If you knew you were going to inherit millions, would you still pursue medicine?

[TrebleBassFace]

Would you even bother working a profession? Or do something creative/more fun - like graphic design?

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[ChrisMack390]

Yes - plus I would quit my job and apply with 1000 clinical hours and a better GPA.

 

[Dares Dareson]

Yes. In fact, I did that high school guidance counselor exercise where you think "what would I do if I had a million (billion is probably better) dollars?" I would still do medicine. It would just be with a lot less stress over money. And I'd probably be driving to class in a McLaren 650S, wearing a vicuña wool labcoat, and sporting a 24k gold stethoscope encrusted with diamonds.

 

[nontradjd]

Yes. In fact, I did that high school guidance counselor exercise where you think "what would I do if I had a million (billion is probably better) dollars?" I would still do medicine. It would just be with a lot less stress over money. And I'd probably be driving to class in a McLaren 650S, wearing a vicuña wool labcoat, and sporting a 24k gold stethoscope encrusted with diamonds.

Don't forget your Gucci tennis shoes with backup pairs to make it through clinicals and residency!

 

[jl lin]

I thought someone just posted a very similar/pretty close to the same thread a couple of weeks ago. Only difference is that it was if you won the lottery.

 

[Gordon Gekko]

I would give my spot up to another worthy candidate.

 

[Dares Dareson]

I thought someone just posted a very similar/pretty close to the same thread a couple of weeks ago. Only difference is that it was if you won the lottery.

But lottery winners generally end up broke, right?

 

[TrebleBassFace]

I thought someone just posted a very similar/pretty close to the same thread a couple of weeks ago. Only difference is that it was if you won the lottery.

Yeah, almost the same thing. This is basically the genetic lottery.

Unfortunately many rich parents won't give $$$ during their lifetimes (no trust funds either), so a lot of "rich" kids still have to work for at least 20-30 years in a "serious" profession.

 

[MedWonk]

But lottery winners generally end up broke, right?

Yes, because most of them have no idea how to manage that amount of wealth. I imagine it can be overwhelming to go from a household income of 50k to millions overnight. Plus, a lot of people are just plain bad with money.

 

[beebreezy]

I would put it on hold. I would go travel the world and put energy into trying to find love while I'm still young. Then once I had all of that out of my system and all of my ducks in a better row, I'd likely but not definitely come back to it.

 

[QofQuimica]

I would establish a foundation and become a philanthropist. Bill Gates has done way more to improve people's health than I'll ever accomplish, even if I practice for a millennium.

 

[NonTrad16]

If I knew I was going to inherit one million... I'd definitely continue to pursue medicine. If I knew I was going to inherit 10 million, I'd probably do something to help my community, at a clinic or food shelter, etc. Still health and welfare, just a different angle.

Somewhere in between? Who knows.

Using the assumed wealth to provide the platform to do something you otherwise couldn't afford (managing a small nonprofit to help the homeless may not pay as well as you want for your family if 5, or allow you to retire how you want) seems worthwhile. Using the assumed (and presumably hard won) wealth from family to fund a tiki bar? I can't see that sitting well.

That said, assuming this isn't a career counselor question and more of a real question: I wouldn't bet my retirement on a family inheritance. Unless my name is on it, it doesn't exist to me.

 

[Birdstrike]

If I was about to inherit millions, would I still go into Medicine? My gut reaction is: No effing way. That being said, would the knowledge I had millions, knowing I could quit at any time and didn't need to work, student debt was no issue and I could quit anytime I wanted, make it much easier and less stressful mentally and therefore different that what I experienced? I doubt it, but I've never walked in those shoes, so I can't say for sure. If I inherited millions, I'd probably still want to do something meaningful with my life, but I'm not sure is medicine would be it. Then again, if it's your dream and a life long goal, I don't know that good fortune with an inheritance necessarily needs to change that.

 

[mw18]

I would still pursue medicine. I'd very much enjoy not having to worry about the financial side of attending medical school, but I got into medicine to do something that fascinates me and that helps people. And if I end up good at it, that's what I should do. Starting a foundation would certainly be a wonderful thing to do, and I probably would. But that doesn't mean I have to run it. The money has nothing to do with my choice to go into medicine, and it wouldn't force me out either.

