Does anyone have an opinion as to whether doing a major career switch into medicine is a good / bad idea ?On the downside, it involves almost 10 years of little or no income. Further, the chance of earning $1m per year is really quite small.It does however give a pretty good altruististic / satisfaction feeling and excellent long-term insurance against whatever the economy may do. In addition, unlike office-based jobs which can be ageist, medicine is an area in which experience is valued.Answers on a postcard please... (and try to keep it on-topic !)

Do something that gives you satisfaction and not just for money.Money will come anyway.

why not law school, it doesnt need 10 years and it pays about the same.

Maths & IT, like science, involves ideas like correctness - something is either accurate or it's not. Law talks about things being reasonable and arguing opinions - a different set of skillsBesides, corporate law somehow doesn't give quite the altruistic feeling that medicine can...!

QuoteOriginally posted by: dj99bBesides, corporate law somehow doesn't give quite the altruistic feeling that medicine can...! Will you be feeling altruistic when you are filling out the stack of insurance forms trying to snag the extra $1000 from the insurance company for the worthless 3 minute procedure you "sold" the elderly patient who did not really need the procedure? Will you feel good about yourself when you prescribe drug A because the nice drug company that gave you the free stethoscope will also give you $1 for every bottle that you help them sell if this stuff?

You do need to do some dirty/petty things but so does lawyers. Still, docs are more respected in this society.

QuoteOriginally posted by: umvueYou do need to do some dirty/petty things but so does lawyers. Still, docs are more respected in this society. Anyone who is useful in an emergency is respected. Plumbers are respected because they can fix an overflowing toilet. Police are respected because they can shoot a burglar. And so on. Doctors are respected because they might be able to save you if you suddenly collapse. But so can the paramedic. ... If you find yourself in jail, you suddenly feel deep respect and friendship with your lawyer.. he becomes your god. If you are in the courtroom, you have deep respect for the judge. If you are in prison, you feel respect for the warden who guards your cell. If you are kidnapped, you feel friendship and respect for the madman who determines whether you live or die. Power is respect.

QuoteOriginally posted by: KackToodlesQuoteOriginally posted by: umvueYou do need to do some dirty/petty things but so does lawyers. Still, docs are more respected in this society. Anyone who is useful in an emergency is respected. Plumbers are respected because they can fix an overflowing toilet. Police are respected because they can shoot a burglar. And so on. Doctors are respected because they might be able to save you if you suddenly collapse. But so can the paramedic. Paramedics are useful to have around the house just in case, and they cost less... Do you know what the salary scale for plumbers is? (Seriously)

QuoteOriginally posted by: JamesHHQuoteOriginally posted by: KackToodlesQuoteOriginally posted by: umvueYou do need to do some dirty/petty things but so does lawyers. Still, docs are more respected in this society. Anyone who is useful in an emergency is respected. Plumbers are respected because they can fix an overflowing toilet. Police are respected because they can shoot a burglar. And so on. Doctors are respected because they might be able to save you if you suddenly collapse. Do you know what the salary scale for plumbers is? (Seriously) If you work your way up and own your own practice, you can be a subcontractor... all those guys are rich because they get multimillion dollar contracts to work on plumbing in large government buildings. Government buildings have lots of lots of plumbing. Miles of it. And just hire workers to do the real work while you are back in the office writing applications to get more contracts.

QuoteOriginally posted by: KackToodlesQuoteOriginally posted by: JamesHHQuoteOriginally posted by: KackToodlesQuoteOriginally posted by: umvueYou do need to do some dirty/petty things but so does lawyers. Still, docs are more respected in this society. Anyone who is useful in an emergency is respected. Plumbers are respected because they can fix an overflowing toilet. Police are respected because they can shoot a burglar. And so on. Doctors are respected because they might be able to save you if you suddenly collapse. Do you know what the salary scale for plumbers is? (Seriously) If you work your way up and own your own practice, you can be a subcontractor... all those guys are rich because they get multimillion dollar contracts to work on plumbing in large government buildings. Government buildings have lots of lots of plumbing. Miles of it. And just hire workers to do the real work while you are back in the office writing applications to get more contracts. How about plumber start salary? My possible path will be PhD -> MFE -> plumbing school

