in it for the $$$, where to go?

[MedRower]

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Does that ADA study also include looking at porn?

I'm not sure if you realized this or not but that first "source" you cited is a porn link, which maybe you accidentally put in while you were simultaneously surfing porn and arguing against my point.....hey nothing wrong with a little porn i guess... but come on, I really hope that was a joke, especially since you decided to repremand me for not citing anything.

I also said I could be wrong, and no I generally am not trying to dig up sources to post on SDN, this isn't a research paper.

Anyway, whatever crap you threw in there is certainly not reliable either (straightdope.com???)

woah there buddy! gotta respect the straightdope.com. seriously, you should read more of it if you've never heard of it before.

 

[durfen]

If I had been on SDN long enough to gather some, I would......I will save this though in case anyone decides to start such a post .....I still am cracking up about this

We should start a thread with all-time bonehead questions.

 

[lion_08]

why are you so insulted?

Pardon my use of a cliche, but doctors are supposed to help people. It's just hard for me to trust anyone who does anything for money. Going into medicine for the money is just morally wrong.

 

[notdeadyet]

Going into medicine for the money is just morally wrong.

Then they should cut pay in half. Seriously, I'm all about helping people, but you can't enter one of the highest paying career paths in the world and complain about people going after the money.

 

[bbas]

Pardon my use of a cliche, but doctors are supposed to help people. It's just hard for me to trust anyone who does anything for money. Going into medicine for the money is just morally wrong.

Give me a break. Wanting to help people is fine, but why do doctors have to be martyrs in the process? I'll never understand why people insist that medicine has to be some type of moral calling. Sure I want to help people, but my primary motivation to pursue medicine is the intellectual interest and the ability to provide a good living for my family. As long as the person is a competent physician, his/her reasons for going to med school should be irrelevant.

 

[jbone]

Give me a break. Wanting to help people is fine, but why do doctors have to be martyrs in the process? I'll never understand why people insist that medicine has to be some type of moral calling. Sure I want to help people, but my primary motivation to pursue medicine is the intellectual interest and the ability to provide a good living for my family. As long as the person is a competant physician, his/her reasons for going to med school should be irrelevant.

👍 👍

 

[jbone]

Going into medicine for the money is just morally wrong.

Give me a break. 🙄

 

[mychelle774]

I was outrageously offended by this thread at first too. I'm one of those people who would do it even if I got paid a teacher's salary. I couldn't imagine doing anything else with my life and being happy. And I absolutely hate it when people assume I'm in it for the money. Money is nowhere near the top of my list of reasons for becoming a doctor. BUT you can't deny that the an MD comes with rock-solid job stability and can provide you and your family with a comfortable life free of financial worries. These are very real and very valid benefits you WILL receive if you make the journey whether you ask for them or not. That's why I'm so glad that the lifestyle I want is also one of the most favorable career choices. I won't fault others for being mainly motivated by money, but at least make sure philanthropy is in the mix too. Not the motivational ratio I'd prefer, but it's not a guaranteed recipe for a bad doctor either. You'd be doing your job, however I don't think you can truthfully say you are "passionate about medicine" if your primary motivation isn't helping others. This is and has been the staple of this profession, and medicine's integrity depends on it. If you don't at least recognize this, you're in the wrong playing field. I think we can all agree that a person who IS completely in it for the money, someone who wouldn't stop and help victims of a car wreck when he's "off-duty", has no business in medicine. And, yes, I WOULD bitchslap you. It'll hurt too.


And here's the difference, if a dentist didn't stop in his tracks to do an emergency tooth extraction on the lady holding her jaw in front of him at the grocery store, meh.

 

[soul21]

Does that ADA study also include looking at porn?

I'm not sure if you realized this or not but that first "source" you cited is a porn link, which maybe you accidentally put in while you were simultaneously surfing porn and arguing against my point.....QUOTE]

I was thinking the same thing before i read your post. Phew I needed the laugh. 😀

 

[THP]

The only job I've heard of where you can be a lazy bum working 40 hrs per week is a long shoreman down at the Long Beach harbor. They have an amazingly strong union. Although its really hard to get into, I think you have to know someone.

