Quote:
Originally Posted by VVG
Well....I am an anesthesiologist who finished residency in 1997. I still believe medicine to be an incredible profession. You do good almost every day and it is very emotionally rewarding. You will also see and do things that will utterly amaze you. You contribute to and change people's lives in ways you can not begin to imagine. And while a few of those wall street types may be making really big bucks, physicians as a whole are the highest paid profession in the U.S. For what we do, I honest believe it is deserved. Make no mistake, however, it is hard earned money. The stress, the hours, can be extremely taxing on the body and the mind even after residency. Your career will require understanding and sacrifices from your family. And speaking of this, when you embark on a profession in medicine, it is not a career or job, really. It becomes part of your very identity to the core. It is who you are.
When I was in residency, there were no limits to work hours. I remember clocking in one week in which I worked 134 hours. I earned $32,000 that year.
Through it all, however, there is no other job or profession I could ever see myself doing. I love going to work every day. It is always an adventure and it is almost always rewarding.
Kev.....there will come a day in your career when you alone will save a human life. You will leave work knowing that another human being is alive and not dead from actions that you did. It will change you forever. My 15 year old daughter told me she was thinking about being a doctor. I couldn't be happier for her. It is a deeply fulfilling way of life.
And you will pay off the debt a lot faster than you think. People with greater financial obligations usually are hand in hand with greater incomes (gambling debts, etc. notwithstanding). We also tend to spend up when we are earning more, but that doesn't negate the factor that you are actually earning or will earn a high income.
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Very inspirational! I'm finishing up internal medicine and starting cardiology fellowship in June...there are days when I wonder why didn't pick a regular 9 to 5 job; but it's great to hear you expound on why i chose medicine in the first place.