<p><strong>facepalm</strong>. I love how people think that because they know 1 or 2 people that make a killing that everyone who enters the profession will do the same. Oh hi guys, I know 3 engineers named William Gates, Steve Jobs and Michael Dell that founded F100s with their engineering knowledge and are now MULTI-MILLIONAIRES. How can doctors that only make a 100k per month compare to engineers who make that every day?</p>
<p>Look kid, unless you do something absolutely ridiculous like pursue a career in McDonalds branch management none of these fields will let you starve and all of these fields afford you the opportunity to make you rich beyond your wildest dreams IF YOU’RE GOOD. So just be the best and stop worrying about how “prestigious” a job is. If you make 10k a day, you’ll get respect even if you’re an expert in trash collection and the best at what you do.</p>
<p>So the last part of what the dude I quoted is important, but I can guarantee that most doctors don’t make that much money. Most docs will be GPs, forced to compete against each other, and top off at aroud 150-200k. The better your business sense the better your salary of course, but on average, 95% will make no where near 150k per month and that is no reason to enter that kind of field anyway</p>
<p>You don’t have to be a GP though. If you want to be, say, an orthopedic doctor, nothing is stopping you from doing that and easily making 200k+. You can always invest a lot of money since your salary is so big and make a lot that way if you’re smart.</p>
<p>^uhhh yeah there is. It’s something called competition. Not everyone who gets into medical school can just pick and choose a specialty. If you get **** grades and do poorly on the USMLE, you won’t get the residency you want. End of story. </p>
<p>That’s like me saying that nothing is stopping anyone from being an investment banker. Fact is, not everyone will be competitive enough for the sought-after positions and consequently, the biggest barrier to entry for most desirable fields is competition. That’s life.</p>
<p>if you want to set yourself a goal, the magic number is 4.4 million.</p>
<p>If you can earn 4.4 million dollars in 1 year, you have just earned as much as the average professional degree holder(lawyer,doctor,phD) earns in their work lifetime.</p>
<p>Professional athletes, doctors, lawyers, and people in finance usually carry the wost prestige and wealth. Engineers/actuaries/scientists also make good money, but that is not the first thing that comes to mind when you say “What is the best way to become wealthy in America.” Successful entrepreneurs can also make a killing, but it is hard to do.</p>
<p>The thing about the “engineers” mentioned as examples of extreme wealth in engineering is that none of them made their money by actually engineering.</p>
<p>Michael Dell is an entrepreneur who didn’t do as much to engineer the computer as he did to simply streamline production, increase options and run a company. He was never anywhere close to becoming a licensed engineer because he dropped out of college after a year.</p>
<p>Steve Jobs is closer to being an engineer in that he actually did work with the programming of computers and such, but he also was never close to becoming a licensed engineer as he also dropped out of college and his main money-making role has again been almost entirely as a business man.</p>
<p>The truth about engineering is that you can very easily hit a ceiling between 100-200k or less if you’re a civil engineer or something and most engineers never pass it. Pretty much the only way up for them at that point is to enter the business world, which is why so many MBA students have engineering degrees - they were the kids that did engineering for the high starting salaries and are back for more dough.</p>
<p>It is much easier to become a doctor/engineer than to get into a BB is all I’m saying. Not everyone can be a doctor, but it’s much easier to become a doctor than to get a job at GS or JPM.</p>
<p>^It’s not that different. For some it would be easier to make it to the NFL. I could be a doctor if that’s what I wanted to do. I probably won’t end up getting a job at a BB, even though I want to. I don’t know how many people would be able to become an analyst at GS and not be able to become a doctor if that’s what they had wanted to do. Maybe they couldn’t become the top doc at the Mayo Clinic, but I’m pretty sure just about every one could have gotten a job as a doctor somewhere.</p>
<p>Tortfeasor-I agree with the top notch one, but it’s still easier to be a doctor like a GP working in a small city than to get a job with a boutique.</p>
<p>You don’t even need a college degree to get licensed as a registered rep or investment adviser representative.</p>
<p>The college requirement to be licensed in my company is listed in my filings but that is not required. High school diploma and I think 18 years is all you need.</p>
<p>I’m not saying high school grads make it into GS or can even understand what is going on in finance and business, but that it can happen.</p>
<p>There really is no comparison between a Dr. and an analyst. It’s easier to compare Dr. to JD. but even the JD is easier to obtain. The ease of entry into a profession has no relation to intelligence or even prestige (the point of this thread). </p>
<p>Prestige is based on individual values. What is your culture. What does your family, your community respect. In some groups the only prestigious job is as a minister or priest. No one on Broadway wants to be a Boutique Associate. I would be surprised if even 10% of them knew that Boutique IBs existed let alone what and IB does.</p>
<p>The measure of wealth is the same. My family values education and learning. From my perspective you can have Bill Gates’ wealth and still have no value and exist in a poor state of being.</p>