Question about my education...

[Perrotfish]

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I am new but I have been lurking for a long while, and I know Allopathic views concerning chiropractic. I knew that if I came here I would be getting honest answers. Please be respectful though, thanks in advance everyone!

I am attending Texas Chiropractic College this Fall. I understand that some people are under the opinion that Chiropractors do not receive enough education. Texas Chiropractic College is a mixer college, which is why I chose to receive my education there. What would you think of a Chiropractor with a B.S. in Biology, M.S. in Biology, Doctor of Chiropractic Degree, and a year residency at a VA hospital? (The residency at VA hospitals just got approved for July of 2014, and is separate from the college I will be attending. It will give me the chance to work closely with M.D.s and D.O.s as well as others, do research, among other opportunities.) I am also considering completing a 3 year residency of Neurology or Radiology in addition to the aforementioned 1 year hospital residency. So in total I am looking at spending seven and a half to ten and a half years in school.

Thanks again for all of your help and kind words!

-Ralph

You should not be a chiropractor. You should withdraw from the Texas Chiropractic college before they ask for any tuition, and if you've already sent them a check you should consider it a loss and still withdraw. You should get a job. Or if you're really committed to healthcare you should explore nursing, physical therapy, or maybe medical school. You should do this because otherwise you are going to ruin your life.

Chiropractic 'medicine' is an oversaturated market. You can't make a living doing it. Chiropractors have the highest default rate of any group of students in America. They account for over half of all student default rates in healthcare related fields. Even if you really believe that it works (you shouldn't, but nevermind) and even if you think you're going to love it (you won't, but never mind) it doesn't matter because you can't make a living doing it. Its like getting a a PhD in Poetry or Latin: not a bad hobby if you're born with a trust fund, but if you're anyone else you're basically hurling yourself headlong into lifelong poverty.

Yes I know you know someone who makes a great living doing this. Maybe its a relative. Maybe he's richer than most doctors. That won't be you. Maybe he came into the market 30 years ago when the profession was still viable. Maybe he inherited the practice. Maybe he won the metaphorical lottery and just made it big. You won't win that lottery. You will, at best, make the average salary for a chiropractor, which is about 30K/year. Your loans will be six figures and non-dischargable. You will be financially worse off than 90% of people who went to college and then to work. You will be worse off than most people who only have a high school degree.

Chiropractic colleges are scams: they exist to funnel student loan money from the government to them through you, and then to leave you with the debt. They know you'll never really practice and you need to know it to.

Sources and further reading:
http://www.chirobase.org/03Edu/
http://chiropractorswife.blogspot.com/2011/03/want-to-be-doctor-of-chiropractic.html

 

[el_duderino]

You should not be a chiropractor. You should withdraw from the Texas Chiropractic college before they ask for any tuition, and if you've already sent them a check you should consider it a loss and still withdraw. You should get a job. Or if you're really committed to healthcare you should explore nursing, physical therapy, or maybe medical school. You should do this because otherwise you are going to ruin your life.

Chiropractic 'medicine' is an oversaturated market. You can't make a living doing it. Chiropractors have the highest default rate of any group of students in America. They account for over half of all student default rates in healthcare related fields. Even if you really believe that it works (you shouldn't, but nevermind) and even if you think you're going to love it (you won't, but never mind) it doesn't matter because you can't make a living doing it. Its like getting a a PhD in Poetry or Latin: not a bad hobby if you're born with a trust fund, but if you're anyone else you're basically hurling yourself headlong into lifelong poverty.

Yes I know you know someone who makes a great living doing this. Maybe its a relative. Maybe he's richer than most doctors. That won't be you. Maybe he came into market 30 years ago when the profession was still viable. Maybe he inherited the practice. Maybe he won the metaphorical lottery and just made it big. You won't win that lottery. You will, at best, make the average salary for a chiropractor, which is about 30K/year. Your loans will be six figures and non-dischargable. You will be financially worse off than 90% of people who went to college and then to work. You will be worse off than most people who only have a high school degree.

Chiropractic colleges are scams: they exist to funnel student loan money from the government to them through you, and then to leave you with the debt. They know you'll never really practice and you need to know it to.

Source: http://www.chirobase.org/03Edu/

Statement is straight-up false. It might be true that chiros have a high default rate, but that is more indicative of poor business skills than anything else.

You CAN make a living being a chiro. Lots of people do.

BTW, your list shows a total of under 500 chiro loans currently in default, total. While that's a large percent of all defaults, that's not a very big number.

 

[lmn]

Statement is straight-up false. It might be true that chiros have a high default rate, but that is more indicative of poor business skills than anything else.

You CAN make a living being a chiro. Lots of people do.