 

[ChadC]

Dentristy is 4 years dental school, then usually 2 years residency for general dentist. Orthodontics, and other specialities are very hard to get into. Top 3 in a dental class are the only ones who really have a shot at ortho. Top 15% for any speciality.

I can see where a dentist makes more than a GP. Extremely low malpractice, steady flow of patients. About 6-12 $800+ operations a day, plus dozens of checkups.

You can be a dentist 2 years before you become a doctor, and make as much as a GP. Some of the specialist make make 200k+, and rural orthos can make up to 400k.

 

[lion_08]

Give me a break. Wanting to help people is fine, but why do doctors have to be martyrs in the process? I'll never understand why people insist that medicine has to be some type of moral calling. Sure I want to help people, but my primary motivation to pursue medicine is the intellectual interest and the ability to provide a good living for my family. As long as the person is a competent physician, his/her reasons for going to med school should be irrelevant.

Well, I'm entitled to my opinion and my opinion is stil the same. And if you read my first post, I said I would much rather someone keep that to themself because I'm willing to bet you that there are thousands of people that feel the same way that I do, the only difference is I have the balls to say what I want. I didn't really wanna get into this, but what about all of the public school teachers that teach kids through high school, it could be argued that what they do is just as important and they get paid s***. Plus, choosing any type of career based on the financial rewards/setbacks is ust asking for trouble. And since no one has said anything, the OP is one person that obviously should not be contemplating medical school. He just screams idiot. I mean really, sub 3.0 GPA and now he wants to go to medical school. How about you give me a break? That goes for the rest of you also. I have my opinion and you all have yours.

 

[bbas]

I didn't really wanna get into this, but what about all of the public school teachers that teach kids through high school, it could be argued that what they do is just as important and they get paid s***. Plus, choosing any type of career based on the financial rewards/setbacks is ust asking for trouble.

Most public school teachers do not come out of school with the large debt that doctors do. Plus, I don't know how much teachers get paid where you live, but around here I know many who are making in the mid 50-60's plus benefits. That's pretty good relative to the amount of education/debt that most teachers have. Let's reduce the cost of tuition at medical schools, figure out a way to control malpractice costs, and then maybe money wouldn't be as big of an issue. Medicine is a great field, but for the amount of sacrifices that it requires I don't think it is unreasonable to expect a good salary in return.

 

[xanthomondo]

just kill this thread already

 

[halekulani]

first of all ibanking isn't "easy" to get into, especially if you're not a finance major with a decent GPA. Secondly you don't make that much money if you're in it for the money. I know plenty of people that make decent money $100k(+/-), but they also work 90 hours a week. Plus ibanking generally starts out as an analyst position that lasts 2-3 years at which point you'd be expected to get an MBA to continue to be competitive in that market. So if you're really just in it for the money, I wouldn't suggest ibanking. You could theoretically just work two full-time jobs that pay decent and make the same amount.

i believe that you've missed my point entirely. you can't make good money without putting in a good amount of hours, hence why i posted ibanking. you'll put in your hours, get a lot of money in the beginning, and if you save enough, just live off investing at home. i never said it was "easy." what it does is allow you to make money quick to build a bankroll to invest with for the rest of your life.

the guy wants a ton of money, but only wants to work 40 hours a week. unless you work for your rich daddy's company or run a successful porn website, i highly doubt you're going to find that kind of job in the medical field.

i did suggest orthodontics only because my orthodontist works 40 hours a week and makes a ton of money. then again, it is his own practice, his own office, and he invested a lot of time and money to get it to where he is now. so technically, i think it is impossible to make good money working 40 hours a week without going through several years of hardship....in any field. not just medical, but life in general.

jesus christ, if you want to work 40 hours a week and make tons of money before you're 30, it ain't going to happen. by the time you're the 40hr/week doctor making 150k/year you'll be a lot older than you want to be.

