<p>jalfred, talk about failing to see the forest for the trees. The point of the link I posted is that being a doctor is not this incredible financial windfall that many people claim it to be. It’s not a guaranteed cushy lifestyle driving ferraris home to your mansion. And you’re right, that data is old. Medical compensation is getting worse. In the last 40 years, if you account for inflation, physician salaries have decreased while physician hours worked have increased (<a href=“Why Doctors Are Sick of Their Profession - WSJ”>http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-u-s-s-ailing-medical-system-a-doctors-perspective-1409325361</a>).</p>
<p>You’re right, it’s Indoor work with minimal heavy lifting (you’ve clearly never had to catch someone who is collapsing in front of you), instead you’re disimpacting bowels, having patients and coworkers call your house in the middle of the night (how many UPS drivers work 24+ hour shifts or have to remain “on call” for packages?), having people pee, puke, poop, vomit, bleed, cough, sneeze on you regularly. I would think anyone choosing the career as a physician for the right reasons wouldn’t want to trade with a UPS driver. Someone who wants a career for nothing more than it’s paycheck should realize there are better choices than medicine - and that’s an idea that MANY people don’t grasp.</p>
<p>And not the UPS driver, but I talk to the product sales reps that roam the halls of my department who work true 9-5s, have nothing more than a college degree, and were immediately making the kind of money I won’t see until my late 30s (I’m an MD/PhD student). By the time they are my current age in their late 20s they’re already making the kind of money I won’t see until my late 40s. Again, they’re only working ~9-5. I’ll be making those salaries working twice as many hours as them. You’re right. I won’t trade. I would get bored, but if someone is like “I kinda like science but I’m more interested in making money” then I’d certainly steer them away from an academic medicine career and more towards something like product sales rep.</p>