Guys, I stumbled across this post and have found it very interesting.
I have a few points to make. I suppose I could sum them up by saying - quit the whining and take a look around you!
Firstly, the grass is always greener on the other side. I had to laugh to myself when jobs in business and law were painted as being "easy money". Sure, if you start up your own business, and it turns out to be a real winner (very very few actually end up being this!), you can make alot of money. But if you want to talk about having no life, then let's talk about owning your own business. No paid holidays, the stress of managing the whole business and the employees, the stress that the whole thing will go down. Sure, you can make more money earlier on as a lawyer, but you've also got to see that the pay rate plateau's out relatively quickly too. And to think that being a lawyer is some stress-free easy ride existence is farcical! Pull your heads out of the sand and speak to a few lawyers. In fact, I think the career choice satisfaction rates are something like 50% for lawyers and 70% for doctors. Maybe you guys should spend some time working in finance or one of those fields - then you'll really know what stress and long hours are like! Sure they get good money for it, but quit the whining and making out that you're all such matyrs!
On the topic of making big money in law, sure a very small percentage make very good money - just like in medicine. But please don't make out that it's only medicine where people are required to work hard. I should know, because I was a lawyer. I have to laugh when I hear my friends who are residents complaining that the hours are bad in medicine - obviously they haven't worked in law or finance! My friends in law regularly work 15 hour days, plus at least one day on the weekend. There is a thing in law called "billable hours" - thank your lucky stars that's not in medicine. Get to a senior level in medicine, and although you won't be having an easy ride workload wise, you will at least have a bit more freedom while at the same time having financial rewards. Get to a senior level in law (i.e. a partner at a large law firm) and your soul really is The Firm's! Gotta get those billable hours up! And it's not all L.A. Law - most of it is mind-numbing drafting in front of a computer screen! Often there is very little interaction with people, and most that is, is usually very "unpleasant" in that you're dealing with either irate clients (they don't call if they're happy) or irate lawyers from the other side of the matter! At least in medicine you have some interaction and can feel like you are doing some good. In law you have the choice of working in a big law firm, servicing a faceless corporate entity for virtually no thanks, endlessly drafting and re-drafting documents to make corporations richer. If you want to "help" people, you can work as a legal-aid lawyer and get paid next to nothing. At least in medicine you have the opportunity to directly help people, and also at the same time get financially rewarded.
In short, I'd be really interested to learn how many of the people whingeing and whining on this thread have actually experienced anything other than going straight from High School to college/university, and then into med. Perhaps it's not necessarily medicine that is to blame for this dissatisfaction? Perhaps people need to really think about why they did medicine in the first place! Was it for a fascination with medicine and people, or was it for some other reason! IMHO I think that it's only the first set of reasons that will help you.
I have a few points to make. I suppose I could sum them up by saying - quit the whining and take a look around you!
Firstly, the grass is always greener on the other side. I had to laugh to myself when jobs in business and law were painted as being "easy money". Sure, if you start up your own business, and it turns out to be a real winner (very very few actually end up being this!), you can make alot of money. But if you want to talk about having no life, then let's talk about owning your own business. No paid holidays, the stress of managing the whole business and the employees, the stress that the whole thing will go down. Sure, you can make more money earlier on as a lawyer, but you've also got to see that the pay rate plateau's out relatively quickly too. And to think that being a lawyer is some stress-free easy ride existence is farcical! Pull your heads out of the sand and speak to a few lawyers. In fact, I think the career choice satisfaction rates are something like 50% for lawyers and 70% for doctors. Maybe you guys should spend some time working in finance or one of those fields - then you'll really know what stress and long hours are like! Sure they get good money for it, but quit the whining and making out that you're all such matyrs!
On the topic of making big money in law, sure a very small percentage make very good money - just like in medicine. But please don't make out that it's only medicine where people are required to work hard. I should know, because I was a lawyer. I have to laugh when I hear my friends who are residents complaining that the hours are bad in medicine - obviously they haven't worked in law or finance! My friends in law regularly work 15 hour days, plus at least one day on the weekend. There is a thing in law called "billable hours" - thank your lucky stars that's not in medicine. Get to a senior level in medicine, and although you won't be having an easy ride workload wise, you will at least have a bit more freedom while at the same time having financial rewards. Get to a senior level in law (i.e. a partner at a large law firm) and your soul really is The Firm's! Gotta get those billable hours up! And it's not all L.A. Law - most of it is mind-numbing drafting in front of a computer screen! Often there is very little interaction with people, and most that is, is usually very "unpleasant" in that you're dealing with either irate clients (they don't call if they're happy) or irate lawyers from the other side of the matter! At least in medicine you have some interaction and can feel like you are doing some good. In law you have the choice of working in a big law firm, servicing a faceless corporate entity for virtually no thanks, endlessly drafting and re-drafting documents to make corporations richer. If you want to "help" people, you can work as a legal-aid lawyer and get paid next to nothing. At least in medicine you have the opportunity to directly help people, and also at the same time get financially rewarded.
In short, I'd be really interested to learn how many of the people whingeing and whining on this thread have actually experienced anything other than going straight from High School to college/university, and then into med. Perhaps it's not necessarily medicine that is to blame for this dissatisfaction? Perhaps people need to really think about why they did medicine in the first place! Was it for a fascination with medicine and people, or was it for some other reason! IMHO I think that it's only the first set of reasons that will help you.
I note your sarcasm there!!
