want all that money though, so it makes sense to make enough during the shortest possible time and spend the rest of the year doing my most enjoyable activity -- whatever I want (spending time with friends, family, sleeping, playing games, and drinking).

As far as the payment goes, every place I have looked at shows doctors as making the most money on average:
http://www.money-zine.com/Career-Development/Finding-a-Job/High-Paying-Careers/

http://www.degreeselect.com/degreeSelectLogin.do?articleId=23


So are there any suggestions of other professions (outside of selling drugs) for the lifestyle I am seeking?

I am also talking about starting up a private practice with a buddy later on so that would make it easier to make my own schedule as well.

Actually from what it looks like, you may just need to take a year or two off after undergrad to get some perspective. Some of my buddies are taking a year or two off because they busted their arse in undergrad, but were too burned out to go straight into med school, so they took a year off for "reflection", and by that (and judging by their facebook pics), they meant just a yearlong worth of partying and traveling.

 

[NonTradMed]

I knew a girl whose sister does ER locum temp for 5 months out of the year, and travels the other 7 months. This was several years back and she made $50k/yr working 5 months (but I think she lived in NYC)....so it's definitely feasible to work parttime and make enough to live on.

However, not everyone will go into ER, and not all jobs are that flexible.

In the medical profession, most jobs require a continuity of care that working 20 hours/week is just not feasible. That said, there are some women doctors who work parttime. But I'm willing to wager that they probably work close to 35 hours and make only half their income, so you work 'almost' fulltime for half the pay (plus no benefits).

To the OP, it sounds like you want to enjoy your cake and eat it too. The unfortunate thing is you can't expect to get paid a lot of money and not work for it for at least some portion of your life. Even doctors who seem to have the good life with the big cars and the 20 hour work week probably worked their asses off when they were younger to develop the skills and patient base to enable them to set their schedule like that. Medicine is a front heavy career. You will be required to make heavy sacrifices early on in life, only to reap the benefits later. It's not for those who want to do it on the side and spend most of their days tending to hobbies.

I would actually suggest something like nursing over medicine in this regard. The training is shorter, and it is all shift work. So it's like the ER scenario I mentioned earlier. You work 12 hour shifts 3-days a week, then you are off for four days. The days are intense, but four day weekends are also pretty nice. Also, if you find that you don't like it, you can quit and do something else. Medical school is more expensive, and you can be chained to that debt for a long time (ie. you may be forced to practice medicine fulltime for many years just to pay back your debt). Other jobs I would suggest is something programming. I was a programmer in a past life, and the options to work from home, or have a flexible work schedule is a lot easier to find since you are in front of the computer all day and there is little need to interface with real people. Plus, you get paid pretty well for the amount of education you get.

Just some stuff to think about.

 

[yadayadadude]

So are there any suggestions of other professions (outside of selling drugs) for the lifestyle I am seeking?

Don't you think that if such a job existed, every other person on the planet would be trying to get it? Hell, I'd like to work 30 minutes a month and make a decent living too. Who wouldn't?

This thread kills me.

 

[notdeadyet]

I knew a girl whose sister does ER locum temp for 5 months out of the year, and travels the other 7 months. This was several years back and she made $50k/yr working 5 months (but I think she lived in NYC)....so it's definitely feasible to work parttime and make enough to live on.

Your friend's sister had the worst set of recruiters ever, boy... That's some way low pay for emergency locum tenems...

 

[digitlnoize]

Why do you assume I have no work ethic?

So are there any suggestions of other professions (outside of selling drugs) for the lifestyle I am seeking?

I am also talking about starting up a private practice with a buddy later on so that would make it easier to make my own schedule as well.

Ok. First...this is SDN and these are the type of responses you are going to get to this question if you ask it here. This is a bit long, but I promise you there is some good advice in here.

Second, it is VERY possible to do what you are proposing in a variety of ways in a variety of fields.

I work with many ER docs who only work say 40 hours a month at a given hospital. Now, most of them have other jobs, but they don't HAVE to.

