Quit Good Pay Job to be a doctor

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
G

good_faith

Senior Member
7+ Year Member
15+ Year Member
Joined
Oct 30, 2003
Messages
140
Reaction score
0
Members do not see this ad.
If you give up your good pay and stable job let us say 60K or more salary just to study medicine please write whether or not you have any regrets for starting the long road to pursue your dream. Want to hear from both MD/OD.

I posted the same question in Allopathic forum, but I want to hear also from Residences/doctors. Current Medical student recommend me to post this question to residence forum since you guys are know what is like to be Doctor better than first or second year med student; you may have some regrets or fulfilling. Let as here it.

Thanks

Good_faith
 
I would be surprised to hear you have a U.S. job that pays over 60K with your poor writing. So I will assume that you are in another country. I gave up a job that paid around 60,000 "just to study medicine." It was easy. I wanted to study medicine. I didn't want to work on a train. No regrets. Very fulfilling. My job pays $37,000, I work twice as much as before, and I love it. (Of course, I have the potential to make 3 times as much money for half as much work after residency, but that wouldn't have anything to do with it....)
 
Hey Desperado you are quiet rude. Why you assume the originol post was bye sumone enquiring about themselves. May be they were asking for a family member. Secondly, there are plenty of jobs where one can make 60K with out english as good as you. Third, if you assumed the post was from alien, how is he going to get into med. school in USA, so why you bother responsing. Lastly, I think you are rude.
 
i don't think he is rude - instead I think he is very accurate in his assessment. It looks like, besides Desperado and myself, the other posters on this thread need to brush up on their english...
 
Originally posted by good_faith
If you give up your good pay and stable job let us say 60K or more salary just to study medicine please write whether or not you have any regrets for starting the long road to pursue your dream. Want to hear from both MD/OD.

I posted the same question in Allopathic forum, but I want to hear also from Residences/doctors. Current Medical student recommend me to post this question to residence forum since you guys are know what is like to be Doctor better than first or second year med student; you may have some regrets or fulfilling. Let as here it.

Thanks

Good_faith
Click to expand...

I didn't work before medical school, rather, much like the majority of US medical students, went from high school to college to medical school. However, I worked part-time as a medical malpractice defense paralegal throughout my four years (and still do some stuff now). If I had worked full-time, my pay would have been around 55k a year.

I make 37.6k now, sometimes I work 100 hours a week, get little sleep, don't get to play video games, lost 10 pounds (not trying to lose weight), dont' get to go out and party like I used to, and feel really stupid compared to a lot of my peers.

But I love what I do. That's all that matters. I've worked behind a desk reading charts and reviewing dockets. I dont' want to do that. I love medicine and its about the only thing I can see myself doing... for the next 10-15 years anyways. (I have lofty goals of becoming independently wealthy).

Q, DO
 
Originally posted by Desperado
I would be surprised to hear you have a U.S. job that pays over 60K with your poor writing. So I will assume that you are in another country. I gave up a job that paid around 60,000 "just to study medicine." It was easy. I wanted to study medicine. I didn't want to work on a train. No regrets. Very fulfilling. My job pays $37,000, I work twice as much as before, and I love it. (Of course, I have the potential to make 3 times as much money for half as much work after residency, but that wouldn't have anything to do with it....)
Click to expand...

Desperado,

I am here in USA, and English is my 7th language, so my writing is not bad, hahahaha...
Believe it or not I am USA citizen.
Guess what I am making close to 100K. Yep, here in the State.
You are very disrespectful person. Would it make a difference if someone from outside U.S. writes this question? After all this is discussion forum. If you don?t want, don?t give any answer to the post.
Now, please let us resume answering the original question.
 
