I feel like your sentiment may be more philosophical than practical - for example, Cardio and GI are extremely competitive subspecialties of IM, the former of which is increasingly more competitive and happens to be the subspecialty I am interested in. That being said, if I am an 'average' IM resident, or just an 'adequate' doctor, that may not be enough to lock into a cardiology fellowship, and I am not interested in working the IM service as a hospitalist or as a GP. Contrarily, from what I have learned (have done basic science research with an Ortho mentor) I like Ortho - I probably know more about IM/Cardio at this point than I do clinical Ortho, but so-far, so good. Here's the catch - if I'm an average Ortho resident, I'm still going to become an Orthopaedic surgeon. If I'm an average IM resident, I might not get to where I want to be. I'm not saying that I don't want to work hard - I'm just saying that the reality of how competitive all of this is has humbled me, and I'm looking to options where not being a top candidate won't hinder where I can take myself.