There is also this great thing in medicine called LOCUM TENENS. Basically, you fill in for any vacationing or otherwise missing employees for pretty good pay. This exists in many specialties. This is probably your best bet if you want MONTHS off at a time. Downside, it's basically the doc version of "temp-ing" and you get no benefits, retirement, etc. You can always buy your own insurance though.

Many radiologists work part time doing tele radiology from home.

I know of some Family Practice docs who also work part time. This is actually harder to do if you have your own practice. There are certainly practices out there who would hire you to work 2 or 3 days a week only.

Lots of other medically related fields have flexible hours. Dentistry comes to mind...see family practice, above. There's also Dental Hygiene which is VERY flexible, less school, less cash. PA's are just as flexible as docs...if not more so.

I get what you're saying about wanting to enjoy life. Remember though, that studies have shown that money, to some extent DOES buy happiness...in that you need money to do the things you want to do!

Good luck taking that 2 month trip to the Bahamas on 60k/yr

Seriously though...there are many, many specialties with good hours, great pay, flexible schedules, and vacation time. The most competitive specialties tend to offer the best vacation packages. I have a friend in radiology who gets 18 weeks off per year and makes 500k. Pretty sweet gig if you ask me.

Also, your priorities may change a bit when you have a family. You can't go globetrot and leave your wife at home to raise the kids...well, you could, but you'd probably never get any again! Also don't forget that the kids can't take off school for that long!

In the future, you will choose money over fun for many, many reasons: kids' college education, retirement, paying for your parents' end of life care, saving some cash to spend on doing fun things. I understand that you don't want the sports car and the other stupid crap. Neither do I. But when you get to be as old as me, other things become important.

Unless you're a troll. The ugly kind, not the internet kind. Then you don't have to worry about the whole kid/wife/family thing. In which case, you'll die alone and miserable anyways, and you might as well have bought that Porsche!

 

[SurferBoyMD]

Your question is kind of like asking what's the best hangglider for someone who is afraid of heights...

"Stable professions", for the most part, hire stable people. This means, not folks for 3 month stretches who have their eyes on chilling for the other 9. You're looking for pick-up work, which you'll find in the temping and tourism industries, but not a lot come to mind for ones that you can make a whole lot of money in.

 

[NonTradMed]

Your friend's sister had the worst set of recruiters ever, boy... That's some way low pay for emergency locum tenems...

Hey, I said it was several years back. I'm sure adjusted for inflation, it's more, ya know?

 

[PWA 33]

Thanks for the replies... Locum Tenens looks like it's for me. I can probably rake in some good money too for my limited time since I am considering being a night owl in EM if I do this... I will hopefully always be in need somewhere in a decent sized city so I'll be able to have a permanent location. With the long breaks I won't even burn out!

Also, I'm not planning on taking vacations during a majority of my time off. Chilling at home is good enough for me. Lots of families make it just fine with 60k a year and hell we may even end up getting government benefits haha.

The way I see it, this is the wisest choice with the taxing on the rich and its future. Time is money, except it can't be taxed. What's the use of working all year when after the first few months you're making half of your hourly wage because of taxes? I'm gonna stop working when I feel my tax bracket is getting unfair and rake in the rest of my earnings in free time. The only property that can't be taxed is your time, and i'm gonna be as rich in time-dollars as anyone.


Well there's my manifesto, blow some holes in it

 

[SoCuteMD]

ED, Anesthesia, Derm, and Radiology are very conducive to part-time work. Many women who go into these fields can raise children and work part time.

I hear they're letting men raise kids these days, too.

 

[deleted77919]

There's still the issue of sacrificing 7 years post-undergrad (minimum) and then you still have to figure out to pay off your loans. Say you borrow $200,000 for school, at 6.8% interest (the going Stafford rate) that'll mean a monthly payment of $1,300, or about $15,600/yr (and remember this is for 30 years). Paying that out of your $60k post tax will not be easy. Unless you plan to be single, in which case it would be an ascetic lifestyle, but doable without dependents.

