surgeons or lawyers who makes the $$$$$

[westcoastpirate]

I am premed at university in mid west.My close friend is also student in prelaw.we were discussing who makes more.He thinks a lawyer can make more than a plastic surgeon.I do not really think so.I would think almost any of the surgery specialties would make a person a millionaire as a lawyer depends on if they win the case or not.I think a lawyer would make more if he gets alot of personal injury cases in volume but a plastic surgeon should outearn the lawyer.Thoughts anyone? 😍

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[Dr.MD]

I think if you are going into medicine for the money then you are doing it for the wrong reason... if you really want to make serious cash, go into I-banking

 

[happydays]

serious cash = marry donald trump.

 

[skypilot]

The lawyer will be out making decent money after three years. The surgeon won't be trained until 10 years including fellowship. I think in the long run the surgeon will win though, unless the lawyer is into medical malpractice suits! 🙂

 

[FrkyBgStok]

the lawyer will get paid when they win but when they DO win, they really get paid. If a lawyer isn't any good he won't win and won't make great money. If a plastic surgeon isn't any good, guess what, no patients. And the above poster is right, money shouldn't be the deciding factor. Also there are many types of lawyers. I have seen plastic surgeons in my area make $200,000 year and some lawyers make $1.5 million. there is a whole lot of determining factors so one could never make this argument valid.

 

[PlasticMan]

Lawyers are a dime a dozen these days. I've heard the big firms won't be interested unless they graduate from a top 10 law school, since law schools and lawyers are so abundant these days. I've also heard they've gotta be made partner to make the big bucks. However, things are not definite for the surgeon either. It's not that easy to land a plastics residency or fellowship.

 

[airflare]

Lawyers and surgeons aren't comparable that way. There are different types of lawyers--you are only describing trial lawyers (and furthermore, those who who deal only with personal injury). There are other types of trial lawyers who can make much more than any surgeon can dream of. Ask David Boies.

I think your argument is pointless. A lawyer can make more money than a surgeon. A surgeon can make more money than a lawyer. There are innumerable factors that can influence this. If you want some sort of baseline answer, go look up their average salaries somewhere.

 

[PlasticMan]

Lawyers and surgeons aren't comparable that way. There are different types of lawyers--you are only describing trial lawyers (and furthermore, those who who deal only with personal injury). There are other types of trial lawyers who can make much more than any surgeon can dream of. Ask David Boies.

I think your argument is pointless. A lawyer can make more money than a surgeon. A surgeon can make more money than a lawyer. There are innumerable factors that can influence this. If you want some sort of baseline answer, go look up their average salaries somewhere.

Very true. If they do class action lawsuits, they will make more money than any surgeon could ever dream of. 😱

 

[Law2Doc]

I am premed at university in mid west.My close friend is also student in prelaw.we were discussing who makes more.He thinks a lawyer can make more than a plastic surgeon.I do not really think so.I would think almost any of the surgery specialties would make a person a millionaire as a lawyer depends on if they win the case or not.I think a lawyer would make more if he gets alot of personal injury cases in volume but a plastic surgeon should outearn the lawyer.Thoughts anyone? 😍

Depends on a lot of things, but your overall premise is wrong.
Most lawyers are not trial lawyers, and don't ever "win cases". And a relatively small percentage of trial lawyers are personal injury lawyers, who are certainly not close to the top of the ranks in terms of pay for lawyers. In fact, the best paid lawyers are big partners in big city large law firms that do no personal injury. And most work in transactional areas. (Your lack of spaces after your periods reminds me of another recent poster...)

 

[rgarrig]

My mom switched from nursing to law about 8 years ago and became a medical defense lawyer (you wouldn't BELIEVE what doctors can get sued for these days). Now days she really rakes it in. In fact, she makes more than most Illinois doctors but regularly turns down cases because she wants to have some life outside of her work (i.e. she could make *more* money if she wanted to work more hours).

Anyway, I know a public defender who makes less than high school teachers I know, and as stated above, class action law can win you HUNDREDS of MILLIONS of dollars. No doctor makes that kind of money!

In summary, it's very circumstantial.

