<p>I want to be a millionaire. And I'm sure that the majority of us do. And this is perhaps the only reason why I would ever consider being a doctor. That and the 'prestige', but is it worth it in the end? Of course, i like helping people, but i don't think that helping people is limited to the hospital. In this economy, is it worth to do study something you like, or go on the 'safe' route and become a doctor. What are your guys' input?</p>
<p>Being a doctor is not as well-paid a profession as you seem to believe.</p>
<p>Being a doctor is a really poor choice if you want to be rich and young, honestly. Physician salaries have been going down for the past 15 years, while many businessmen salaries in corporations have been growing exponentially. In some areas primary care doctors barely make $115,000 because so many people are poor and depend on medicaid to pay the doctor only $18 for their visit. Combine this with heavy student loans (quarter of a million dollars) the cost of mal practice insurance, being a doctor is not going to get you rich, at least not in my standards. Also do not forget in your residency, your getting only 40-50 thousand a year, and if you work long enough, that might come close to minimum wage due to the total salary divided by the hours spent working per year.</p>
<p>The doctors who do make good money(neurosurgeons, orthopedic surgeons, plastic surgeons etc.) often don’t do so until there late 30’s. Also the highest paying medical specialities are the most competitive, only the top 5% of med students qualify for orthopedic surgery. </p>
<p>If you are really interested in being a millionaire get a degree in economics or finance and consider becoming an investment banker at a bulge bracket bank (Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley). Those are the real players in todays economy.</p>
<p>Here is a good thread from SDN about how obamacare affects physicians: <a href=“Obamacare and Physician Salaries | Student Doctor Network”>http://■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■/threads/obamacare-and-physician-salaries.1048547/</a></p>
<p>That forum is not a good thread about how Obamacare affects physicians. There are a bunch of non-physicians on thread speculating about how Obamacare will affect them. Everyone will experience something different depending on the states they practice. We were expecting a significant drop in surgeries at my hospital and instead we are up a good 20% so far. In fact, through 7 months this is the best revenues we’ve had in 8.5 years. My issue is with the private equity firm that owns the service contract. They are squeezing the profits out of the revenues and not providing it to the physicians. </p>
<p>Going into medicine to become a millionaire is just a miserable way to chase a fairy tale about being a millionaire. I know very few millionaire physicians while everyone is working their @sses off. </p>
<p>Oh dear, I didn’t know that about SDN, i thought it’s all primarily med students/ residents. sorry.</p>
<p>But point being ^^^ OP should go into private equity to become rich.</p>
<p>No. If your only goal is to be rich, pick a profession that doesn’t require 10+ years of schooling.</p>
<p>If you go just for the money, you will not survive anyway, so this question will be resolved automatically, no need to think hard about it. </p>
<p>Go into finance. Get an MBA. Cheaper, faster, more money.</p>
<p>Its true. My friend’s D, she did not hack through U Chicago’s pre-med and took the Economic route. She is making low 6 figures right out of the UG gate, she is about 6 years ahead of a MD. So lets say in 6 years she made 800K total in salary and she saved the $400K COA from med school and residency. She is ahead one million dollars plus and the brain damage from the MD school. </p>
<p>Unless you are really dedicated to the MD profession, why suffer?</p>
<p>"Go into finance. Get an MBA. Cheaper, faster, more money. "
-This is the same as saying, go to Holywood and be Brad Pitt. Very very few will make ton of money with the finance MBA or any MBA. Yes, some will and a whole ton, but Brad Pitt is also making a whole ton and there are few thousands who are also making money in Holywood.
This is NOT some theoretical off the wall statement, my H (his MBA is in finance) and I are both MBA. We are OK, not making any close to the MDs, but we are comfortable. What an MBA has to do with it? NOTHING!!! My H. is an engineer and I am in IT, Computer Programmer (with various titiles at many jobs, whatever they call it now is irrelevant, I have been writing software for aver 30 years). MBA will make it easier to find a next job (it did it for me several times, at least that is what I was told), very few will make ton of $$, the rest most likely will have lower compensation than us, unless they are in some proffessional field like us, MBA is overglorified. On the other hand, many companies are paying for the MBA degrees. So, if you happen to get employment in such a company, why not get your MBA? That was primary reason for us getting ours - exactly that - why not?
BTW, "low 6 figures " is not such a great income and more so in some expensive places. Not all Med. School graduates have loans either, about 25% have support of their families and do not have loans. However, I totally, 100% agree with this statement: “Unless you are really dedicated to the MD profession, why suffer?” It is not just some sufferring, sometime it is a torture of unimaginable level, nobody outside of Med. school (and Med. School student families), understand even close what they are going thru. My D. commented before she was to interview applicants (Medical Students interview new applicants): “Poor things, they do not know what they are getting into”. In D’s case, she chose the medicine as the best match for her personally. It is hard for me to imagine anybody else who would fit better into this all the way around. But I am her mother, I am sure other parents of Med. students feel the same way. It makes my D. happy to do something (sometime Med. Students are not allowed to do much), it does not matter what, to perform a rectal exam on the 80 y o patient will not bother her, she would take any task that comes her way. Are you such a person? Are you prepared to be screamed at day after day…for nothing, because you just happened to be at the bottom of the food chain so to speak and now nurse finally has somebody to let her frustrations on. Would you go thru studying 14 hours every day for about 7 weeks to prepare for your Board exam? One reason is to absorb material, but there is another reason - build up brain stamina to seat thru 8 hrs exam that is very very challenging.<br>
I would say, talk to few Med. Students, tell them your reasons to go to Medicine, see what they say.
As alternative, you can just try. As I said before, you will fall off of this track, not much research and deep thinking needed. it will happen automatically, you simply will realize that money alone is not sufficient reason to go thru this. </p>
<p>I get that you may be making a decision that will affect you for some 40-50 years. It’s very hard. But “go on the ‘safe’ route and become a doctor.” The overwhelming number of students who start as premed never see the inside of a med school classroom. Hardly a “safe” route.</p>
<p>“in this economy”</p>
<p>Let’s assume you go “safe route” earn a MD degree and get through residency, I’ll bet the economy then will look different then “this economy.” What will the economy look like 20, 30, 50 years from now and how will medicine be affected? Do you have a crystal ball handy??</p>
<p>“I want to be a millionaire”</p>
<p>Although a MD may earn a comfortable living, there have been other ways to make big money, although none are “safe”. Real estate, stocks, finance, tech, entertainment (can you sing, act, etc) have been past/current ways. Opening a chain of pot clinics may be a future pathway to becoming a millionaire, or alternately. a chain of pot rehab clinics.</p>
<p>In the end people have taken countless pathways and become millionaires. Some like Henry Ford, Walt Disney initially failed before succeeding. Some like Richard Branson (Virgin), Simon Cowell (American Idol) dropped out of high school. You may start down some pathway and go off on a totally different tangent, but I would say no matter what pathway you start down, do it with some level of conviction. Good luck pursuing your dreams.</p>
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<p>^^ As you getting older, you will find “be a millionaire” is no longer a difficult thing, given the devaluation of the dollar and inflation. Soon enough, the target should be set at 100 Million or Billion in the near future.</p>
<p>If a millionaire means to have at least $1 mln, there are many out there who have it and still consider themselves NOT rich at all, somewhat in a middle of the middle class. This type of money is not much this days and are going to be less and less of the value since gov. is printing money as we speak. They got to pay debt somehow, so the easiest way is to devalue the dollar. And if you think from another prospective, which is the cost of Medical Care also skyrocketing $1mln mihgt not even cover your immediate needs.</p>