<p>White Coat was an amazing book! I just finished reading it, and it gives you a good picture of what med school is like. if you like that, try reading On Call as well which accounts a doctor's experience in residency. I love reading these types of books :D</p>
<p>Doctors used to make 150k+. They won't for much longer, which is why I gave up on that long ago...</p>
<p>The House of God is also another great book. Some people may find it disturbing, but they probably shouldn't go in medicine, but its an awesome read.</p>
<p>If you want money, get into business and start investing in stocks. You'll make a whole lot if you're lucky. Medicine isn't about the money. There's too much work and too much at stake for it to be just about that.</p>
<p>Following the gist of aim78, I have always maintained that if all you care about is money, don't be a doctor. Get into investment banking, hedge funds, private equity, or some other similar position in high finance. The kind of money you can make there easily dwarfs what even the best doctor can make. If you're a Wall Street investment banker with an MBA and 10 years experience, you should be making at least a million a year, or close to it. Few doctors will be able to say that.</p>
<p>or if you work as much as medical residents after you graduate from top law schools, by the time doctors are done with residency, you will be earning at least 400K.</p>
<p>According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median annual salary for surgeons (as of 2003) was $182,690 (exclusive of bonuses); for ob-gyn, $176,630; for anesthesiologists, $180,380; GP's/family practitioners, $139,860; internists, $159,820; lawyers, $107,250; dentists, $129,040.</p>
<p>These figures exclude the self-employed.</p>
<p>There's nothing worry-free about these occupations, by the way.</p>
<p>Hopemanjkjk, the 400k number is a serious exaggeration. Take 2 twins, one that starts med-school and one that starts law school at the same time. Presuming that the one who goes to law school immediately gets an associate position at a major corporate law firm, which is by no means certain (for many lawyers spend years clerking or in public-interest), then by the time the doctor finishes residency, the lawyer is probably a 6th or 7th year associate. True, some residencies take longer (i.e. surgery), but not only do those long residencies correspond to the higher-paid medical specialties like surgery, but many residencies are quite short, i.e. 3-4 years for internal medicine. Hence, I believe that comparing a 7th year law associate to a doctor finishing an average residency is reasonable.</p>
<p>Here are the salaries for 7th year associates in major cities in California. While high, they are not even close to the 400k number you stated.</p>
<p>Now, it is of course true that major New York firms would paymore for associates than would major California firms, although not substantially higher. And what breaks the bank would be making it all the way to partner at a major New York law firm. The problem with that, of course, is that getting an associate position in a major New York law firm is not exactly a walk in the park. As a law student, you can't just simply decide one fine day that you want such a position and then expect to have it handed to you. The competition for these positions is fierce, and there is the strong possibility that you won't get it. Furthermore, only a small fraction of associates make it to partner. The vast majority of associates wash out somewhere along the way. </p>
<p>Contrast that with the medical profession. If you can get into medical school and you do the work and don't screw up, you are pretty much assured of becoming a doctor. Maybe you won't get to practice the medical specialty that you really want to practice, and maybe you won't be able to work in the part of the country you want to work in. But you're pretty much assured of being a doctor, somewhere, somehow. In that sense, while being a doctor is clearly not worry-free, it is 'safer' than shooting to become a New York City law partner.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, I do agree that going into medicine for the money is a foolish idea, and that the law profession is probably more conducive towards making money than is medicine, although clearly not as conducive as investment banking/high-finance is.</p>
<p>sakky, when you get your residency, how do they evaluate you? is it based on your grades or what?</p>
<p>if you want to become a heart surgeon, how does that work after med school?</p>
<p>To become a Cardio-Thoracic Surgeon (Heart Surgeon) after med school you do a residency of 5 years in Gen. Surg. then you do a fellowship in Cardio-Thoracic surgery for 2 then you can specialize more in transplants, etc.</p>
<p>What does getting a fellowship in Cardio-Thoracic surgery entail?</p>
<p>when you become a resident, what do they look at?</p>
<p>Well first off there are not many fellowships to go around. To get into one you need to have very good scores on the USMLE exams, and have a good track record from your residency, as well as good recommendations from your fellow doctors. The thing about many of these fellowships is that they are so sought after that not everybody will be able to get into it. Someone I know is trying to get into a Cardiology Fellowship and they told him there are 2000 Apps for 3 spots.</p>
<p>Edit- in addition to this training you will still have to do a few more years to become good, and to be able to support yourself. In other words your looking at 11 or more years of training including med. school. Heres a great resouce for pediatric cardi-thoracs. <a href="http://www.aap.org/sections/congheart/whatisapedheartsurgeon.htm%5B/url%5D">http://www.aap.org/sections/congheart/whatisapedheartsurgeon.htm</a></p>
<p>I would also add that just getting the surgery residency is certainly no slam dunk. You can't just wake up one fine day and decide that you want a surgical residency and then get it just 'like that'. Residencies are allocated in a matching process, and high-demand residencies like surgery are competitive. Many graduating MD's who want a surgical residency do not get one.</p>
<p>General surgery residencies are not competitive anymore. If you are talking about ortho, plastics, derm, ENT (Head and Neck), or neurosurg that is different. Going into medicine for money is just stupid although they're are some docks making well above 300k. Making 100-200k for 6 years during your mid to late 20s is far more lucrative and less stressful (law, business) than going through that same time as a resident making 40k and only then getting what interventional radiologist gets paid these days (400k+).</p>
<p>Trust me, law jobs that pay 100-200k are highly stressful.</p>
<p>more stressful than medical residents who earn only 40,000 or so?</p>
<p>Besides paying back all your student loans, is anyone taking into account the cost of malpractice insurance? I know of 2 doctors, (one a GP, and the other a pulmonologist), who decided to switch careers, at around age 48, because they were not making enough to compensate for the stress levels.</p>
<p>how much does a typical resident, like his third year into a program, make?</p>
<p>not much, depending on where you are anywhere from 30-50 grand.</p>