As a medical doctor, do you feel your current salary is worth all of the years of work, effort, and student debt that you incurred to get to what you have now?
Yes. However as with any type of question like this, the real answer comes with caveats, and is in between a yes and a no.When I started my journey, I did not truly understand the risks and commitment required to become a physician in the US. When I was going through the process, I took it one step at a time, and did not really consider the bigger picture. Each step towards your goal involves increasing risk and work.High school is easy, you go to the best college you get into, and do as well as you can. If medicine does not work out there is always time to major in something else. Once you get into medical school, many people think the hard part is over. In truth it has only begun.If you choose one of the primary care fields (medicine, pediatrics, family practice), your odds of getting at least a decent residency are excellent (95%+). If however, you wish to enter one of the more competitive specialties your odds decrease substantially. My residency (radiology) had six spots for over 600 applicants. I got very lucky!! Fellowship was fairly easy to get out of my residency, but others had significant challenges. This leaves getting your first and maybe last job. Doctors are not educated as to what to look for in professional practice. As such most simply take the first offer that comes their way in an area that they find acceptable. I did this but ended up in a lucrative and rewarding practice. Again mostly just by luck.In short if you look at the odds for all comers they are something like this. Getting into medical school from college, of course depends on your grades, MCATS, etc. but I would put the odds at approximately 1 out of 3. Getting a residency in your chosen field, if it is a in demand specially, has odds anywhere from 1 out of 2 to 1 out of 10. Getting a good job out of fellowship is hard to quantify, but certainly only 1 of 3 or less gets a great job that they stay in for their whole career. Thus using these conservative numbers, if your are in high school, and ultimately wish to enter a competitive medical specialty and get a great job your approximate odds are (.33 x .25 x .33). This is about 1 of 36 in total. I understand that these odds vary greatly on an individual basis, but by any approximation and for virtually any individual, they are not great.So yes, if I knew that I would end up, where I did I would definitely do it again. However, if I had truly known all the risks and dedication involved, I would have thought twice about it.
I'm filing Form I-864 for my friend's mother .?
You can by all means be a co-sponsor. Just know you are on the hook until she has worked 10 years/40 quarters/ she dies/ she becomes a US citizen or she leaves the US giving up her green card. You are not responsible for anything than monies she may receive using means tested benefits. Those are... http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/... Federal means tested public benefits are the following: Food stamps Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Medicaid Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) State Child Health Insurance Program (CHIP) You are not responsible for her medical bills unless she has Medicaid. You are not responsible for her personal housing. You are not responsible for her financial debts. Also bear in mind there is a catch 22 here. Although she is not even eligible for means tested benefits for the first 5 years, once she has been in the US for 5 years she then can apply for these benefits. If she receives them, then the government can come back on you to collect every single penny they have paid to her, and on her behalf ( such as with Medicaid) http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/i-864ins... Go speak with an immigration attorney and ask these questions just to give yourself some peace of mind. Most will give free or reduced consults. It is worth the time and effort to know exactly what you are getting into.
What medical careers can convicted felons obtain?
The best I can recommend is to contact your probation officer and ask them how to go about having the felonies removed. I know it's a long shot but it's worth a try. You may be able to write a request to the judge and state your progress and the predicament you're and in and that this record is hampering your efforts to establish a career in your field of education. It's hard to get a job anywhere if you're a felon, period. I can't think of any field of medicine that doesn't require state licensure. Even relatively minor convictions are scrutinized when you're in a position of trust. A classmate of mine was unable to pass a background check to do clinical rotation in a hospital because she was charged with domestic assault (for pushing her drunk roommate during an argument 4 years ago).
Are all the years in med school worth it to become a doctor?
I’m not a doctor but my siblings are. I’d say, if you’re in for the money and interest, then it is worth it. It will be an interesting experience to learn about various types of diseases and how people cope with them. The years of learning don't matter as the future is more important. Many other professions have fewer years of learning but the salary of doctors are higher in the end especially when they become specialists.If you don't have much passion for the money or job, it will be hell. While working as a doctor, you would have to sacrifice eat, sleep and the urge to go to the toilet. If you get irritated by stupid people easily, you will be experiencing a lot of that because there are many silly patients who think they know better than doctors just because they can Google stuff. There will be patients who accuse you of many silly things too, like if they see you using the cellphone, they would think you are slacking when you are actually using the phone to communicate with other doctors about the treatments.I know I wouldn't be able to cope with all that so I don't follow that journey unlike my siblings even though I am qualified to go through that path. My siblings enjoy talking about the cases and they also love the handsome reward so they are willing to go through all that. In the future, they plan to become specialists so they can earn more and have a less hectic life.No idea about PA.
Is IAS worth the effort?
Hi, all the answers given are on the same lines and that's pretty normal in the Indian context. People idolize certain professions though there is nothing heroic or different in the same, just like going into a war with China to show our might, knowing fully well we are no match. Having said that, IAS is something people dream for because of various reasons such as power, prestige, social status, giving back something to the society etc etc.The simple answer is if you have talent, go for private sector. If you want money, go for the same. If you want to serve your country, you can still do it being in the private sector ( Bill Gates, Azim Premji etc. as example). So, why IAS and that also after that much hard work of preparation?Money? Oh please, not even the cabinet secretary is a millionaire. On the other hand, look at Flipkart or Infosys founders, leave alone Reliance group if you want.Facilities: Isn't it better having your own facilities and amenities rather than using somebody else's? We are talking about the whole life and most of these facilities will be with you till retirement whereas own assets will always be yours.Social Status: What fake thing we are talking about, and that also in a hypocritic Indian society? We often put chameleons to shame in this regard. And you want status from them?IAS comes with a load of tension and unnecessary security concern. You get a lot of stories of them being harassed and blah blah. MNC job also does but can't be equated with IAS type of job stressFrustration will reach high after a few years once you will realize you are just a mere puppet and have no real power. All the talks are mere bullshit.All these will leave you with a job with meagre salary, postings at god forsaken places, unnecessary stress, after few years. And you will miss that MNC office a he'll lot.IAS has been associated with certain discourses by coaching centers and the ignorant mindset of Indian crazy parents. Choose wisely cz IAS will not give you anything extra rather it is something you won't even get to enjoy yourself, yes,because of insane work pressure.Now, why anonymous? Cz dissent has its own drawbacks even if that is the inside truth.Decide wisely and do not fall prey to stupid social service logic because even interviewers don't buy that nonsense during the interview.All the best, young lad :)
Honestly is school even worth it?
It's true that different degrees have different job prospects, and some will be much more employable than others. That's just how the system works. Not every well-paying degree is math-related, however. Law, for instance, has next to no mathematics, and that's just one example. Plenty of others have either no math, or very basic math. That said at least basic mathematics is a good skill to have. Not every person goes to college thinking solely about job prospects either, you know. Some go for interest or to learn things for the sake of it. Some plan to study further on and go into academia. Others choose degrees to go into the workforce. Some basically go there to party. There are hundreds of degree options out there- you should investigate to see what is on offer and what degree suits you the most. And yes, job prospects can be a factor. The advice I usually give is that there aren't many jobs for graduates in, say, Roman Literature, but try telling a medical graduate that his degree won't get him a job.