 

[Law2Doc]

and as stated above, class action law can win you HUNDREDS of MILLIONS of dollars. No doctor makes that kind of money!

In summary, it's very circumstantial.

True, but just to clarify, the big class action winners tend to do so once in a career, not an annual thing. It's still a boatload, though, obviously.

 

[MedicineNutt]

Mass Tort lawyers could make $10 mill per case!!!!! so i think it depends what kind of lawyer otherwise plastic surgeons have a steadier job with steady pay (in my opinion); however, i would never enter the thinking of medicine affiliated with money...if you think about it--your patients are your money!!! treat your patient with care and you'll get paid...however, if you want serious money become a lawyer and sue for tort cases; go against those doctors hahaha

 

[Law2Doc]

Mass Tort lawyers could make $10 mill per case!!!!!

They can also make $0 per case. That's the danger of contingency fee practice.

 

[Oculus Sinistra]

(Your lack of spaces after your periods reminds me of another recent poster...)

You're not the only one...

 

[wowzer]

theres extremes in each case. i'm sure lawyers defending tobacco companies are very happy people 🙄

 

[jebus]

however, i would never enter the thinking of medicine affiliated with money...if you think about it--your patients are your money!!!

If you think about that then you would have a huge financial incentive to prolong their illness and increase their suffering and the amount of time they see you. In that case, you wouldn't interested in healing, you would be interested in keeping people barely unhealthy - healthy enough so they aren't too much of a burden on you or the facilities but not healthy enough so they never see you again.
If you want money, go become a king or emperor. You'll also get wenches that way. A consort. Maybe some other stuff, too. You'll get to poop in a bowl and have people look at it. It sounds pretty cool.

 

[Oculus Sinistra]

If you want money, go become a king or emperor. You'll also get wenches that way. A consort. Maybe some other stuff, too. You'll get to poop in a bowl and have people look at it. It sounds pretty cool.

Poop in a bowl and have people look at it... sounds like a great party game.

 

[Law2Doc]

You'll get to poop in a bowl and have people look at it. It sounds pretty cool.

You can get to that just by being a patient with a bowel problem.

 

[MedicineNutt]

If you think about that then you would have a huge financial incentive to prolong their illness and increase their suffering and the amount of time they see you. In that case, you wouldn't interested in healing, you would be interested in keeping people barely unhealthy - healthy enough so they aren't too much of a burden on you or the facilities but not healthy enough so they never see you again.
If you want money, go become a king or emperor. You'll also get wenches that way. A consort. Maybe some other stuff, too. You'll get to poop in a bowl and have people look at it. It sounds pretty cool.

LOOOOOOOOOL, nah not interested...i was just tryin to make a point--ive chosen medicine because i care about others and being a doctor you can make a difference in others' lives!! thats the way i see it, but your neighbor might not see the way you see it...its always going to be that way in every highclass profession

 

[nrut88]

It would suck to be a lawyer... There's always an enemy and more than often your doing more harm than good... I'd rather be a happy M.D. or D.O. making 250K a year, than a content lawyer making 500K a year... The doctors degree behind your name speaks for itself and you get more respect throughout any community than a lawyer does... But this is just my 2-cents...

 

[Law2Doc]

It would suck to be a lawyer... There's always an enemy and more than often your doing more harm than good... I'd rather be a happy M.D. or D.O. making 250K a year, than a content lawyer making 500K a year... The doctors degree behind your name speaks for itself and you get more respect throughout any community than a lawyer does... But this is just my 2-cents...

Most lawyers do more good than harm -- virtually every building or business you have come ever across or dealt with exists, was built, financed and/or manages its day to day operations thanks to the assistance of lawyers. VERY FEW lawyers as a percentage are involved in the types of law you tend to see on TV, i.e. criminal, matrimonial, medmal/Personal Injury.
I wouldn't get too carried away with the universal blanket of respect doctors have, either. As the OP suggested, doctors have enemies too, and they tend to be the 12 average joes on the jury who see the nice letters after his name and decide to really stick it to him.
There are good and bad in every profession. And there are those who garner respect, and those who don't.