 

[The Madden Bus]

my dentist actually applied to both, got into schools in both fields and chose dentistry. he says he has never regretted his decision. needless to say, he's a good dentist and as much as i hate dentists, i don't mind seeing him. i definitely think he's a rarity though.

Today it's probably a rarity because it seems everyone and their grandmother is pre-med. That exact situation you described with your dentist happened to my dad when he applied to graduate schools. He got into Medical and Dental school and chose Dental I think because he really liked the dentists he shadowed and the work they did and wanted to be like them. He loves dentistry. He is in his office 6 days a week and is on call as the attending dentist at a hospital. Not all dentists are medical school rejects, some actually like dentistry.

 

[ZacharyMD]

👎 Since no one has said anything (the way I would say it anyway), I feel the honor is mine.

Personally, I really find it insulting that you would go into any medical field for the money. And like I'm not a violent person and I can't fight to save my life, but I totally want to bitch slap you. I'm aware that people go into medicine for the money, but I would much rather you keep that to yourself. I mean seriously? I'm going to stop because there are so many expletives running through my head right now and I think my blood pressure is rising.

Yeah, that is exactly what I was thinking when I read the post.

 

[Monalisa Smile]

[You want to just show up and get paid. Sorry, Paris Hilton already took that job.[/QUOTE]
LOL ! good point! 😉

 

[mellowmarshall]

I don't really give a hoot whether somebody goes into medicine for money or some sense of obligation or a lifetime desire. If you want to be successful you have to be good at what you do, so either way the patient wins.

This kind of argument is reminiscent of the Religion vs. Atheism argument. Some people couldn't think of a life without a God, or in this sense, a calling for medicine. Other people feel that those believers simply tell themselves that because its what they need to believe to get through it. Does it really matter, either way?

The end goal of medicine is to save lives and improve health. It doesn't matter to the cured patient whether you're lining your pockets or saving the world. (as long as your copays are equivalent)

 

[bbas]

I don't really give a hoot whether somebody goes into medicine for money or some sense of obligation or a lifetime desire. If you want to be successful you have to be good at what you do, so either way the patient wins.

This kind of argument is reminiscent of the Religion vs. Atheism argument. Some people couldn't think of a life without a God, or in this sense, a calling for medicine. Other people feel that those believers simply tell themselves that because its what they need to believe to get through it. Does it really matter, either way?

The end goal of medicine is to save lives and improve health. It doesn't matter to the cured patient whether you're lining your pockets or saving the world. (as long as your copays are equivalent)

Exactly. 👍

 

[CTSballer11]

I was outrageously offended by this thread at first too. I'm one of those people who would do it even if I got paid a teacher's salary. I couldn't imagine doing anything else with my life and being happy. And I absolutely hate it when people assume I'm in it for the money. Money is nowhere near the top of my list of reasons for becoming a doctor. BUT you can't deny that the an MD comes with rock-solid job stability and can provide you and your family with a comfortable life free of financial worries. These are very real and very valid benefits you WILL receive if you make the journey whether you ask for them or not. That's why I'm so glad that the lifestyle I want is also one of the most favorable career choices. I won't fault others for being mainly motivated by money, but at least make sure philanthropy is in the mix too. Not the motivational ratio I'd prefer, but it's not a guaranteed recipe for a bad doctor either. You'd be doing your job, however I don't think you can truthfully say you are "passionate about medicine" if your primary motivation isn't helping others. This is and has been the staple of this profession, and medicine's integrity depends on it. If you don't at least recognize this, you're in the wrong playing field. I think we can all agree that a person who IS completely in it for the money, someone who wouldn't stop and help victims of a car wreck when he's "off-duty", has no business in medicine. And, yes, I WOULD bitchslap you. It'll hurt too.


And here's the difference, if a dentist didn't stop in his tracks to do an emergency tooth extraction on the lady holding her jaw in front of him at the grocery store, meh.

So it is safe too assume that you will be turning down the six figure job offer after residency? Or will you go work overseas in poor countries?

My uncle is a CT surgeon, went into medicine for the money and with investments has made a ton of it. As long as you handle your business your motives simply do not matter.