would u persue medicine if...

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IRpremed

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Lol of course not. I'd get a PhD in history and psychology and call it a day. I'd have so much more fun doing that rather then working 70 hours a week with so much government bull****.
Btw work on the grammar, proofreading will make it a bit easier to get appropriate responses. Also make this a poll as well, I'd love to see some stats. :laugh:
Honestly in my opinion money matters a lot. If it wasn't for the financial stability and safety that medicine offered, I'd be a fool to consider it. I've always loved the social sciences and understanding people and history. However the reality is that history and those fun things don't put bread on the table. If they did, I would be the first of 99.99% of pre-meds to throw away medical nonsense,
 
No. I'd probably be a teacher if I could make 200k and get two(ish) months off in the summer.
 
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yes, I would still pursue medicine. the money's a nice bonus but that's not my primary reason for wanting medicine. if I was just attracted to the money.. I'd probably be better off doing something else since going for med is one of the longest and most tiring processes out there.
 
If I could get the same being a rock star, I'd choose rock star without hesitation.
 
If I could get the same being a rock star, I'd choose rock star without hesitation.

a well established rock star own private jets.....ur never gonna efford that on doctor salary.
 
I'd likely join the Army Rangers. They ought to get paid more than physicians as it is.
 
nope, medicine is very interesting, but the career would take just too much time! Money being the same, I'd do something I'd REALLY like to do (some job in the mountains, or anything... skip around from job to job if needed to keep things fresh). Spend some time with the family and enjoy life a lot more (and a lot sooner!) instead of worrying about all the things doctors worry about. Not to mention not having to deal with all the stuff to get to be a doctor!! (school, residency, ect)
 
Two words: Hell to-da-izzo.

It is a great profession, but it requires appropriate compensation for it's [often] required sacrifices.

So if I could get paid the same [materially and immaterially] without the sacrifice -- swell.
 
I'd go live in the Peruvian Jungle and become the local Shaman.
 
Lol of course not. I'd get a PhD in history and psychology and call it a day. I'd have so much more fun doing that rather then working 70 hours a week with so much government bull****.
Btw work on the grammar, proofreading will make it a bit easier to get appropriate responses. Also make this a poll as well, I'd love to see some stats. :laugh:
Honestly in my opinion money matters a lot. If it wasn't for the financial stability and safety that medicine offered, I'd be a fool to consider it. I've always loved the social sciences and understanding people and history. However the reality is that history and those fun things don't put bread on the table. If they did, I would be the first of 99.99% of pre-meds to throw away medical nonsense,



I have to say: your posts are so ridiculous that I wish you would stop being the first person to comment on everything. I'm pretty sure that mostly everyone who reads this forum would become a doctor regardless. Maybe you should be an historian or something other than a premed.

And if your thing is that you want to make money doing basically anything, maybe you should consider a different field. Most of us on here want to be docs because we can't consider another option and it's just who we are. Not to be blunt (lol), but no-one wants to hear your garbage.

No offense?
 
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I'd likely join the Army Rangers. They ought to get paid more than physicians as it is.

My brother is one. He's totally into being airborne and getting Army tattoos and has a pretty sweet job sans undergrad. It's a noble profession - and I almost feel guilty for not having any interest in the military. I applaud and congratulate anyone willing to do such an important yet terrifying profession. I'm so proud of my bro, in fact.
 
I'd still become a doctor if it only paid $50k/year. However the loans better be $50k instead of $200k.
 
Who the hell wants to be a doctor anyway? Save people? Treat sick kids? Help the general public? Who the **** does that? I mean, being a doctor is worse than being a loser who graduated from art school with no art skills (can't draw worth ****) ends up in a museum working as a handyman and eventually gets promoted as a supervisor of the museum guards consisting of undergrad students and then walks around on a powertrip all the while talking **** about people behind their backs... yes, I do know someone like this.

Morsetlis... you going to St. Georges Univ. in the carib?
 
I have to say: your posts are so ridiculous that I wish you would stop being the first person to comment on everything. I'm pretty sure that mostly everyone who reads this forum would become a doctor regardless. Maybe you should be an historian or something other than a premed.

