Major for Pre-med thats also good on its own?

AuraObscura
Sun, 07 Jun 2015 15:51:52 +0000

It takes a significant amount of training to reach the point where you’d be in a position to earn anything like that. Surgical residents tend to work 80-100 hours a week while making relatively little money for a period of at least 5 years after medical school, and 6-7 years for orthopedic surgery and neurosurgery (and longer if you subspecialize in a fellowship). After that, you’d still be working 50-60 hour weeks, and much more if you want the kind of incomes you’ve just mentioned. Keep in mind lifestyle, too–surgeons often take call.

Moreover, don’t choose a career based on some anecdotal data. Just because your parents know a few people, doesn’t mean that is typical. Furthermore, are those incomes net or pre-tax? Do they account for the significant amount of malpractice insurance surgeons have to pay, which can run from tens of thousands of dollars to hundreds of thousands of dollars per year depending on specialty and location? Do they account for the significant amount that goes to overhead if they’re in private practice?

If your only goal is money, you will likely be miserable as a doctor.