If you are making close to 100k,are reasonably happy and secure in your field I would suggest not pursuing medicine.After years of study,followed by residency training earning much less than you are now you may end up in a primary care field with an income about 30% or so higher for much more work.Add to this accumulated debt incurred in pre med and med..could be easily 200k or higher.The economics do not make much sense.If you dislike what you now do and are passionate about being a physician thats another story.If you have what it takes you can get into a high earning specialy like rads and make several times your current income.But dont enter medicine purely for financial reasons.You wll regret that decision many times over.
 
^ co-sign ny skindoc's post - agree 100%.

One thing you never mentioned is your age, if you're married, have kids etc. These are other critical factors that need to be considered. Now, more than ever, "older" people are entering medicine. As ny skindoc said, if it's your burning desire to be a doctor that's one thing, but if you want to make more money your plan will backfire. Even if you did manage to pull off a high paying field like rads etc (no guarantee of that), your wife/kids may not be impressed if you have to move out of state, change schools, your wife will have to find a new job, make new friends etc. These may seem like trivial things now but essentially you'll rarely be home and you'll be living very frugally over the next 7+ yrs.
 
I agree with the others. I think the trick (in doing it and being happy) is if medicine is an absolute passion for you. For some people, they love being a doctor and they seem to have an easier time dealing with the downsides.

Even if you are at the point where you would not have to do any more undergraduate coursework, count on medical school costing at least $100,000. I had no undergraduate debt and, for financial reasons, applied and attended my in-state school, which is in a relatively cheap part of the country, and I still piled up >$100,000 in debt.

If I could do it all over again, I would not choose medicine; however, I have come to the point that I beleive you have to make the most of what you are dealing with. I wish I would have been cognizant of the medicolegal environment in this country, the debt, and the lack of flexibilty in medicine (in other words, switching locations or specialties should you choose to do so.)

Long story short, this career straps you with a huge commitment; my best advice would be to investigate it to the fullest and be sure you love it before signing up.

good luck
 
Originally posted by Foxxy Cleopatra
If I could do it all over again, I would not choose medicine; however, I have come to the point that I beleive you have to make the most of what you are dealing with. I wish I would have been cognizant of the medicolegal environment in this country, the debt, and the lack of flexibilty in medicine (in other words, switching locations or specialties should you choose to do so.)
Click to expand...

You know Foxxy, there are plenty of things you can do outside of medicine. No reason to be miserable.

Wasn't there another thread just like this a little while ago?
 
Originally posted by DoctorDoom
You know Foxxy, there are plenty of things you can do outside of medicine. No reason to be miserable.

Wasn't there another thread just like this a little while ago?
Click to expand...

Yes there was; in this case, my point to the OP was since s/he already has a financially established career, that make sure medicine is truly a love/passion (for whatever reason) before jumping ship. Medicine does have its good aspects, but I think it is important to consider whether their motivation to enter medicine outweighs the negatives (which are things I think are easy not to see from the periphery before entering medicine) prior to making a decision.

good luck
 
Thanks Foxxy, and your points are well taken. I actually meant wasn't there a thread regarding leaving an established career for medicine a while ago? I recall a lot of posts and a discussion about 401 K's and the like. Maybe that would be helpful to the OP as well.
 
I've spent the better part of my life getting to where I am now, and I still have a couple of years before I am "done". I started pursuing entrance to medical school while working full-time serving in the military in 1993. Entered in 99 and graduated last year. I'm doing EM and will graduate in 2006.

I used to think medicine was "all that" and I thought I'd have a passion for it like I did while working in the paramedical field. If I won the lottery tomorrow, I would walk away in an instant and become an entrepreneur or real estate mogul.

Medicine is a job. For me it has become a way to make money. If I have to do it, then EM is where I need to be. Otherwise, I would just assume leave it tomorrow.

As I mentioned, I've spent the last 10 or so years getting here. When I graduate, I'm going to spend the following 10 or so years working on getting out of medicine.
 