 

[digitlnoize]

Thanks for the replies... Locum Tenens looks like it's for me. I can probably rake in some good money too for my limited time since I am considering being a night owl in EM if I do this... I will hopefully always be in need somewhere in a decent sized city so I'll be able to have a permanent location. With the long breaks I won't even burn out!

Also, I'm not planning on taking vacations during a majority of my time off. Chilling at home is good enough for me. Lots of families make it just fine with 60k a year and hell we may even end up getting government benefits haha.

The way I see it, this is the wisest choice with the taxing on the rich and its future. Time is money, except it can't be taxed. What's the use of working all year when after the first few months you're making half of your hourly wage because of taxes? I'm gonna stop working when I feel my tax bracket is getting unfair and rake in the rest of my earnings in free time. The only property that can't be taxed is your time, and i'm gonna be as rich in time-dollars as anyone.


Well there's my manifesto, blow some holes in it

If that makes you happy, then you can certainly do it. Don't forget you might have a spouse's income to add to that 60k. And, 60k today (or tomorrow) won't go as far as it used to. It's getting tougher and tougher to live comfortably on that.

By "comfortably" I don't mean Gucci and Prada. I mean being able to go out to eat, or go to movies, or take a trip to the beach once a year, painting your house, getting new siding, buying a new fridge...this crap adds up fast.

If you really want to get the best "bang for your buck" go check out the Finance and Investment forum, or the Anesthesia forum (Gas is known for being heavy into investment and SDN is certainly one for cliche's.)

 

[Law2Doc]

Thanks for the replies... Locum Tenens looks like it's for me. I can probably rake in some good money too for my limited time since I am considering being a night owl in EM if I do this... I will hopefully always be in need somewhere in a decent sized city so I'll be able to have a permanent location. With the long breaks I won't even burn out!

There is no job security in temp work. Budgets change, needs change and these jobs come and go. One year there may be huge demand, the next it may be more sparse. If you want a permanent location you usually need to have a permanent job. Also bear in mind that you are going to have to get through 4 years of med school, three years of residency (where you will work 60-80 hours per week) before you can do this work, and a lot can change in 7+ years, both in terms of the availability of such jobs, and your own personal needs. I probably wouldn't take the plunge into a career like medicine to basically do it part time and on a temporary basis, with no steady paycheck or benefits, but that's just me. There are careers that are better suited to being part time endeavors, and they tend not to be the professions.

 

[sprinkibrio]

I know a doc in a small town in West Texas that works about a total of a 7-14 days per month (plus call on the days she's working). She's a high risk OB and the other doc that owns the practice just wants a bit of time off sometimes. It's also hard to find a full-time partner for an area most educated folk would call "crappy."

Moral: You can find whatever you want in medicine if you make certain sacrifices.

 

[Law2Doc]

I know a doc in a small town in West Texas that works about a total of a 7-14 days per month (plus call on the days she's working). She's a high risk OB and the other doc that owns the practice just wants a bit of time off sometimes. You can find whatever you want in medicine.

Everybody is going to know an exception to the rule, but that doesn't really undermine the rule. Many OB's have a tough time earning a good living in some jurisdictions due to higher insurance costs, so it stands to reason that someone working part time and in a higher risk patient group is probably not going to be doing particularly well. If you don't need the money (ie have a wealthy spouse subsidizing you) you can do something like this. If you are the sole breadwinner, I kind of doubt it.

 

[sprinkibrio]

I think the assumption going into medicine is that you will work long hours not to "get stuff you don't need" but because there is a constant flow of people who need your professional skills and it's very hard (maybe unethical?) to refuse giving care when you're the only one who can do it.

That's really funny.

 

[45408]

I don't see why you can't just say "I want to work 1/4 of the year so give me 1/4 of the yearly pay." For some specialties where continuous patient coverage is needed this won't work but I don't see why you can't do it in something like EM where the work changes every day.

Simple. No one will hire you.

I want to work 3 hours a day because I want to enjoy my life and not spend it all working for stuff I don't need.

You have a few too many hobbies if you need 21 hours a day for them. Medicine is NOT for you.