 

[AlbinoHawk DO]

No, I'd definitely rather roll around in my pile of cash.

 

[sazerac]

I would still pursue medicine. It's a creative and fun profession that meets the needs of me and my family.

It occurred to me that my wife and I actually are going to inherit millions (i.e. enough money to do nothing). Not from my own family, mind you, but I apparently married into the New Orleans mafia. It's just not an issue or something my wife or I really think about. When we think of her parents we think "oh thank goodness we have a babysitter", not "oh thank goodness after the funeral in 30 years we could retire".

 

[joejeep92]

I have thought about this question and my first thought was, I would have so much time to study!

 

[TrebleBassFace]

If I knew I was going to inherit one million... I'd definitely continue to pursue medicine. If I knew I was going to inherit 10 million, I'd probably do something to help my community, at a clinic or food shelter, etc. Still health and welfare, just a different angle.

Somewhere in between? Who knows.

Using the assumed wealth to provide the platform to do something you otherwise couldn't afford (managing a small nonprofit to help the homeless may not pay as well as you want for your family if 5, or allow you to retire how you want) seems worthwhile. Using the assumed (and presumably hard won) wealth from family to fund a tiki bar? I can't see that sitting well.

That said, assuming this isn't a career counselor question and more of a real question: I wouldn't bet my retirement on a family inheritance. Unless my name is on it, it doesn't exist to me.

Not betting on it (we both still work), but what about 3 million? That's probably around how much my spouse and I are going to inherit from family.

 

[TrebleBassFace]

When we think of her parents we think "oh thank goodness we have a babysitter", not "oh thank goodness after the funeral in 30 years we could retire".

My spouse's and my parents are all in their 60s (they had us in their 30s), and have explicitly told us they'd never want to raise/babysit the grand kids (if we ever have any) since they already raised their own kids. I guess it's different with every family - but that's not something our parents would want to do.

 

[TrebleBassFace]

Even with $3MM, I'd still pursue medicine / dentistry for the love of it. Assuming that money will not become available until a few decades on, I'd focus on growing net worth via setting up and running a practice successfully. I'd consider the inheritance a bonus and a quicker ticket to retirement with the goal of investing it in other assets that generate money.

Yeah, I'll be honest - I may consider retiring at 40 and moving to some super cheap suburbs and live off 50k investment income a year without working. The purpose of life is not to work - the purpose of life is to live. We work to live, not reverse. My spouse and I don't have kids and not sure we want them either, so that makes it easier.

I'm not in the medical profession (just considering it) and I alone make over 200k...but holy **** is it hard to save up any reasonable amount of money without making like 1 million a year. There's just no way I could ever save millions on my own.

Most people I know who have millions made it through running their own (non professional) business and with a lot of luck, so I'm not confident that working in a 'profession' (except for surgery or whatever) can ever really give you much net worth.

 

[TrebleBassFace]

No question there! It's a decades-long process to save a million for almost all. It's certainly becoming harder, too.

With your situation, making $200K/yr would be extremely hard to walk away from to pursue medical school. I would only feel comfortable doing so if the inheritance was all but guaranteed.

What do you envision yourself doing in medicine? If it's a dream of yours I feel it's worth the pursuit, especially if the money situation is in order.

I have some interest in psychiatry, but granted, I don't have a fantastic reason except it seems interesting and possibly less stressful than other fields in medicine (like surgery, etc.). Also at my age (close to 30), I'd be 40 by the time I get out of med school and working again, and possibly making less than I am making now. So not sure about this at all.

 

[NonTrad16]

I have some interest in psychiatry, but granted, I don't have a fantastic reason except it seems interesting and possibly less stressful than other fields in medicine (like surgery, etc.). Also at my age (close to 30), I'd be 40 by the time I get out of med school and working again, and possibly making less than I am making now. So not sure about this at all.

If you're already making 200k, and would only plan on working 10 years if you got into medicine, it doesn't make any sense (to me) to spend 7+ years in training given the stress and time/money costs.