Originally posted by good_faith
Desperado,

I am here in USA, and English is my 7th language, so my writing is not bad, hahahaha...
Believe it or not I am USA citizen.
Guess what I am making close to 100K. Yep, here in the State.
You are very disrespectful person. Would it make a difference if someone from outside U.S. writes this question? After all this is discussion forum. If you don?t want, don?t give any answer to the post.
Now, please let us resume answering the original question.
Click to expand...

Keep in mind, that if you go to med school, along w/ the 100k+ cost, you'll also have to miss at the very least 7 years of what your current salary is, but probably even more. 100k plus 700k and possibly more, makes medicine a tough choice finacially unless you go into a very high paying field. So, make sure you really do love medicine before applying!
 
Originally posted by edinOH
I've spent the better part of my life getting to where I am now, and I still have a couple of years before I am "done". I started pursuing entrance to medical school while working full-time serving in the military in 1993. Entered in 99 and graduated last year. I'm doing EM and will graduate in 2006.

I used to think medicine was "all that" and I thought I'd have a passion for it like I did while working in the paramedical field. If I won the lottery tomorrow, I would walk away in an instant and become an entrepreneur or real estate mogul.

Medicine is a job. For me it has become a way to make money. If I have to do it, then EM is where I need to be. Otherwise, I would just assume leave it tomorrow.

As I mentioned, I've spent the last 10 or so years getting here. When I graduate, I'm going to spend the following 10 or so years working on getting out of medicine.
Click to expand...


I'm sorry to hear that. Though you are near the end of your training, you're just beginning the rest of your life as a doctor. And if you don't like what you're doing, are you sure you want to continue this path? (Seriously)
 
Originally posted by cancer_doc
I'm sorry to hear that. Though you are near the end of your training, you're just beginning the rest of your life as a doctor. And if you don't like what you're doing, are you sure you want to continue this path? (Seriously)
Click to expand...

I didn't say I didn't like it. I just don't love it. It's just a job. It is what I do. I am getting more and more to the point where my goal in life is to control my life independent of my career.

I'm going to spend the next decade or so setting myself up financially so I can walk away from medicine. I doubt it is something I will miss.
 
Dude, definately think about an MBA. I know a couple of EP's who followed this route. One now works as an analyst for some financial firm while the other one has gone into hospital management.
 
I have an MBA, worked for a fortune 50 in a sweet job, made oodles of money (comparitively), but was just plain ol' bored.

Now, I'm a 7th year MudPhud, raising a family on very little $$, working way more hours than I did in my previous career and loving it. I had to do a post-bacc (only pre-req I had was calc) and then did a research fellowship during my glide year - talk about a change in circumstance! There are moments, to be sure, when I think about what life would have been like. However, they are few and brief - this calling/job/career/whateveryouwanttocallit beats all comers. I may never make back all the money I haven't been earning this past decade, but I'll do fine and am enjoying it all (well, Q3 sucks, but otherwise it's just soooo cool).

Perhaps not the path for all, but it worked well for me.

I should also say that business and medicine are hardly exclusive. I supplemented my income nicely during the first few years of the combined degree program doing outside consulting and such. Having the background to understand both the science and the business aspects has made it only that much more interesting.

Lastly, the MBA doesn't buy you much. If you want to go into business, go into business first. Decide if you want the MBA later, when it will be worth more to you anyway.
 
good_faith

I also worked in another field. I graduated in 92 with a degree in Cinema and worked for several years in the 'industry'. I was making alot of money and progressing rapidly within my field. I was working 80h/week and absolutely hated what I did, despite loving it in school. And despite making a lot of money. I took some time off, and attempted to reassess why I didn't like what I did. I also spent alot of time figuring out what I wanted from a career. And most importantly, I spent time shadowing practicing physicians. I spent time in a pedi rheum clinic, in the OR, in a surgeons office. I wanted to get a broad idea of what actually *practicing* medicine was like (not what medical school was like).