 

[saxquiz]

When people say that they want to become a doctor so they can help people, I always wonder why they don't just become a nurse or PA. Just tell the truth people, no one will hold it against you (except maybe the person interviewing you for med school... and Christians 😎 ). You want to become a doctor so that people will look up to you, they'll call you "doctor so and so", you'll get hot women 😉 , and most of all you'll make a large sum of money every year. Or, maybe your parents stressed that it was important to become a doctor or lawyer. There is little to nothing interesting about becoming a doctor except the aformentioned benefits, and it's a helluva lotta work. I just can't make myself believe that the majority of people become doctors in order to care for people that they've never met. I will concede that there are a few "good souls" out there that genuinely care (or think they care) about the sick enough to spend 12 years of their lives training to care for them, but the vast majority (especially plastic surgeons) are doing it for the payoff. Most of the people I know who are on the path to becoming doctors are just doing it because it pays a lot, which leads me to infer what I've written. Maybe the rest of the world is a more pure place than my section of it, but my brain tells me no. 👍 👍

Mostly off topic, I know, but one of my pet peeves is caring doctors, go figure.

 

[ncalcate]

Attorneys Dick Scruggs and Ronald Motley each made close to $1 billion for their roles in the 1998 $245 billion tobacco lawsuit (also known as the MSA or Master Settlement Agreement). Not bad for maybe a couple years of work. It is too bad they kept all the money to themselves and didn't try to funnel that money into something more socially meaningful, but that is a discussion for another thread.

That being said, I agree with the other posters who implied that medicine is a much more secure profession. As an MD or DO, you are nearly guaranteed a nice income, whereas in law, your ability to make a nice income is not so certain.

 

[medhacker]

but the vast majority (especially plastic surgeons) are doing it for the payoff.

Do you have facts to substantiate that all plastic surgeons are in it because of the money, a rather speculating comment in my opinion. 👎

 

[macadamianut]

Do you have facts to substantiate that all plastic surgeons are in it because of the money, a rather speculating comment in my opinion. 👎

Facts? Ya, there was a study published last year in the JAMA with around 1000 plastic surgeons surveyed. 73.8 percent said they were in it for the money.

 

[UMP]

this was all over the place recently:

Top paying jobs in America

Surgeons: $190,280
Anesthesiologists: $184,880
Obstetricians and gynecologists: $180,660
Internists, general: $160,130
Pediatricians, general: $143,300
Chief executives: $140,580
Family and general practitioners: $139,640
Psychiatrists: $139,300
Dentists: $131,210
Airline pilots, copilots and flight engineers: $129,880
Lawyers: $107,800
Podiatrists: $106,430
Engineering managers: $99,710
Computer and information systems managers: $95,230
Optometrists: $95,060
Natural sciences managers: $93,990
Air traffic controllers: $93,240
Marketing managers: $92,190
Sales managers: $91,840
Law teachers, postsecondary: $91,420


You need a medical degree for 7 of the top 8...

http://content.salary.lycos.monster.com/articles/highestpay/

 

[medhacker]

Facts? Ya, there was a study published last year in the JAMA with around 1000 plastic surgeons surveyed. 73.8 percent said they were in it for the money.

Can you cite it? at least the month? I want to look at it

even if it is true, doesn't that leave a good 26.2% who claims not to be in it solely for the money?

 

[MedicineNutt]

When people say that they want to become a doctor so they can help people, I always wonder why they don't just become a nurse or PA. Just tell the truth people, no one will hold it against you (except maybe the person interviewing you for med school... and Christians 😎 ). You want to become a doctor so that people will look up to you, they'll call you "doctor so and so", you'll get hot women 😉 , and most of all you'll make a large sum of money every year. Or, maybe your parents stressed that it was important to become a doctor or lawyer. There is little to nothing interesting about becoming a doctor except the aformentioned benefits, and it's a helluva lotta work. I just can't make myself believe that the majority of people become doctors in order to care for people that they've never met. I will concede that there are a few "good souls" out there that genuinely care (or think they care) about the sick enough to spend 12 years of their lives training to care for them, but the vast majority (especially plastic surgeons) are doing it for the payoff. Most of the people I know who are on the path to becoming doctors are just doing it because it pays a lot, which leads me to infer what I've written. Maybe the rest of the world is a more pure place than my section of it, but my brain tells me no. 👍 👍

Mostly off topic, I know, but one of my pet peeves is caring doctors, go figure.