And if your thing is that you want to make money doing basically anything, maybe you should consider a different field. Most of us on here want to be docs because we can't consider another option and it's just who we are. Not to be blunt (lol), but no-one wants to hear your garbage.

No offense?

Royalewithcheese, I'm so glad that there are people like you going into medicine. I too can't see myself doing anything else regardless of pay. As for anyone who is going into medicine to make their nut(get rich), you have to be very foolish. It is very possible that sometime in the near future legislation could be passed that would drastically change how physicians are compensated. I know the argument is that that can be said about any career but most careers DO NOT require you to give up a decade of the best years of your life on schooling alone! Not to mention all the other sacrifices you will have to make. So next time you think you are being a original or heroic for sighting money as your main motivator for pursuing medicine, think twice because your really look reckless and ignorant.
 
Yep there's nothing else I want to do this is it. I am writing a topic paper right now about uninsured college students.....I barely keep my health insurance, it's a rough ride, but I have a pretty good idea of what I want out of practicing medicine. It's a long ways off but each day is one day closer.
 
You should let me read it cause my health insurance is gonna expire (I'm on mom's work health insurance which expires when I turn 24).
 
If I could pursue an interesting and rewarding career that didn't land me in astronomical debt and didn't steal away so much of the time I could have just had fun in my youth, and still get paid what a doctor gets paid, I think I definitely would! That career for me would have consisted of being a photojournalist for the National Geographic:D

Oh, and BTW, anyone who says money isn't a factor when it comes to pursuing medicine is either:

1) incredibly wealthy already
2) naive and idealistic
3) lying.

I'm doing medicine because I think it would be a psychologically rewarding career for me, I think I'd be good at it, I have the interest, and yes, IT PAYS. I want to live nicely and be rewarded for all my hard work on this track. For the most part (esp. when it comes to primary care physicians), I don't think a dime of what they make isn't well-earned.
 
If I could pursue an interesting and rewarding career that didn't land me in astronomical debt and didn't steal away so much of the time I could have just had fun in my youth, and still get paid what a doctor gets paid, I think I definitely would! That career for me would have consisted of being a photojournalist for the National Geographic:D

Oh, and BTW, anyone who says money isn't a factor when it comes to pursuing medicine is either:

1) incredibly wealthy already
2) naive and idealistic
3) lying.
4) used to not having money

I'm doing medicine because I think it would be a psychologically rewarding career for me, I think I'd be good at it, I have the interest, and yes, IT PAYS. I want to live nicely and be rewarded for all my hard work on this track. For the most part (esp. when it comes to primary care physicians), I don't think a dime of what they make isn't well-earned.

You forgot #4.
 
I have to say: your posts are so ridiculous that I wish you would stop being the first person to comment on everything. I'm pretty sure that mostly everyone who reads this forum would become a doctor regardless. Maybe you should be an historian or something other than a premed.

And if your thing is that you want to make money doing basically anything, maybe you should consider a different field. Most of us on here want to be docs because we can't consider another option and it's just who we are. Not to be blunt (lol), but no-one wants to hear your garbage.

No offense?

Yah thats why only 50% of premeds become doctors. My post's are not ridiculous my dear, I'm a realist with a opinion which is more then likely similar in sentiments to most people. If your actually stupid enough to consider medicine some sort of calling for half the guys on here then your just lying to yourself. Your sadly trying to rationalize medicine for yourself, because in the end, MEDICINE IS A CAREER CHOICE.
You don't want to hear my garbage then don't read my posts. Problem solved.
 
I have to say: your posts are so ridiculous that I wish you would stop being the first person to comment on everything. I'm pretty sure that mostly everyone who reads this forum would become a doctor regardless. Maybe you should be an historian or something other than a premed.

And if your thing is that you want to make money doing basically anything, maybe you should consider a different field. Most of us on here want to be docs because we can't consider another option and it's just who we are. Not to be blunt (lol), but no-one wants to hear your garbage.

No offense?

