<p>I want to work on the medicine side of a doctors career, not on the surgery side. is it worth it to become a doctor?</p>
<p>Your question is too vague to elicit meaningful answers.</p>
<p>What exactly do you mean “is it worth it?” </p>
<p>Worth it how? The ability to recoup of the cost from your education? Time vs opportunity? Time spent in preparation? Personal career satisfaction? Career stability?</p>
<p>This is question that you must answer for yourself in light of your personal goals and values. The answer is going to be different for every individual.</p>
<p>@wayoutwestmom Oh, I meant money wise lol. Sorry I didn’t specify. Im personally leaning cardiology but I also would enjoy oncology. But overall what non surgery specialty has the most income potential? </p>
<p>Again, it’s going to depend on very many factors so there’s no “right” answer. Private, group or academic practice? Region of the country? Subspecialty? Hours worked? Overhead and malpractice costs? Hardship compensation for working in medically underserved areas? </p>
<p>Try looking thru this website of residency descriptions–which include a range of salaries for various specialties.</p>
<p><a href=“https://www.aamc.org/cim/specialty/”>https://www.aamc.org/cim/specialty/</a></p>
<p>What are you studying now? Unless you are already in medical school, you are really far far far away from figuring out a specialty. Many end up having to choose a fall back specialization since it depends a whole lot on their medical school performance as to whether one can get into a specialty.</p>
<p>The OP is a high school student and hasn’t yet started college. And I was coming back to post the exact same thing @texaspg just did.</p>
<p>OP–you’re a LONG way from choosing a specialty. You first need to complete your undergrad education and get accepted into a med school, any med school.</p>
<p>Also both cardiology and hematology-oncology are fellowship level specialties–which require both the completion of Internal Med residency then additional years of fellowship study.</p>
<p>Radiation oncology is one of the top 2 most competitive specialties there is–certainly no guarantees you’ll even be able to qualify for it.</p>
<p>Okay I guess that is true. I really dont have a strong preference in a specialization. I really don’t want to do surgery, though blood doesn’t bother me really lol.</p>
<p>Thanks guys for the help. I will deal with that when I get there (which will be awhile 
</p>
<p>So are there any other kinds of oncology besides radiation? Im sorry im a real newbie at this haha. And is cardiology hard to get in?</p>
<p>There are 3 modalities for cancer treatment and each has its own subspecialty.</p>
<p>Chemotherapy and the use of biological agents—hematology-oncology (IM+ hem-onc fellowship)
Radiation —radiation oncology
Surgery–surgical oncology (GS + complex surgical procedures fellowship)</p>
<p>And yes, cardiology is a competitive fellowship. So is hem-onc.</p>
<p>@OP</p>
<p>You have to understand first that, it’s very difficult to MAXIMIZE your earning potential in Medicine, for a couple of reasons.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>The path to becoming a cardiologist is long, 4 years at an undergraduate institution, 4 years of Medical School, 3 years of Internal Medicine Residency, then 3 years of cardiology fellowship. So a total of 14 years after high school, which might be more depending on different programs. Also, the pay during residency and fellowship is dismissal, possibly only around $50,000 a year, well below the salary of any attending cardiologists. Also, the average medical school student emerges with about $160,000 in debt from medical school, and this can be higher depending on a public or private institution.</p></li>
<li><p>Medical care is something everyone needs, but this means they need it whether they can pay for it or not. So you have to understand that, you cannot promote your services as a cardiologist, to someone who has a healthy heart with no heart muscle disease or arrhythmia’s etc. You are dependent on what insurance companies will pay you for your work. You cannot set your own price essentially. Also, people on Medicaid won’t be reimbursing you close to what private insurance companies do for a visit. The salaries of physicians as an average has been stable or going down for the past decade, but due to many reasons, like 3rd party payers, the increasing wealth gap etc. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>This can vary a lot depending on where you practice, and your specialty. For example, a cosmetic surgeon in Beverly Hills will be earning more than a orthopedic surgeon in Nebraska. But overall, you SHOULD NOT go into Medicine for purely financial motivations. It is simply not a good way to spend your time if amassing a fortune is your #1 goal.</p>
<p>If you love working insane hours and want to be insanely rich, you should consider a career in Investment Banking and Private Equity. The partners of these firms usually earn in the 7 digits or 8 digits.</p>
<p>
Suppose that the debt is just 3 quarters of this anount, i.e., $120K. How long would it likely take to pay off the loans AFTER the student starts to have a “real” income? (i.e., not the PGY-1, etc., salary funded by Medicaid.) Will it take 10 years for the majority (say, 80%) of them? To simplify the situation, let’s assume that the student is into one of the primary care specialties.</p>
<p>OP,
Only you can tell if " is it worth it to become a doctor" for you personally. How anybody else will know? </p>