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**Disclaimer**
I know people in the medical field arent doing so for money, nor should they. That being said, I see many miscalculations and misunderstandings of the financial costs and benefits of medical school and becoming an MD. This will be common knowledge to most here, but several posters seem to need clarification.
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From a financial perspective, medical school, just like any other profession or business, should be viewed as an investment, and as such, both the cost, and the time involved must be taken into consideration when estimating your return.
I have read many comments where people discuss avg salaries of MDs and how they compare favorably to other professions. However, you should keep in mind that an Md salary of 160k (or 170 or 180 or whatever) isnt really a salary of 160k.
(you guys can correct or adjust these numbers to fit your personal situation)
If an med student starts off at age 23 (which I think is the average), he will most likely finish with his residency around 32. Say ten years out of residency (42ish) you are making 160K, and lets say you were making that since finishing your residency:
1) If you took out zero loans and paid the cost of med school straight out: in your mid 40s you will have made about 80K a year for the past 20 years (residency salary taken into consideration).
2) If you took out loans to pay for school (say 170k) if you pay these back on a regular schedule, you will be paying back a total of 400k-500 depending on your interest rate. This will mean that in your mid 40s you will have made about 65-70K a year for the past 20+ years.
So when youre looking at average salary of an MD, it isnt really 160k+. For the average student its closer to 75K. That is until you hit your 50s and the average goes above 100k.
If you read anything in this post that you find incorrect, please let me know what it is.
I know people in the medical field arent doing so for money, nor should they. That being said, I see many miscalculations and misunderstandings of the financial costs and benefits of medical school and becoming an MD. This will be common knowledge to most here, but several posters seem to need clarification.
****
From a financial perspective, medical school, just like any other profession or business, should be viewed as an investment, and as such, both the cost, and the time involved must be taken into consideration when estimating your return.
I have read many comments where people discuss avg salaries of MDs and how they compare favorably to other professions. However, you should keep in mind that an Md salary of 160k (or 170 or 180 or whatever) isnt really a salary of 160k.
(you guys can correct or adjust these numbers to fit your personal situation)
If an med student starts off at age 23 (which I think is the average), he will most likely finish with his residency around 32. Say ten years out of residency (42ish) you are making 160K, and lets say you were making that since finishing your residency:
1) If you took out zero loans and paid the cost of med school straight out: in your mid 40s you will have made about 80K a year for the past 20 years (residency salary taken into consideration).
2) If you took out loans to pay for school (say 170k) if you pay these back on a regular schedule, you will be paying back a total of 400k-500 depending on your interest rate. This will mean that in your mid 40s you will have made about 65-70K a year for the past 20+ years.
So when youre looking at average salary of an MD, it isnt really 160k+. For the average student its closer to 75K. That is until you hit your 50s and the average goes above 100k.
If you read anything in this post that you find incorrect, please let me know what it is.