Royalewithcheese, I'm so glad that there are people like you going into medicine. I too can't see myself doing anything else regardless of pay.
The higher you are, the farther you fall, my friends. There are some people - like at least one of my roommates - who really do go into medicine solely to help people. There are also others who preach sanctimoniously about idealism and then buckle and show their true colors when they find out how hard this life really is. The vast majority of sunshine-and-rainbows pre-meds fall into the latter category, as evidenced by how few med students and doctors spew this diatribe. It's also a safe bet that anyone who "would be a doctor for free" has never endured any sort of financial hardship at all and would not feel the way they claim to if they had any idea what they were talking about.

Even if you do end up practicing what you preach, looking down on others for not being with you at the extreme end of the self-sacrificing spectrum is simply foolish. You may be willing to serve in Africa for subsistence money, but there's nothing wrong with wanting to be compensated fairly for the sacrifices one makes.

If I could've made $200,000 teaching high school physics or biology or chem, there's not a chance in hell I'd be in med school right now. That doesn't mean I don't want to be a doctor or don't enjoy what I'm doing. It means I picked something else that I enjoyed and didn't have to incur $400,000 of debt and give up 7+ years to do.
 
The higher you are, the farther you fall, my friends. There are some people - like at least one of my roommates - who really do go into medicine solely to help people. There are also others who preach sanctimoniously about idealism and then buckle and show their true colors when they find out how hard this life really is. The vast majority of sunshine-and-rainbows pre-meds fall into the latter category, as evidenced by how few med students and doctors spew this diatribe. It's also a safe bet that anyone who "would be a doctor for free" has never endured any sort of financial hardship at all and would not feel the way they claim to if they had any idea what they were talking about.

Even if you do end up practicing what you preach, looking down on others for not being with you at the extreme end of the self-sacrificing spectrum is simply foolish. You may be willing to serve in Africa for subsistence money, but there's nothing wrong with wanting to be compensated fairly for the sacrifices one makes.

If I could've made $200,000 teaching high school physics or biology or chem, there's not a chance in hell I'd be in med school right now. That doesn't mean I don't want to be a doctor or don't enjoy what I'm doing. It means I picked something else that I enjoyed and didn't have to incur $400,000 of debt and give up 7+ years to do.

QFT. Right on Milkman.
 
Even if you do end up practicing what you preach, looking down on others for not being with you at the extreme end of the self-sacrificing spectrum is simply foolish. You may be willing to serve in Africa for subsistence money, but there's nothing wrong with wanting to be compensated fairly for the sacrifices one makes.

If I could've made $200,000 teaching high school physics or biology or chem, there's not a chance in hell I'd be in med school right now. That doesn't mean I don't want to be a doctor or don't enjoy what I'm doing. It means I picked something else that I enjoyed and didn't have to incur $400,000 of debt and give up 7+ years to do.

Agreed. Unfortunately, a lot of pre-meds are in this for the money. It doesn't mean they don't love what they do, but if there was another option that may have involved less sacrifice, competition, and debt, I'm pretty sure they would have taken another route.
 
let's just say this- I have the option of being a stay at home husband, since my wife is in a very nice job.

however, I couldn't live with myself if I sat around all day, playing with my toys... I enjoy the study of medicine because it is one of the ultimate mental challenges, and its a career that allows you to grow exponentially as a person, while being a service to your community.
 
Agreed. Unfortunately, a lot of pre-meds are in this for the money. It doesn't mean they don't love what they do, but if there was another option that may have involved less sacrifice, competition, and debt, I'm pretty sure they would have taken another route.

I think most people would have gone that way. It's not that premeds are in it primarily for the money. But money does provide for some the deciding factor. Many premeds are smart and do have interests in the body as well as understanding how it functions and treatments. But its a long road from a interest to sacrificing nearly 10 years of your life and working 80 hours a week. I'll say that for me medicine provides many outlets for my interests, but that doesn't mean I couldn't see myself doing other things with much less sacrifice. Money is always a factor, just don't let it be your one and only factor is the popular sentiment.
 
I would.

I'm one of those commies who would work for 100K a year if the govt would clear all my loan debts.
 
If I could pursue an interesting and rewarding career that didn't land me in astronomical debt and didn't steal away so much of the time I could have just had fun in my youth, and still get paid what a doctor gets paid, I think I definitely would! That career for me would have consisted of being a photojournalist for the National Geographic:D

Oh, and BTW, anyone who says money isn't a factor when it comes to pursuing medicine is either:

1) incredibly wealthy already
2) naive and idealistic
3) lying.

