<p>Everyone claims that you should do what you love, but that is simply not possible. I would love to be an architect except that I would have to move to an undeveloped city, get paid next to nothing for at least ten years, work long hours, and possibly not get enough contracts to live comfortably from month to month. Therefore I am pursuing diagnostic radiology, an interesting, high paying field. Does that make me a bad person? Certainly not. I weighed my options and realized that medicine is the only field where hard work guarantees financial success.</p>
<p>There are a couple teachers in my family. As for the summer thing, most schools offer two pay options. They offer an option of pay over 12 months, or over 9 months. A lot of teachers take it over 12 months for fear they will spend the money and be broke for three months if they took the other option. The way I see it they should take the 9 month pay and store some of it in CDs or more profitable investments and remove it after the end of the school year and have fun over summer.</p>
<p>I'm not liking what I hear about all these insurance problems. I absolutely do not just want to become a doctor for the money, but after over a decade of training I'm gonna want some rewards. I've also considered getting an MBA because I have a grandpa who owned an air conditioning company, so I have entrepreneurship in my blood, and I'm deeply interested in investing and all that stuff.</p>
<p>Lol, the extra three months of investment will give you barely any extra (unless you don't index and you put it into straight stock)</p>
<p>I think you owe it to yourself to get a degree in something that can make money to pay off your college debts, otherwise i don't think you should spend the money on such an expensive education if it really isn't worth it (but thats just me)</p>
<p>" Therefore I am pursuing diagnostic radiology, an interesting, high paying field."</p>
<p>Let us know in 5 years if it is still interesting and high paying. You may be fighting a headwind, especially with diagnostic radiology. Of all areas, it seems vulnerable to offshoring and de-skilling.</p>
<p>Newmassdad, don't take this as an insult, but why does it seem you are always disagreeing with everyone. You seem to know a lot about business and it's good to have you here, but I doubt that everyone on this board is wrong. You agreed to one of my ideas and that's all I've seen. I'm just wondering why you've expressed such cynicism throughout the whole thread.</p>
<p>Thoughtprocess, if three months (a quarter) isn't enough time to make or lose significant money, why do companies have to file quarterly reports.</p>
<p>There are a few stock market savvy people in my family, and a close relative of mine made $110K in 3 months. For a more measurable statistic, if that continued for a year it would be $440K, a heavy salary. That wouldn't likely occur, but it is more measurable than a three month statistic.</p>
<p>-You said to put it in a CD...which is an extremely low rate of return
And picking good, high return investments are risky (which is why they are high return) so I doubt a teacher would choose such an option...
and also, how much money did your close relative invest to make 110 k in 3 months, probably a great deal
3 months of a teachers salary is, on average, about 15000 dollars. I doubt you are implying that a teacher can make a return of 110k in three months though, right? </p>
<p>Companies have to file quarterly reports because the people who invest in their company want to know how they are doing, not because massive surges in growth occur in three months (though sometimes they do)</p>
<p>Newmassdad, the local hospital I volunteer at already outsourced radiology diagnostics to other countries, but we are required to have a certain number onhand no matter what - I'm not sure if this is a state/national policy or just a hospital policy.</p>
<p>110K in three months, 30K invested I believe. I mentioned CD, yes, and I know it's a low rate of return. The question about quarterly reports was rhetorical. Companies are also required to file such reports by the SEC.</p>
<p>"Newmassdad, don't take this as an insult, but why does it seem you are always disagreeing with everyone. "</p>
<p>Two reasons:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>there's a lot of unreliable information tossed out here.</p></li>
<li><p>to make you think, and not just regurgitate press release lines you may have read somewhere. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>The business world is a real jungle, with lots of information getting into the public domain that may be misleading. In addition, lots of decisions are made on trailing information. For example, a lot of kids became CS majors in the late 1990s, seeing the dotcom boom. Guess what, when they graduated, there were no jobs.</p>
<p>My cynicism for the med profession stems from direct exposure to it. (hint: I work at a well known east coast medical school...). The medical profession has been in turmoil for quite a few years. It is not likely to stabilize very soon. And it is the docs and hospitals that continue to be squeezed. It is not pretty.</p>
<p>And, to continue my criticism: "There are a few stock market savvy people in my family, and a close relative of mine made $110K in 3 months. " yes, and they could also lose a lot of the amount in the same time frame. Read up on portfolio theory, especially The Capital Asset Pricing Model, and you'll get an idea of how one can make a killing in the financial markets, and why such a strategy may not be such a good idea.</p>
<p>Then look at post 66 to understand my comment about radiology.</p>
<p>mathwhiz, are you telling me that he invested 30k, and made a 330% profit? That is amazing, if true. Hit me with some background, as in, what type of company structure etc. because I'm genuinely interested. Also, is your close relative a funds manager or something? My point is, normal people don't pick stocks like that and make a 330% profit, that sounds ridiculously good. You implied it as a typical thing, and it just simply isn't. Look at the Capital Asset Pricing Model, Random-Walk theory, etc. about why you can't EXPECT someone to make that kind of money. and like newmassdad said, for every person making a 330% return, theres a person who takes a loss as well. I don't think people who have 30,000 dollars of money for straight stock investment should be considered similarly to a teacher.</p>
<p>Companies are required to file reports by the SEC..you know why? See my last post. Its to let people know how their company is doing financially, is all. If you want some more history, it was made in the great depression because of all of the fake corporations etc., stuff that still happens now but not as much.</p>
<p>You know that CD is a low rate of return, so I guess my point is there.</p>