I don't have a single regret (though I do have a ton of debt). I love what I do. In general, I loved medical school. Where there (and are there) days that sucked? yup. Still are on occasion. But I love the intellectual challenge of medicine. I love taking care of patients.

I don't want to work 80 week and that is part of why I chose my particular field. There are lots of MD's that still love what they do. But it is important to go into it with open eyes. There are crappy days. There are beurocratic entanglements and BS. But every job has things that suck. But for me, at least, the good parts outweigh the bad.

Now that there is a light at the end of my tunnel, I think the time and money I sacrificed for my career are well worth it.

And I was obviously older when I went to medical school. My school had a lot of 'second career-er's'. I got married and had a child in medical school as well. Anything is possible and if you are really driven to be a physician, it will be worth the change in lifestyle for a while.
 
. . . make sure medicine is truly a love/passion (for whatever reason) before jumping ship.
Click to expand...

I struggle with this every day. I am currently working in IT. Am making good money and the job used to be very secure (but my position might end up in India without me). Some days I get to work on an interesting problem, but most days are extremely boring and unfulfilling. I end up wasting a lot of time during the days because I can't force myself to concentrate on all this boring stuff. On those wasted days I feel like a complete failure. I have no concentration issues when doing things I enjoy (reading and music). I was a good, motivated student all my life and can't imagine that the rest of my life will be this. There's got to be something better. And so it is that 10 years after I dropped pre-med I am about to go into a postbacc program. Medicine has always and will always fascinate me.

That being said I am VERY unsure about whether or not I could really do medicine. Not due to the work itself; I am sure I would love the actual work. What I think I won't love is the lifestyle. I can't imagine being happy working 80+ hour weeks. No matter what the job is. I tend to be happiest when all aspects of my life are in balance. Does this automatically mean I don't have a passion for medicine then? Does wanting to spend time at home with my family eliminate medicine as a real possibility? On the other hand, does feeling like I'll never be completely happy unless I do it mean I possibly have a passion for it?

How can one be sure of one's passion without actually going into it? Is this achieved through lots of shadowing and volunteering? I've been told countless times to "search within", but I have spent countless hours trying that to no avail. I just end up thinking about medicine a lot, knowing I like some of it, but also knowing I wouldn't like a crazy, unbalanced lifestyle. I've been going around in circles in my head and it's getting to the point where I feel my life is on hold until I figure this out.

Any tips on how exactly to determine whether or not one has a passion for it? Thanks!
 
Originally posted by Halcyon440
I struggle with this every day. I am currently working in IT. Am making good money and the job used to be very secure (but my position might end up in India without me). Some days I get to work on an interesting problem, but most days are extremely boring and unfulfilling. I end up wasting a lot of time during the days because I can't force myself to concentrate on all this boring stuff. On those wasted days I feel like a complete failure. I have no concentration issues when doing things I enjoy (reading and music). I was a good, motivated student all my life and can't imagine that the rest of my life will be this. There's got to be something better. And so it is that 10 years after I dropped pre-med I am about to go into a postbacc program. Medicine has always and will always fascinate me.

That being said I am VERY unsure about whether or not I could really do medicine. Not due to the work itself; I am sure I would love the actual work. What I think I won't love is the lifestyle. I can't imagine being happy working 80+ hour weeks. No matter what the job is. I tend to be happiest when all aspects of my life are in balance. Does this automatically mean I don't have a passion for medicine then? Does wanting to spend time at home with my family eliminate medicine as a real possibility? On the other hand, does feeling like I'll never be completely happy unless I do it mean I possibly have a passion for it?

How can one be sure of one's passion without actually going into it? Is this achieved through lots of shadowing and volunteering? I've been told countless times to "search within", but I have spent countless hours trying that to no avail. I just end up thinking about medicine a lot, knowing I like some of it, but also knowing I wouldn't like a crazy, unbalanced lifestyle. I've been going around in circles in my head and it's getting to the point where I feel my life is on hold until I figure this out.