I'm doing medicine because I think it would be a psychologically rewarding career for me, I think I'd be good at it, I have the interest, and yes, IT PAYS. I want to live nicely and be rewarded for all my hard work on this track. For the most part (esp. when it comes to primary care physicians), I don't think a dime of what they make isn't well-earned.


I've been poor my entire life and it's not a big deal to me. It was worse when I was younger and always had to be afraid of the house being foreclosed on (which eventually did happen) or, after that, getting evicted from the rentals (happened once too)...the instability of poverty is what REALLY bothers me. The "not having enough money to buy useless crap" thing isn't a big deal to me at all. What I want is to have enough money to live on without having to worry about losing the roof over my head, which is the equilibrium I'm in right now. I am stable in my home and that is what is important, not going out to eat every other night or buying a gigantic TV. Anyone who says this is idealistic probably has never been poor. In fact, the way people talk about 50k like it's poverty wages has made me literally laugh out loud more than once. I certainly want more than 50k if I'm going to spend aeons of my life in school, but I at least am able to realize what is a lot of money vs. what is not.
 
"if" lol. But we all know you'll need to slave in the military for that.


Those are great for military medicine, crappy if you don't want to be an Army Doc your whole career.
 
the instability of poverty is what REALLY bothers me. The "not having enough money to buy useless crap" thing isn't a big deal to me at all. What I want is to have enough money to live on without having to worry about losing the roof over my head...Anyone who says this is idealistic probably has never been poor.
Right on, sister. I've certainly never been poor, but my family has had its fair share of money woes. Financial stress is not something I'd wish on anyone, let alone myself. I do kind of want a huge TV and cool stuff, though. :p

the way people talk about 50k like it's poverty wages has made me literally laugh out loud more than once. I certainly want more than 50k if I'm going to spend aeons of my life in school, but I at least am able to realize what is a lot of money vs. what is not.
Agreed in general, but for someone like me who's going to be well over $400k in debt after school, $50k per year is below the poverty line. My interest payments will be at least in the $30k/year range, so I'd be bringing home about $10000, at most. I'll be forbearing my loans through residency and sending a personal letter to former-President Bush thanking him for costing me an extra $100k. :laugh:
 
just curious:
would any of you guys peruse medicine if you could get paid the same as the type of doctor you want to be doing something else?

I would still want to try and be an MD. I have a pretty damn good job now. I only work 2-3 days a week. Have great/full benefits. And I make more than enough money for a single guy. However, if my boss came up to me tomorrow and said "we will pay you 200K/yr if you stay at your current position" I would tell her to go shove it up her a**. I HATE!!! my job. No amount of compensation would be worth it.

You have to do what you like. I think I will like being a doctor. That is why I want to be one.
 
Right on, sister. I've certainly never been poor, but my family has had its fair share of money woes. Financial stress is not something I'd wish on anyone, let alone myself. I do kind of want a huge TV and cool stuff, though. :p

Agreed in general, but for someone like me who's going to be well over $400k in debt after school, $50k per year is below the poverty line. My interest payments will be at least in the $30k/year range, so I'd be bringing home about $10000, at most. I'll be forbearing my loans through residency and sending a personal letter to former-President Bush thanking him for costing me an extra $100k. :laugh:

You're right about that. I don't think it's fair at all to expect anyone with 400k in loans to make 100k a year, let alone 50k. There IS a new program out where you can pay 15% of your income on your student loans yearly. Resident income is (unfortunately) low enough to qualify.
 
just curious:
would any of you guys peruse medicine if you could get paid the same as the type of doctor you want to be doing something else?

for example, i really am interested in orthopedic surgery, however, if i could get paid the same amount as an o. surgeon except work on cars all day, i would never peruse medicine...the only reason im doing medicine is because realistically, I have to have a job, and the job im most interested in requires medical school


are any of you the same?

Pay isn't so much an issue for me although I wouldn't be a doctor for what I make now. There'd just too much loans and such to pay off although I currently live comfortably. With that much debt I couldn't, unfortunately.

However, I would just like being a doctor. The salary itself isn't so much an issue, and frankly if I could go to school for free I'd be more than happy to work as a physician for what I made now.