<p>Newmassdad is correct about radiologists. 60 minutes used it as one of the professions being shipped overseas at a fast pace.</p>
<p>Newmassdad, I have a hard time understanding your point of view. You say the medical field is in turmoil when medicine is currently the only field with a plethora of openings in patient care, nursing, and pharmacy. CS majors are also still being hired, just not in the millions. If you claim that medicine is such an unstable field, I would really like to hear your opinion of jobs that have more stability.</p>
<p>Yes let's hear some positivity. Newmassdad I respect your cynicism since you explained to me the reason for it, but let's hear what you think is good. It's easy to say everything on earth is horrible, it's usually harder to promote things, and I'd like to see you do it once in a while. What's good, not all industries are in turmoil. I'd be interested to know what you like if you have so much experience, I'm looking for an investment opportunity.</p>
<p>Newmass, if the med world is so screwed up and the docs are really getting squeezed that hard why are people still signing up for med school?</p>
<p>Also, if it's so screwed up, why are you still in that business Newmassdad.</p>
<p>Much of the world is sounding negative now because the last decade for medicine and the burst of the economic bubble for so many other fields, caught many by surprise. What we;ve seen is a lot of people who felt secure in their careers and with their incomes get blindsided.</p>
<p>Many going to college today will have to reinvent themselves where career is concerned several times during their working lives.</p>
<p>Many will tell you that you can't predict what will be hot in the future. While you can't 100%, you can do some pretty educated guessing. </p>
<p>Some medical specialties will be just fine-those who can charge privately and deal in medical needs of affluent people in affluent areas. Particularly the desires of baby boomers such as plastic surgery, wellness and anti-aging.</p>
<p>The stock market has it's ups and downs, but related businesses will always employ some of the smartest business grads. Corp[orate law and accounting will have many opportunities. Personal injury law is certain to see a reduction in awards and fees. And on and on.....Do your homework if this matters to you!</p>
<p>Much of the world is sounding negative now because the last decade for medicine and the burst of the economic bubble for so many other fields, caught many by surprise. What we;ve seen is a lot of people who felt secure in their careers and with their incomes get blindsided.</p>
<p>Many going to college today will have to reinvent themselves where career is concerned several times during their working lives.</p>
<p>Many will tell you that you can't predict what will be hot in the future. While you can't 100%, you can do some pretty educated guessing. </p>
<p>Some medical specialties will be just fine-those who can charge privately and deal in medical needs of affluent people in affluent areas. Particularly the desires of baby boomers such as plastic surgery, wellness and anti-aging.</p>
<p>The stock market has it's ups and downs, but related businesses will always employ some of the smartest business grads. Corporate law and accounting will have many opportunities. Personal injury law is certain to see a reduction in awards and fees. And on and on.....Do your homework if this matters to you!</p>
<p>Newmassdad is 100% correct saying that radiology diagnostics is in danger of being outsourced, nursing and other such healthcare occupations are sure to increase as the populations average age increases, but specific jobs like radiology diagnostics aren't going to dissapear - they will be outsourced instead</p>
<p>Also, if the industry is bad, it will retain its current members, but people who are just entering will be forced to take lower salaries </p>
<p>and i agree with zagat</p>
<p>texasmathwiz,</p>
<p>You asked, so here goes (btw, you never asked something that could lead to a positive response before...):</p>
<ul>
<li><p>I'm not a physician, so I am not personally affected. I am in the biomedical business, and work at a medical center in the commercialization of medical technology.</p></li>
<li><p>I am not a prognosticator. If I were, I'd be doing something else and making a lot more money, not that I've ever cared to do so.</p></li>
<li><p>What will be hot? What jobs will have stability? I don't know. I DO know that if you develop skills to do things you care about, it won't matter. My field did not exist when I was in college, so I could not prepare for it. I learned things I found interesting, developed a set of skills around that (science and business) and was able to move into emerging fields when they appeared. I did NOT chase what was hot. Medicine was hot then. Engineering was hot. Both are not now.</p></li>
<li><p>people still want to go to med school because the field still has its attractions, 'nach. But now, they are a different set of pluses than years past. I never said medicine was bad. I said it may not be the path to great wealth in the future, unlike the past.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>So, bottom line is that YOU make your own opportunity in the way you want. You make opportunity by having skills few others do. By having interests others don't. If you follow the crowd (chase what's hot) you will be in that crowd. That's OK if you can tolerate the inevitable compromises.</p>
<p>My prediction: </p>
<ul>
<li><p>heath care will be squeezed. It will become increasingly impersonal through automation of various kinds, and increasingly unsatisfying for the "old school" that liked the people component of it. Techies will do well in the new environment, though.</p></li>
<li><p>Education will continue to be a solid, if financially mediocre career.</p></li>
<li><p>The hot areas will be those that involve bridging cultures, as our society becomes increasingly global. We don't even have names for those kinds of jobs. There is great subtlety in dealing with cultures as diverse as China, Brazil, Italy, Saudi Arabia for instance. Sales will become global. </p></li>
<li><p>there will always be room for innovators. But it is harder to do than most think.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Newmass,</p>
<p>How come you don't say anything about againg baby boomers? If there's a large aging population that will require more doctors, and prospective doctors aren't going to med school because the field isn't what it used to be... won't that create for a bump in salary for the comparatively few doctors that we will have?</p>
<p>I'm considering other options, but less money isn't going to keep me out of the medical field, that would be wrong.</p>
<p>There are a couple people who became doctors during the down winding period, and if they hadn't I'd be dead, so I guess my personal experience helps me overcome the monetary forecasts.</p>