Those who want to be doctors not only want to do it because they care for people, but they enjoy leading and organizing people!!! --- i personally like calling the big shots because i cant live without that aspect of my life!! nevertheless, the practice of medicine is a long-term and rewarding career...doctors get the big checks along with the respect!! what more could you get from somethin you just love b/c of interest??? money is a bitch...who cares!!

"i rest my case" - lawyers...lol

what do doctors have to say about that??? i mean they've been persecuted and aided under those words!!! lawyers can potentially make more money saying those words than a doctor's lifetime...lawyers have a boring job!!! lol sorry if i offended you

 

[Law2Doc]

this was all over the place recently:

Top paying jobs in America

Surgeons: $190,280
Anesthesiologists: $184,880
Obstetricians and gynecologists: $180,660
Internists, general: $160,130
Pediatricians, general: $143,300
Chief executives: $140,580
Family and general practitioners: $139,640
Psychiatrists: $139,300
Dentists: $131,210
Airline pilots, copilots and flight engineers: $129,880
Lawyers: $107,800
Podiatrists: $106,430
Engineering managers: $99,710
Computer and information systems managers: $95,230
Optometrists: $95,060
Natural sciences managers: $93,990
Air traffic controllers: $93,240
Marketing managers: $92,190
Sales managers: $91,840
Law teachers, postsecondary: $91,420


You need a medical degree for 7 of the top 8...

http://content.salary.lycos.monster.com/articles/highestpay/

This is pretty flawed, considering they break medicine into 6 segments on the list (apparently eliminating residency from their averages), but law is all lumped together into one averaged job. You get very different numbers when you remove eg. public sector (the very low paid legal aid, public defender, and other government lawyers) from private sector, or big firm from small firm/solo, or corporate from litigation or many other permutations that would better compare to how they broke up the medical field. I also note that in the last category, calling them law teachers instead of law professors is also a bit suspect, and makes me wonder who are included.

 

[Dr. Pepper]

Obviously this is a circular debate because the question has no definitive, one-sided answer: the fact is that both surgeons and laywers make great money (shocking!)

I think that the best way to decide is to look at what you want to do and WHAT YOU ARE GOOD AT.

A lot of people who want to be successful ultimately decide between law and medicine (ie: parents want kids to be laywers or doctors etc), but think about it, is there any real similarity between medicine and law as a profession?

Think about it: knowing what thyroxine does will do nothing to help you argue a certain point. Similarly, being able to bs on your feet will not do you much good once you've got a trauma patient who needs a tracheotomy!

The problem with law is that it is way too hard to determine how much you will get paid. People in the public sector only get around $50k while lawyers in the private sector can receive anything from $120k - millions. What separates them? Good lawyers in competitive fields. Even if you go through law school with high honors, if you're not the better lawyer in a courtroom, you're not going to make much money. Law requires you to be competitive and be able to analyze better and more efficiently than the other lawyer (and yes, that lawyer is your opponent.)

So when it comes down to it, this question itself isn't that important. A better question would be whether or not you have the skills to go into medicine or the skills to go into law.

If you are good at science and can study very well, then you can do well in med school and then get into a good residency etc etc = great salary. If you are a great speaker but have never opened a book in your lifetime, you will get eaten alive eventually and probably end up in a bad location in a bad field with horrible pay.

If you can convince a complete stranger that you're the king of canada (btw Canada is not a monarchy in case you didn't know 🙂 ) and you go into law, it doesn't matter where you go to law school. You will probably beat the living daylights out of any laywer and eventually you will argue the big cases and make the good money. If you are a good science student but can't communicate on topics outside of organic chemistry, then it doesn't matter where you went to school: you're going to lose all your cases!

The real debate is for the select few who are understand persuasion and peristalsis.

The lesson is simple: do what you love, do it well and all will be well (money included.)