BTW, your list shows a total of under 500 chiro loans currently in default, total. While that's a large percent of all defaults, that's not a very big number.

If you're going to claim someone is straight up false you should provide evidence to back your accusation. Where is the info saying that chiro is definitively not over-saturated and that there is plenty of projected growth when the OP would be graduating? Where is any info supporting your claim that the majority of those that default have done so because of bad business skills rather than a tough market? Where is your info saying that the average salary of chiro's are at a reasonable amount to not only pay for their living expenses but also pay back their $100k+ of loans?

At least have the decency to provide evidence if you're going to call someone a liar...

 

[Perrotfish]

Statement is straight-up false. It might be true that chiros have a high default rate, but that is more indicative of poor business skills than anything else.

You CAN make a living being a chiro. Lots of people do.

BTW, your list shows a total of under 500 chiro loans currently in default, total. While that's a large percent of all defaults, that's not a very big number.

And the average starting salary of 35K/year? Is that a problem? Would you have gone to medical school if the average Internist made 35K/year? Do you think that 'lots' or people in any field make three or four times the industry average? Because that's what a chiropractor needs to make to make chiropractic college a financial sound decision.

Some people make money playing the stock market. Some people make money playing slots. Some people make money as chiropractors. However if you bet your living on any of those things, the odds are most definitely not in your favor. Invest in Index funds, train in a healthcare profession that's actually in demand, and when you go to Vegas stick to seeing the shows and drinking.

 

[el_duderino]

If you're going to claim someone is straight up false you should provide evidence to back your accusation. Where is the info saying that chiro is definitively not over-saturated and that there is plenty of projected growth when the OP would be graduating? Where is any info supporting your claim that the majority of those that default have done so because of bad business skills rather than a tough market? Where is your info saying that the average salary of chiro's are at a reasonable amount to not only pay for their living expenses but also pay back their $100k+ of loans?

At least have the decency to provide evidence if you're going to call someone a liar...

He said "you can't make a living doing it."

You can make a living doing it. Period, end of story. Maybe he should have said "prospects are poor" or "lots of people can't seem to make a living doing it." Those may be accurate statements.

But "you can't make a living doing it?" Straight-up, inarguably false.

 

[el_duderino]

And the average starting salary of 35K/year? Is that a problem? Would you have gone to medical school if the average Internist made 35K/year? Do you think that 'lots' or people in any field make three or four times the industry average? Because that's what a chiropractor needs to make to make chiropractic college a financial sound decision.

Some people make money playing the stock market. Some people make money playing slots. Some people make money as chiropractors. However if you bet your living on any of those things, the odds are most definitely not in your favor. Invest in Index funds, train in a healthcare profession that's actually in demand, and when you go to Vegas stick to seeing the shows and drinking.

Out of curiosity, where does that $35k figure come from? BLS says median is $65
http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes291011.htm

 

[lmn]

He said "you can't make a living doing it."

You can make a living doing it. Period, end of story. Maybe he should have said "prospects are poor" or "lots of people can't seem to make a living doing it." Those may be accurate statements.

But "you can't make a living doing it?" Straight-up, inarguably false.

You can make a living as a hobo. There is always a one-off story, but using that as evidence that you can make it is as stupid as betting that you'll win the lottery.

 

[Perrotfish]

He said "you can't make a living doing it."

You can make a living doing it. Period, end of story. Maybe he should have said "prospects are poor" or "lots of people can't seem to make a living doing it." Those may be accurate statements.

But "you can't make a living doing it?" Straight-up, inarguably false.

You're right and I'm wrong. You absolutely CAN make a living as a chiropractor. In the sense that you can make a living playing the lottery. You can make a living by taking out student loans and investing in lottery tickets. It could happen. Its probably a terrible life choice that has a very small but definitely non-zero probability of working out.

 

[el_duderino]

You absolutely CAN make a living as a chiropractor. In the sense that you can make a living playing the lottery, yes.

Oh, now there's an intellectually honest and accurate comparison. Well done.

 

[demayette]

Why go to chiro school when you can get into DO with 3.5 GPA and 26+ MCAT and have the prospect to make 150k+/year? Heck! You can make it into podiatry with 3.2 GPA and 20+ MCAT and end up making 120k+/year after residency, and be called a surgeon😛... I guess it's probably easier said than done...

Don't go chiro even if your life depends on it because the financial prospect looks grim and most healthcare professional won't take you seriously... Go DO/or DPM/or PT in that order...

It seems like chiro school is as expensive as med school, so spending 150k+ on a degree that will get you 50k-60k/year salary is financial suicide (hyperbole here)...

Disclaimer: Not bashing DO since I am attending a DO school...