Now, one job I'd really like to do would to do (it changes monthly or so) is that of Deputy U.S. Marshal, preferably fugitive recovery, or Federal Bureau of Investigations Special Agent, preferably counter-terrorism. I can't though because I'm red-green color blind so thus far I've been confined to state law enforcement.
 
If it were not for the job security and money (even the lower end, as someone interested in peds and psych), I would really strongly consider medicine anyway.

If not, I'd become a philosophy professor. I think I'd end up in medicine even so, but I'm not sure. I very strongly considered quite a few jobs that make less (high school teacher, clinical psych/research/professor, oh so briefly social work, veterinarian and philosophy professor) before deciding on medicine.
 
I'd gladly go to graduate school and study science or engineering if I could get paid $200k/year for it. But I can't, so I won't.
 
I'd still become a doctor if it only paid $50k/year. However the loans better be $50k instead of $200k.
This is much easier to say when you know that it (probably) will never be true.
 
Although we can't ignore the fact that doctors make decent of money, there's more to entering medicine than just making a lot of money.
We are trained for such a long time so that we can save lives, not become rich. I always felt that this job is a calling and would still do it if I can just make enough to make a living. I shadowed a doctor who went to Harvard med and did his residency at UW and he works at a free clinic. He has the crappiest office that looks like a janitor's closet but he is so happy there. That's what a doctor should be like, imo.
I know this is a very idealistic view and you can't ignore student loans but everyone who's entering medicine (not only med school but also nursing, PA, PT etc) should take pride in the fact that we can make changes in people's lives regardless of who they are.
 
I would be a Mythbuster in a heartbeat... :D and do some heavy science work on the side... who knows, maybe strive to be Da Vinci II hehe...

But realistically, I would like to be a part time surgeon, and in the rest of my time do some engineering hobby.
 
I know this is a very idealistic view and you can't ignore student loans but everyone who's entering medicine (not only med school but also nursing, PA, PT etc) should take pride in the fact that we can make changes in people's lives regardless of who they are.
Hate to be the bubble-burster, and I do know there are some great moments in medicine/doc's lives, but...

you can't make changes in most peoples' lives. Do you know what people do to themselves? They smoke, they eat to obesity, they harm their insides and their outsides, they do every thing imaginable to destroy themselves. Unfortunately, you can't change most of them. Moreover, it does matter who they are. Is your treating a prisoner for chest pain going to significantly change his life for the better? In some cases, maybe; but most of the time, no. What about the drug-addled pregnant mother? The chain smoker? The 85 year old with dementia? You can buy them more time, perhaps. But you can't change their lives. For the record, I'm coming from a (non-physician) pre-hospital care/ER background.

That said, there are certainly patients who you can truly make a difference with, patients that are worth making a difference for. They are not the norm, unfortunately.
 
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Agreed. Unfortunately, a lot of pre-meds are in this for the money. It doesn't mean they don't love what they do, but if there was another option that may have involved less sacrifice, competition, and debt, I'm pretty sure they would have taken another route.

That's not necessarily a negative thing. Different people have different priorities.
 
I have considered other careers that make less than medicine, and the salaries were not a major factor. Job prospects were in that, once you have an MD, you can pretty much guarantee you will be doing what you went to school to do, whereas the probability of landing a job that I actually like/is related to what I studied with an MA or PhD in the humanities/social sciences that interest me does not seem as good.

I want to make enough to lead a middle class life with a reasonable amount of financial security, but to do so, I technically don't need to make as much as an average doctor.

The 'chances are with this degree I will actually be doing what I trained to/want to do' factor is a stronger motivation in my career choice than going from an acceptable salary to a better salary for me.
 
PhD in molecular biology.

Though right now it doesn't make a whole lot of sense for me to take a 30-50% pay cut for 4~8years, then another 2~7years crawling up to what I make now, then hopefully make tenure-track and earn not that much more than a senior tech.
 
trexate and morning, it's one thing to not have money and be used to that, and it's another thing altogether to invest $200k+ in loans to learn....that you won't be making much money. being in incredible amounts of debt is very stressful, more stressful than just being poor, and the medical profession is already stressful enough.
 
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