I am a 17-year old high school student going into my senior year with decent grades and slightly above average SAT scores, and I have always had aspirations of a medicinal vocation. I know that I have the ability to get a 4.0, but I haven’t always applied myself and wasn’t given a good picture of how serious high school was my first few years. I accredit this to my dad, who I live with, who makes around $30,000 a year as a welder and has no experience with college life. Needless to say, I am in the process of devoting huge effort to trying to polish my high school career as best I can with all the advanced classes I can take and a raise in GPA with the hopes of being accepted into a semi-prestigious school where I plan to be at the top of my class and major in pre-med(easier said than done, I realize, but bear with me).

I have a very close friend whose mother is a pediatrician and whose father, living in another state, is a cardiothoracic surgeon(my previous career dream) earning well in the upper half of six figures. Having spent considerable time with this person and having a fairly accurate insight into the more stressful, demanding side of the medical profession, I was wondering if you might give me any professional insight or advice as to some less-stressful, but equally lucrative specializations in the medical field such as your own.

Until meeting this person I was under the impression that so many suffer from-that all doctors have wonderful family lives, ample free time and still receive the huge financial benefits-I know that these things, factors of life which I have always hoped for, are attainable within the medical field, but I am not sure exactly which professions would fit the profile. I have always recognized that significant family time, truly enjoyable and mostly stress-free work are more important than overall earnings, and hope to find these things in a career. Having briefly perused some physician salary charts, I know that there is a huge range of salaries(noting the top $1,352,000 for ORS-Spine Surgery) and that not all of these specializations are so time-demanding, and was just wonering if you could offer any advice on the subject. Thank you for your time.

I don’t think you are in a position to be preaching to me or anyone what they should be knowing about what others do or don’t earn. Any doctor in practice is well familiar with earning less than the median, as that is the scale usually paid to house officers. You are living in a delusional world if you think doctors live all their lives in a cocoon of a high-income lifestyle.

You don’t know what you are writing about. Why should I consider your advice?

You need to get a better understanding of just how much the average American makes.

Not true. Probably not even the top 5% even. Subtract the variable-interest HEAL and other loan payments and you probably arent even in the top 20%. And don’t forget that while you were borrowing and not working while in medical school, you made no contributions to personal savings or retirement plans. Too bad that those contributions, now forgone, would have earned you substantially greater returns than most of the later and more accelerated contributions you will have to make so that someday you can retire. Oh don’t forget, no defined benefits or company participation; retirement is 100% on your dime. Hope the late start doesn’t get you down too much (Anonymous moron 3:56 p.m. hasn’t thought of that though, too busy pimpin’ poverty).

“Why was that? Were your grades not high enough to get in to your local public in-state institution? If that was the case, whose fault was that?”

Who says grades are all that make up an admissions committee’s decision? Maybe he isn’t the desired sex or race or whatever for the committee? Maybe he was honest in his interview and said he wanted to do surgery, and the committee was seeking family practitioner wannabees. Acceptances are not just an exercise in intelligence and stamina, sometimes it comes down to luck, good and bad. Whose fault indeed, you idiot? Bakke didn’t change anything, except for Dr. Bakke.

“If you feel like you have it bad, how do you think those who don’t have free room and board and have to support a family on less than 1/3 of what you make feel.”

Sorry, I missed that free room and board part. Where do you get that? Silly me, I paid real money for those things. Think what I could have saved. Have to support a family? Isn’t that the normal thing for people to do when they choose to have a family? And why is it any more a doctor’s choice to seek a higher-paying career, time and costs notwithstanding, than it is for someone to choose something else that pays less? Or, Anon. 3:56, are those who choose not to delay starting a household and family and enter the work force with lesser or at least lesser-compensated skills somehow “victims” of their circumstances and others are not? No one says you have to be an underappreciated and low-paid kindergarten teacher either. So enough with your pimpin’ self.

It is clear that you aren’t interesting in sharing information and you are just trying to bait us. Great attitude. i’m sure that will benefit you in the long run.
b

Why was that? Were your grades not high enough to get in to your local public in-state institution? If that was the case, whose fault was that?

And if you’re paying $3000/mo on student loans, then you’ve chosen a pretty aggressive payoff plan. But you’re still the top 1% right now, whether you feel like it or not.

If you feel like you have it bad, how do you think those who don’t have free room and board and have to support a family on less than 1/3 of what you make feel.