what if md's only made $50K / year

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Dammit. I cam into this thread for the sole purpose of mentioning my lamborghini and what do you know? Someone beat meto it the THREAD BEFORE me. Damn.

Anyway. Doctor's make 50k a year? Thats not plausible unless there was no undergrad required and you could go straight to MS from HS. Only then would I consider it, and thats just dumb.
 
"it's crazy when you think about it...that's enough to buy a lamborghini..."

After taxes its closer to 170K
 
Our culture thinks nothing of rewarding pituitary cases who have a talent for placing balls in baskets with Croesian riches, nor allowing bloated executives of bloated corporations to rake in millions for peddling products of questionable merit (or, as in Enron's case, questionable products). Why shouldn't those involved in healthcare be afforded an opportunity for a comfortable existence? [/B][/QUOTE]

UnderDoc for Vice Prez...(since I voted Panda for Prez)

I wouldn't do this job for 50k a year and let me explain why.
I was a PA that specialized in Cardiology. I made good money, BUT I also did A LOT of work, everything from rounds to stress tests, to caths. I spent more that 14 hours in the hospital on a daily basis. I got it from both ends, the nurses, docs and patients. I spent many, many, many weekends on call and much of family time in the ED taking care of some fat bastard that's had 3 MI's already, is S/P CABGx4, diabetic, HTN, COPD who still smokes!!! The same guy I told the last 3 times "Stop smoking, go a diet, get some excersice and for GOD sakes stop eating spicy food as a midnight snack."
Yup, I went through all that and will go through more but I also want to be properly compensated. You see I'm one who does believe I should have a nice car, because I have driven the crappy ones. You know the ones I'm talking about...You're running late and it won't start, the air doesn't work, the heater kicks in as you pull into the parking lot. I want a nice car and a nice home and provide for my family everything they want...WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH THAT? I won't apololgize for the fact that after I'm finished I will still be working my ass off but this time it'll be for me and my family. Patients will obviously benefit but that goes without saying. I know many of you agree but just won't say anything because it's not PC to say that "yeah, I'm going to be helping people and getting PAID in full at the same time!!" What a sweet combination to actually to do something you love and make a great living doing it.
:meanie:
 
Originally posted by want$it$bad
These posts always crack me up. As if becoming an investment banker is even an option. That's like saying, "Naw, I'd just go ahead and play professional baseball."

As for me though?... Naw, I'd just go ahead and become an equity partner at Cravath.

👍

Yeah. It bugs me when people go on about all of the apparently really EASY ways to make more money than a doctor. Because God knows, every MBA is pulling down a fortune.

Looking at my skill set, I really cannot imagine successfully engaging in another career that would earn me as much money over my working lifetime as being a physician.
 
""No...actually, it would be more accurate to say that after interest, it's closer to 280K...

I was talking about the crazy student loans for med school, not salary for doctors, heh.""

Opps. My dad borowed 80 and owed 160 after only 5 years of residency. This was in the 80s though so interest rates where much worse. I pray ill only owe 280.
 
What if it was setup like the PhD model w/ little or no debt, but you made 40-90k? As for other factors for entering medicine, what about job security? Few other professions compare, even law doesn't have quite as much job security.

As for public school teachers, I think that most get paid enough. I came from a "good" public school (top 100) and most of those teachers were very well compensated considering the fact that they only had a bachelors/masters from a mediocare school. They started at 50k with a bachelors or 60k with a masters and they top out at 95k. Personally, Both my parents are better educated and make less money than that. Also, consider that many lower paid teachers, such as those in NYC, aren't even qualified to teach their subject matter.
 
Originally posted by hightrump
""No...actually, it would be more accurate to say that after interest, it's closer to 280K...

I was talking about the crazy student loans for med school, not salary for doctors, heh.""

Opps. My dad borowed 80 and owed 160 after only 5 years of residency. This was in the 80s though so interest rates where much worse. I pray ill only owe 280.


Well, you guys must attend very wealthy schools that compensate their teachers 60K? Or that must be the salary after 25 yrs of experience, because in the san francisco bay area, the teaching jobs pay in the 30K's when you first start out, and move up only a thousand or so each year.

Anyways, my point is that if we paid teachers more, we would be recruiting more educated/smarter graduates into the profession. And our level of education would go up. I know this probably doesn't apply to most of the people on this board, since the vast majority of med students went to private/magnet public schools where there are good teachers. But I'm saying overall education is lacking and we ought to pay teachers more.

Btw, the only have a bachelors or master's degree argument is not a good one. Engineer's and consultants usu only have a bachelors & many make 6 figures... any employer can actively screen among a population with the same degree by interviewing them, testing them, looking at their GPA, etc etc
 
Originally posted by unregistered
Well, you guys must attend very wealthy schools that compensate their teachers 60K? Or that must be the salary after 25 yrs of experience, because in the san francisco bay area, the teaching jobs pay in the 30K's when you first start out, and move up only a thousand or so each year.

Anyways, my point is that if we paid teachers more, we would be recruiting more educated/smarter graduates into the profession. And our level of education would go up. I know this probably doesn't apply to most of the people on this board, since the vast majority of med students went to private/magnet public schools where there are good teachers. But I'm saying overall education is lacking and we ought to pay teachers more.

Btw, the only have a bachelors or master's degree argument is not a good one. Engineer's and consultants usu only have a bachelors & many make 6 figures... any employer can actively screen among a population with the same degree by interviewing them, testing them, looking at their GPA, etc etc

Yes, but an engineering degree is difficult to get and requires one to work in college. Teaching degrees are fairly "Mickey Mouse" and awarded to anybody who can demonstrate a pulse and a third grade command of the three R's.

Most engineers do not make six figures, by the way. I bet fifty to sixty thousand is a pretty accurate average.
 
Well, I think that most engineers make more like 70k at the height of their earning power. However, they have MUCH less job security than teachers do, just ask the engineers floating around these boards. I do believe that teaching is a noble profession and wonderful thing to do, but teachers aren't really making below average for their degree, except in math and science, and there is a shortage of them. Are there really quite as many job prospects for a college english major, especially in this economy. I know many of my math/science teachers started teaching only because they didn't like the business/lab atmosphere, but most went there first. Speaking about wages, yes I did come from a rich school district, though I myself am not exactly rich. Our superintendant makes 270k a year!!! Though it did afford us some great teachers, including two PhDs. You want to talk about underpaid, my friend's mother is a social worker. She has a masters and works for the county full-time and makes 30k.
 
I was a Civil Engineer. Down here in Northern Louisiana the starting salary for a brand-new Civil Engineer (or engineering intern, to be precise) is about $40K. Back about six years ago, dissatisfied with my current engineering job I went to interview with a reputable Civil Engineering firm doing public works (roads, drainage) and was offered $36K as though it was a fantastic offer which would bankrupt the firm.

My current employers were paying me the riduiculously inflated salary of $43K so I stayed put. When I took the Professional Engineering Licensing Exam and got "registered" my salary jumped to about $52K which is a princely sum down here.

After a year of working for somebody else I went into business for myself and "netted" about $70K.

Mechanical Engineers make a little more. Electrical and Chemical are at the top of the pay scale for engineers.

Engineering is not the road to riches. But it is a decent and rewarding career for those who are interested in pursuing it.

Plus, everybody respects engineers. (Assuming they know what engineers do.)
 
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