 

[45408]

"Stable professions", for the most part, hire stable people. This means, not folks for 3 month stretches who have their eyes on chilling for the other 9. You're looking for pick-up work, which you'll find in the temping and tourism industries, but not a lot come to mind for ones that you can make a whole lot of money in.

One doc came and talked to our class about what he does. He likes to do lots of foreign medical trips, so he quits his job every time he leaves, and he has to find a new one every time he comes back. He works as a hospitalist, and he apparently hasn't had any trouble finding jobs thus far (he's been doing this for a while). It's the only thing I can think of that would involve someone coming and going, but you'll certainly be working hard while you're back.

 

[sprinkibrio]

read it wrong

 

[Slide]

Thanks for the replies... Locum Tenens looks like it's for me. I can probably rake in some good money too for my limited time since I am considering being a night owl in EM if I do this... I will hopefully always be in need somewhere in a decent sized city so I'll be able to have a permanent location. With the long breaks I won't even burn out!

Also, I'm not planning on taking vacations during a majority of my time off. Chilling at home is good enough for me. Lots of families make it just fine with 60k a year and hell we may even end up getting government benefits haha.

The way I see it, this is the wisest choice with the taxing on the rich and its future. Time is money, except it can't be taxed. What's the use of working all year when after the first few months you're making half of your hourly wage because of taxes? I'm gonna stop working when I feel my tax bracket is getting unfair and rake in the rest of my earnings in free time. The only property that can't be taxed is your time, and i'm gonna be as rich in time-dollars as anyone.


Well there's my manifesto, blow some holes in it

All I'm gonna say is if you can actually make it past admissions without them knowing any of your intentions, you're going to be as expendable as the scratch paper I find in the recycle binds when it comes to finding work and cutting costs. Part-time work as other people have described generally only happen when they pay their due time and prove that they can do whatever is needed of them to do a more than satisfactory job. Let's not mention that your hobbies will be put on a stranglehold if you do a residency.

 

[45408]

Here's an honest suggestion - become a travel nurse. You could do it with an associates degree (minimal time commitment, minimal tuition costs). A few of my wife's co-workers have left to do this. You can pick and choose among assignments, and you can go to different locations (around the country) and amongst different nursing fields. You get paid $30+ per hour, plus a large living stipend. You could do this for a few months out of each year, and take time off afterwards.

 

[JPAF]

Wow! How are you expecting to pay back loans or the expenses of medical school and residency...Who said all of us want expensive houses and sweet *** cars (well I do)...but that ain't going to happen until I'm like 40! I'll have to pay off a butt ton of loans! So I don't really understand...the only thing I can think of is that you (your parents) already have a crap ton of money. If this is the case then use that money to start a home business or something, day trade, become a part-time real estate associate...Don't get into medicine if you even think that you will not be working your *** off for a very very long time! Well thats my 2 cents...sorry if I'm bitter about your thread but thats how i feel

 

[WiscDoc]

Become a nurse and work for some agency part time. If you work holidays and weekends only (which sometimes are time and half the base pay) you can do well for yourself working very little hours.

Otherwise, pharmacy is also a good field. There is a huge shortage and you can usually be picky about hours (at least old folks are... if you are happy making retirement salary at 25, go for it).

Again, in both options, you might wanna work full time (and overtime) to get the loans out of he way AND to get enough experience that someone will hire you on a part-time basis.

 

[PWA 33]

umm no way am I becoming a nurse... I don't want to be embarrassed when I tell people my career. Some of these suggestions are good though, but there's no way you can tell me ER physicians who specialize in overnight work aren't ever gonna be in demand; everywhere I hear about employers begging these types to come to them.

Plus a lot of you are getting the impression that I'm just in it for the money and I don't enjoy medicine. I can see how you might think that but it is not true. I wouldn't do some **** like real estate to get rich quick because I don't enjoy the profession. Like I said before, my most enjoyable future career (medicine) just happens to be one of the highest paying. Just because I am going against your status quo and would like long breaks in between practicing doesn't mean I don't value it. Who said that to enjoy a career you have to be a 10 hour a day monotonous drone for 40 years of your life?

 

[Solandri]