And yes, it's important to get to enjoy life, but truthfully I don't think that an inheritance really makes it 'ok' to laze about for 30 years (if that's the plan). Not that the suffering of others requires you should suffer too, but... if you're in the position to help others in a way that's satisfying (money = flexibility), and instead go the tiki bar route... less impressed. Maybe if they were the fruits of your own labor, but I don't want to retire on the success of someone else. Also, if you're making 200k and your partner makes money as well, you should definitely be able to save a great deal of money (enough to retire on), especially with no children to pay for... Sure, you may need 4 million to retire at 40, which is why many people don't do that... what's the problem with working a moderate amount through 50, or 60? You're talking about an extreme that >90% don't get to live like. I'd sooner seek a middle ground.

[/idealist]

 

[TrebleBassFace]

If you're already making 200k, and would only plan on working 10 years if you got into medicine, it doesn't make any sense (to me) to spend 7+ years in training given the stress and time/money costs.

And yes, it's important to get to enjoy life, but truthfully I don't think that an inheritance really makes it 'ok' to laze about for 30 years (if that's the plan). Not that the suffering of others requires you should suffer too, but... if you're in the position to help others in a way that's satisfying (money = flexibility), and instead go the tiki bar route... less impressed. Maybe if they were the fruits of your own labor, but I don't want to retire on the success of someone else. Also, if you're making 200k and your partner makes money as well, you should definitely be able to save a great deal of money (enough to retire on), especially with no children to pay for... Sure, you may need 4 million to retire at 40, which is why many people don't do that... what's the problem with working a moderate amount through 50, or 60? You're talking about an extreme that >90% don't get to live like. I'd sooner seek a middle ground.

[/idealist]

My spouse doesn't make close to 200k because they do "goody two shoes" work, so not sure how much we can save for retirement. If we were both making north of 200k, then yeah it'd be easy. But yeah, it'd be a huge time suck/cost for me to switch gears now. (Although, I loveeee school much more than working, so that'd be a big benefit.)

Personal opinion but, I don't think retiring on the success of someone else (or for that matter, living off your spouse, which is basically the same thing as retiring off your family's money) is problematic.

I have thought about starting a non profit to help animals (rather than people) since animals have no voice and often don't choose, unlike people, to be in the situations they end up in (especially people in countries like the United States).

50 seems okay for retirement. I think 60 is pushing it if you have the means to retire earlier - the last 20 years of many people's lives are spent dealing with diseases, a crappy mind (alzheimer's, etc.)/body, etc. Why waste your younger, healthier years working if you don't need to? If mainly what you enjoy in life is work, then go for it. But I think that's a sad existence if true.

 

[TrebleBassFace]

I'm 30 now and halfway through. Psychiatry is a great field and in perpetually high demand. Just speculating about opportunity cost (four years of medicine tuition and cost of living, four years of resident salary) it would cost you $800K - $1MM keeping in mind your current income (without investments) over that time. It's the same type of calculations, money-wise, many students run through their minds when figuring out what specialty they're shooting for (ie pediatrics versus anesthesiology), especially with loan considerations in mind.

Yeah, that's a huge opportunity cost. My parents paid for college, but they didn't pay for my grad school (and wouldn't ever) so I'd probably have to take out loans. Tuition is insane though - seems almost financially not worth it these days given how high interest rates are.

 

[Meridian32]

Knowing that I'd inherit millions would make me more certain that medicine was the right choice! Although I really enjoyed med school and am very excited to start residency next week, in the (thankfully uncommon) moments where I have second thoughts about going into medicine, those second thoughts involve knowing that had I stayed in the software world, I would be more financially secure than I am now - and potentially very, very secure, like a number of my undergrad classmates whose startups were acquired or who joined large software companies at the right time. Taking that financial insecurity off the table would eliminate what to me has been the main downside of going into medicine.

Most people I know who have millions made it through running their own (non professional) business and with a lot of luck, so I'm not confident that working in a 'profession' (except for surgery or whatever) can ever really give you much net worth.

I agree 100% - medicine provides financial security, but if the goal is a net worth of millions, it's a poor plan relative to going the startup route or into finance.

 

[CockerelOnTop]

It would be so much easier if I was loaded. No concerns about how to pay for child care or cooking dinner. Hire someone for everything!