dcb07

msdoc, in your opinion do you think that some of the posts in this forum are a little bit extreme and are exaggerating the conditions of doctors? Like they are stating the worst possible conditions? I think if people truly wanted to be a doctor, the money would not be that large of a factor. If you are going to school and residency for more than 10 years you should have a desire for something other than money. Obviously money is a factor in everyone's lives, but how many doctors do you know that are having financial problems or aren't able to buy very nice cars or houses or other things?

impactangel

i would agree that some of the opinions here are exaggerated

but the medical profession is changing and is not the gold mine it once was

i have yet to see starving homeless doctors but it isn't the same "honey warm up the porsche for me" lifestyle that it used to be

dcb07

Right, and if you are in it for money, business is most likely the way to go. Not every doctor is going to be driving $120,000 cars, but they still will be able to afford nice luxery cars and live comfortably. But being a doctor also opens up opportunities for wealth. Owning a sucessfull practice = $$$.

bigdaddy06

People are doing this in Radiology, and in other fields. I think there will be certain docs who just want to practice medicine and do not want to deal with running their own practice. If someone with a business acumen can run a practice allowing docs to come and essentially be their own boss and run their sub practice while paying a fee to the owner doc it could be quite lucrative. Also do not underestimate the "membership" practices who have all fields of docs under one roof and the patients pay an annual 1,500 fee to be in the practice... this stuff happens, atleast in NYC...

Look if you can make 200-300 k and make a difference in someones life, there are worse things...

msdoc

dcb07, I believe your points are right on. Many of the physicians who trained in the 80's and earlier came out of training with the expectation of enormous wealth and income and often that expectation was realized depending upon the specialty they practiced. Understand as well that those individuals were often willing to spend endless hours developing and growing their practices in order to make them successful. The cohort of physicians that I see these days coming out of training are every bit as dedicated to their patients but want more of a balance between income and lifestyle. The money thing is clearly exaggerated. I don't know of too many starving physicians. If a new doc has the expectation that by going into the medical field they will expect to afford a country home, exotic cars and vacations, a designer wardrobe, etc., that is not reality. You can more likely expect a life in which you will be able to live in a nice home in an exclusive neighborhood, take nice vacations, fund your children's education as well as your own retirement, indulge one or two hobbies and generally enjoy the rewards of a fulfilling profession. Remember, unlike investment banking, you can have that lifestyle in any location in the country. The path to a medical degree is well travelled and once you have your degree and license, unless you do something extremely stupid or illegal, it is yours for life.

dcb07

Thanks msdoc...it's nice to hear a little bit of reasurance. In my opinion, this thread is extremely discouraging in many ways and I think a lot of people are looking one sided. I've wanted to be a doctor my whole life and a sway in functioning of doctors shouldn't be the reason for a change in decision. Anyways, things in 10-15 years from now will be extremely different from now. 15 years ago was 1991! I believe being a doctor is a great, challenging oppucation that gives you the ablility to help others, have an extremely satisfying job, and be able to lead a very comfortable and enjoyable life.

msdoc

Happy to contribute my two-cents... good luck in your career plans.

Mny300zx

I I start from scratch,, assosiates bachelor.. ect ect at age 23.. and If everything goes well.. at what Age can I officially call myself a Plastic surgeon.

mkm56

After acceptance to med school, you will have 4 years of med school and if I remember correctly, 5 years general surgery residency followed by a fellowship in plastics (1 year?). somebody who actually went this route help out.

Mny300zx

You guys are always mentioning.. if you go in for the money you will be sorely frustrated with the outcome.. But how much money are you guys really talking about.

I for one would LOVE to become a doc and make 175k after taxes mal practice ect ect..

lets do the math 175/12 that is $15,000 a month,, lets do more math

Home mortgage... lets say you bought a nice hosue for 400,000$ and you pay $3,200 a month rent

car les say you onw a Range Rorver and pay 800$ a month +200 insurance
$1000

Cell phone, Food, Water,Light,Entertainment,Clothe 2000$ a month

so we got

$3,200
$1,000
+$2,000
that = $6000 $ now, $15,000-$6,000 is? $9,000 left, that Means you still can buy a 100,000$ yacht and pay for it.. and still have inof money to start a savings account for your retirement all this not counting your spouse who lets say rakes in 50k a year..

a DOC is a good living you wont be a millionare but you wont be living paycheck to paycheck wich is atleast what we require when we go into the medical field aside from helping and prestige of the name DR.
AND remember this is based ona $175,000 sallary, and from all these surveys i see Surgeon and Specialty docs average 200k+. SO for me thats is a WONDERFUL living..

All in all lets say your a Doc who is really the scraps of the bunch and make 135k a year your still gonna be working with $11,500 a month... buddy that is alot of money..


just for laughs and giggles lets do that math to see how much money that is a week

15,000$/4 thats $3,750 a week.. I dont make that in 3 month at my current job..

impactangel

Those numbers that you worked out are great. But to make $175K after taxes and malpractice means you would have to make around $400K originally.

While that is still doable, I would say the majority of doctors do not make anywhere close to that amount.

ihateCA

If you want money, and solely money, you should become a stock trader. A stock trading associate at a Bulge Bracket firm can easily make $400k (in the first year-and it'll most likely quadruple in 5 years). And none of it goes to malpractice insurance.

I would say doctors, lawyers, and engineers, while they DO make a ton of money, DO NOT make enough to enter the "upper class" in terms of wealth. A doctor, lawyer, or engineer can easily make upper middle class with a nice house in the suburbs, two nice cars, and a family of four (and maybe a timeshare in VT), but they'll make nowhere as much as businesspeople.

If you hear ANYONE, I mean ANYONE, tell you that they're going into medicine solely for the money, feel free to kick his/her face in, then tell him/her that spiel. BTW, I'm not even in college yet.

umardarr

u guys are talkin about money and stuff...don't forget if you have kids you will be payin for their education 2 lol...thats quite a bit of cash to take out, especially if ur a doc who most likely won't get any financial aid and ur kid is really smart and ends up at like harvard, hahaha

ihateCA

well when you make $10MM a year, $50k is chump change. U think Donald Trump's kids got financial aid when they went to Wharton?

bigndude

I don't know where 10MM a year fits into this. No docs make that much that actually practice medicine. Docs who are insurance execs do, but not normal docs. Its become relevant in terms of paying out when you are a doc making 150 grand take home, if you lucky. When you are paying for a house, food, gas, and also kids education it gets to be hard. That money is definitely not what it used to be.