Any tips on how exactly to determine whether or not one has a passion for it? Thanks!
Click to expand...

The assumption that medicine=no life is inaccurate. There are fields that obviously require this. However, there are fields in medicine that dont as well. I definately don't want to work 80/week. I knew that despite loving vascular and ortho. surgery that the lifestyle was not what I wanted. I also loved many aspects of what I did third year. Hence, EM. I love the ER and when I get done with training, I will be working 10-12 shifts a month max. This leaves ample time to pursue all the other things that I love as well, including my family.

I would say that if you aren't sure, go spend some time shadowing a doctor in a clinic.

Feel free to PM me if you have any other questions. I spent about 6-8 mos deciding if I wanted to even entertain medicine and then another year taking classes and volunteering before I made the commitment to take the MCAT and apply to medical school.
 
Originally posted by Mr Reddly
What about burnout? I thought the ER had a high rate, with no change.
Click to expand...


Actually, this is a huge myth. There was actually a thread about this in the ER section. Burn out is no higher than in any other field of medicine. in fact, it is probably less because we work less per month. And no pagers.

If you have more questions about this after reading the previous thread, feel free to PM me.

But everyone I know loves waht they do and many have been doing it for 15+ years.
 
Originally posted by Mr Reddly
What about burnout? I thought the ER had a high rate, with no change.
Click to expand...

That statement is about 10-15 years old. Understand that Emergency Medicine, as a specialty, is relatively young. New programs are STILL be creating (when was the last time 5 general surgeyr programs were started in one year?). Originally, you had OB/GYNs, ENTs, Psychiatrists, FPs, IMs working in the ED. They did it because they either volunteered, it was required by the hospital administration, or they just liked EM. BUt they were not formally trained in Emergency Medicine.

Now you have people like myself, edinOH, and roja who are *relatively* passionate about Emergency Medicine. We love it as a specialty... but we also love our time off. To me, medicine is a job. I'm not dedicating my life to it. But I love it. I will use it to pay for my loans, my first house, my Xbox2, and my 2007 Honda S2000.

The true *burnout* rate for EM is much less than what you've heard. You may hear people leaving EM, but that's probably to pursue other interests. In what other field can you make 200k+, work 25-30 hours a week (with no call and no pager), and allow you to pursue other financial interests?

Q, DO
 
Originally posted by QuinnNSU
In what other field can you make 200k+, work 25-30 hours a week (with no call and no pager), and allow you to pursue other financial interests?
Click to expand...
Dentistry, of course! 😀 But I'll allow that you were only talking about medical specialties. EM sounds like a much better arrangement than I thought possible for physicians anymore. If only I could have been persuaded to suffer through seven years of pre- and post-doc school...
 
Originally posted by QuinnNSU
That statement is about 10-15 years old. Understand that Emergency Medicine, as a specialty, is relatively young. New programs are STILL be creating (when was the last time 5 general surgeyr programs were started in one year?). Originally, you had OB/GYNs, ENTs, Psychiatrists, FPs, IMs working in the ED. They did it because they either volunteered, it was required by the hospital administration, or they just liked EM. BUt they were not formally trained in Emergency Medicine.

Now you have people like myself, edinOH, and roja who are *relatively* passionate about Emergency Medicine. We love it as a specialty... but we also love our time off. To me, medicine is a job. I'm not dedicating my life to it. But I love it. I will use it to pay for my loans, my first house, my Xbox2, and my 2007 Honda S2000.

The true *burnout* rate for EM is much less than what you've heard. You may hear people leaving EM, but that's probably to pursue other interests. In what other field can you make 200k+, work 25-30 hours a week (with no call and no pager), and allow you to pursue other financial interests?

Q, DO
Click to expand...


Nicely said, Q. Of course, I was to burnt out and tired from all this hard work I am doing on my anesthesia rotation right now to be so elegant. *snerk*

🙂
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top