Important Question

[AxeJ]

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Hello, everyone.

Thank you for taking the time to read my post.

I chose to put it in this section because I don't want the backlash that seems common when an aspiring physician openly worries about money.

My family is relatively poor. I am willing to work as many hours as possible. I don't care about the "lifestyle" at the moment. I just want to live without any debt nor financial obstacles obstructing the path to things I want or want to do.

For the future (considering Medicare cuts, Obamacare, etc.), which specialty would afford me the most money? I am willing to move to underserved areas, etc. And about how much could I expect to earn after malpractice?

Thanks.

I hope everyone has a fabulous Wednesday!

 

[cincincyreds]

How old are you? What are your grades? Just google your questions and you should come up with the answers. It is hard to say how things will be in a few years because change is coming. I know the salaries in my field, but I don't know how it works in other fields. If you don't have the grades, aptitude, and MCAT scores, everything about physician pay will be a moot point because you won't be able to get into medical school anyway.

The point is, stay healthy. Work hard. Look things up. And STAY OUT OF DEBT!!!! What is the point of spending 200k on college if you can't get into medical school. May as well learned a trade. If you really want to make an excellent salary, forget medicine. Apply in Alaska to Prudhoe Bay and drive those giant rigs across ice. You can make gobs of money without the aggravation of medical school. And you won't amass 200k of debt, or more.

 

[AxeJ]

You can make gobs of money without the aggravation of medical school.

There is no better guarantee than medicine.

 

[dragonfly99]

Even if you get into medical school, you can't guarantee that you'll make it into one of the higher paid specialties. You can expect to make $150k however. If you make it into a more competitive specialty you may make more. By going to an underserved area, you may make more. Keep in mind that you might have to take on substantial debt to go to med school. I borrowed 132k just for med school, at 3% interest and am still paying it back 7 years later at >500/month and only have paid off about 14 or 15,000 (most of your payments go to interest at first). Also, I know a lot of people say it, but medicine will truly drive you crazy if you don't enjoy what you do...particularly if you are in one of the may specialties where you see patients. It does have high job security, though, I agree about that. Actually registered nurses can make a lot of money also...one who works similar hours to most physicians could make >100k easily, especially if you are working in an ICU and/or with several years work experience. And you won't have to spend 3-10 years in residency before you start making much money.

 

[Shnurek]

There is no better guarantee than medicine.

Dentistry.

 

[pinipig523]

Dentistry.

Other than OMFS, orthodontics, and maybe endodontists - that is debatable.

 

[Shnurek]

The vascular surgeon I worked with said, "If I had known the type of reimbursements that dentists get, I would have never gone to Medical school."

While it is true ~95% or so of dentists are generalists they still only have 4 years of education + 1 year residency and their mean annual wage is: $158,770 (source: http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes291021.htm) Now many of them work 30-40 hours a week and 3/4 of them own their own practice so of those that own their practices their net income would be almost double or so. I considered this career path myself but unfortunately I do not enjoy teeth and I'll be happy with 100k-175k.

I'll be pushing orthokeratology while the orthodontists will be pushing braces 🙂

 

[Terpskins99]

which specialty would afford me the most money? I am willing to move to underserved areas, etc. And about how much could I expect to earn after malpractice?

My recommendation: look up the average debt of medical school graduates (current student loan federal interest rate is 6.8%!!!), the average salary of post-graduate residents and then re-evaluate the reasons why you are pursuing medicine as a career. Ask yourself why be a doctor instead of one of a number of other professions in health care (all of whom require much less of a financial obligation to obtain).