How did medical doctors become millionaires?
In general someone who puts in a lot of hard work on their education and craft will make a comfortable living. So naturally people who are the top of their class in college and then go on to a trade school for 4 years and then spend another 3-9 years of training is going to be paid for their expertise. The top engineers, lawyers, convenience store owners, motel owners and fast food restaurant owners are all millionaires. The reason I know this is because I know millionaires who made their millions by doing each of these things. One of my friends became a millionaire after he opened a few Cold Stone Creameries (Ice Cream shops). I am NOT a millionaire but I make a good living. I would like to point out that doctors get paid less money (in actual dollars, not including inflation) than they did 30 years ago. For example back then, cataract surgery paid a doctor more than $2000, now it is $630 for the initial evaluation, the surgery and 90 days of post operative care. The surgery is much more advanced and the patients have much better results now than they did 30 years ago but the prices are going down because the government effectively sets the prices. It cost me double that to get my last car service. So if you think a doctor is overpaid, I suggest that you do what it takes to become a doctor and see if you still feel the same way. Or you can make money the easy way and go into finance. Those are the people you should be complaining about.
I am about to start my second year of medical school (in the U.S.) and I'm starting to have second thoughts. I want to be paid well and still have time for other hobbies. What medical specialties would give the best balance of income and lifestyle?
There's the "ROAD" to success — radiology, ophthalmology, anesthesiology, and dermatology — fields which historically had high compensation and also a great balance of lifestyle. But I feel since your are a MS2, you already know that...Some of the hybrid surgical fields like urology, OB/gyn, and even otolaryngology offer a great balance between relatively high compensation and a flexible lifestyle. Orthopedics isn't as hectic as other surgical fields like neurosurgery, transplant, or cardiothoracic, but it also depends on what kinds of cases you decide to take on. I'd imagine someone who takes on mainly trauma cases to have a more unpredictable lifestyle than someone who does scheduled hip-replacements all day. Also consider the fact that many surgeons aren't operating 5 days of the week. Some neurosurgeons I know only operate 2 days per week — the other time spent in the clinic or laboratory.In spite of all of the above, this comes with at least 5 years of residency training. But I've heard derm is quite cushy, regardless. Another option is to go for a relatively low-stress speciality like internal medicine or primary care. That will drastically shorten your post-grad training years. You can practice, but you will have much more freedom and flexibility to pursue more financially lucrative side projects. For example, advise a startup or climb the career ladder at McKinsey (Careers | FAQs | Medical degrees | McKinsey & Company).For me personally, in spite of the ACA, I think the US healthcare system will stubbornly remain very procedure–oriented, and the specialities I mentioned above will, in the immediate future, continue to be highly compensated.
How much money is needed to become a doctor? What is the procedure of becoming a well qualified doctor?
Depends on the kind of seat one gets during MBBS.For instance as a Government seat student, my annual fee for MBBS in 2002 was 9K rupees. Finishing MBBS in 36K rupees. Nowadays it is around 50K per year and one can finish MBBS in 2.5 Lakh INR. Some central government hospitals still have very low fees.Those who take a private seat, the fee can range from 2–6 Lakh INR per year. The entire MBBS can cost around 8–24 Lakh INR. In some deemed universities this can go as high as 30–35 Lakhs.This who take a management seat by approaching the college directly may end up paying 70 lakhs to even a crore to complete MBBS.After this comes the battle of completing a specialisation. There are two options, MD/MS or DNB.MD/MS seats also come in three categories- Government, Private and Management. Depending on the speciality Management rates can be in multiple crores. Government seats can be within 50K per year and Private seats can be 4–8 Lakh per year.DNB is a central government run program which has a fixed yearly fee that ranges between 40–60K per year. I did my DNB in ENT and paid 40K per year. Completed ENT in 1.2 Lakhs. Over all expenditure for my medical and speciality training would have been close to around 2 Lakh rupees.Hope this gives you an idea.The procedure is to get into MBBS by writing the national entrance exams and then getting into a speciality field by writing another national exam and getting a rank that gets the seat of choice.
Why do you love being a doctor?
I love being a doctor for so many reasons. First of all, it is an honor to be trusted with another human being's health and well-being. Patients trust their physicians with their most personal and intimate matters. In hearing people's stories and helping people at their most vulnerable, doctors have a unique window into the human experience.Another reason I love medicine is that it is a profession in which people continue to learn and grow. Understanding the human body and human disease is a complex and daunting undertaking. There is constantly new information, data, protocols, and standards of care. Staying current is an important and intellectually stimulating aspect of being a doctor.At my hospital in San Jose I spend a significant amount of time training Stanford residents and medical students. I love the teaching aspect of my job. We joke about the residents and medical students "keeping us honest" but it is true; they have many interesting questions and have learned things in class that are a starting point for more learning and discussion in clinic for us all.I am lucky to work with colleagues who are smart, dedicated, and trustworthy and share similar values. My fellow doctors have a shared goal of providing top quality medical care to their patients and alleviating suffering. I am surrounded at work by people I respect and admire. Another unexpected benefit has been that many fields of medicine (like pediatrics) have become flexible and enable doctors to work part-time. This has given me the opportunity to still work at a job I love but also spend time with my 3 children. I did not anticipate this when I chose medicine as my career back in college and began my pre-med courses, but it has turned out to be a real blessing and enabled me to strike a good balance between work and family.Lastly I feel like I am making a positive contribution to my community and society. By training future doctors and providing good medical care to my patients I feel like I have the opportunity to have an impact on others. For me this is a key aspect of happiness and fulfillment in life.
Should I become a doctor or become a lawyer? I’m 16. What's the average salary? How many years of studying does it take? How hard is it get into a program at a respectable university? How hard is it to get a job, and what’s life like, outside work?
Doctors are folk heroes who literally save lives. Lawyers are the butt of endless jokes and derision. Shakespeare did not counsel that we should "first, kill all the doctors". And consider this: doctors are the only people who can actually trump police and tell them "No, you are not going to do that". Try doing that as a lawyer. Doctors are famously bad at financial investments. But consider how it is that they attained this distinction: they make obscene amounts of money that has to be invested. Lawyers, on the other hand ... well, how many cases have you heard of a doctor stealing his patient's money? I am a lawyer and I am proud to be a defender of the Constitution. I love my work and I love every day that I face off against a government intent on trying to intervene in every aspect of our lives. I get tremendous satisfaction from being a lawyer. But I have to admit that doctors hold a more prestigious place in our society, so if that's important to you, there you go. Finally, consider what it means to be on call 24 hours a day on duty as a physician; what it means to have a day full of 10 minute appointments poking at flabby bodies and endless complaints of pain. Consider what life is like in a hospital residency/internship, wandering the halls at night attending to people with every manner of disease and sickness. Consider what it will mean when you are on a plane flight and the flight attendants sound the alarm: "is anyone a doctor"? Yes, you are a folk hero, but you earn your status every minute of every day. And then take a look at the lawyers in their snappy 3-piece suits walking down marble hallways into open oak chambers, spending their day sparring over intellectual issues that can change the lives of many with one stroke of a pen. Consider what it means to be a champion of freedom, of liberty, and to uphold the most noble aspirations of this great social experiment we call the United States of America. For me, the choice was easy. Good luck with yours.