QuoteOriginally posted by: KackToodlesjust hire workers to do the real work while you are back in the office writing applications to get more contracts. That describes any business. Successful entrepreneurs/managers tend to make money by leveraging others' brainpower, whether plumber, auto mechanic, or hedge fund owner.To the guy who wants to switch to medicine, don't do it for the money. Given that you give up 10 years of earnings, to make big money you'll have to have your own practice.And then it is like running any other business, for eg, you have to worry about malpractice insurance.It is fairly analytical, but not mathematical or quantitative.Do you like to do ad hoc troubleshooting and diagnosis of underspecified issues? Most quantitatively minded people would hate the lack of precision and lack of objective decision making.How about making critical decisions for others based on incompletely specified information? (And the guilt of making bad decisions every so often!)Also do you like repetition? Every bone fracture is cast in pretty much the exact same way...

QuoteOriginally posted by: AbhiJDo something that gives you satisfaction and not just for money.Money will come anyway.When I was an undergraduate, I consulted one of my professors for career advice. HE told me the same thing his grandmother used to tell him: "don't chase the money, the money will always be there " That has got to be the dumbest advice I have ever received. Luckily, I was smart enough to ignore him.

QuoteOriginally posted by: JamesHHQuoteOriginally posted by: KackToodlesQuoteOriginally posted by: JamesHHQuoteOriginally posted by: KackToodlesQuoteOriginally posted by: umvueYou do need to do some dirty/petty things but so does lawyers. Still, docs are more respected in this society. Anyone who is useful in an emergency is respected. Plumbers are respected because they can fix an overflowing toilet. Police are respected because they can shoot a burglar. And so on. Doctors are respected because they might be able to save you if you suddenly collapse. Do you know what the salary scale for plumbers is? (Seriously) If you work your way up and own your own practice, you can be a subcontractor... all those guys are rich because they get multimillion dollar contracts to work on plumbing in large government buildings. Government buildings have lots of lots of plumbing. Miles of it. And just hire workers to do the real work while you are back in the office writing applications to get more contracts. How about plumber start salary? My possible path will be PhD -> MFE -> plumbing school This reminds me of the following joke:One professor of mathematics noticed that his kitchen sink at his homebroke down. He called a plumber. The plumber came on the next day,sealed a few screws and everything was working as before. Theprofessor was delighted. However, when the plumber gave him the billa minute later, he was shocked. "This is one third of my monthlysalary!" he yelled. Well, all the same he paid it and then theplumber said to him: "I understand your position as a professor. Whydon't you come to our company and apply for a plumber position? Youwill earn three times as much as a professor. But remember, when youapply, tell them that you completed only the seventh grade. Theydon't like educated people."So it happened. The professor got a plumbering job and his lifesignificantly improved. He just had to seal a screw or twooccasionally, and his salary went up significantly. One day, theboard of the plumbing company decided that every plumber had to go toevening classes to complete the eight grade. So, our professor had togo there too. It just happened that the first class was math. Theevening teacher, to check students' knowledge, asked for a formula forthe area of the circle. The person who was asked was the professor.He jumped to the board, and then he realized that he had forgotten theformula. He started to reason it, he filled the white board withintegrals, differentials and other advanced formulas to conclude theresult he forgot. As a result he got "minus pi times r square". Hedidn't like the minus, so he started all over again. He got the minusagain. No matter how many times he tried, he always got a minus. Hewas frustrated. He looked a bit scared at the class and saw all theplumbers whisper: "Switch the limits of the integral!!"

QuoteOriginally posted by: gardener3QuoteOriginally posted by: JamesHHQuoteOriginally posted by: KackToodlesQuoteOriginally posted by: JamesHHQuoteOriginally posted by: KackToodlesQuoteOriginally posted by: umvueYou do need to do some dirty/petty things but so does lawyers. Still, docs are more respected in this society. Anyone who is useful in an emergency is respected. Plumbers are respected because they can fix an overflowing toilet. Police are respected because they can shoot a burglar. And so on. Doctors are respected because they might be able to save you if you suddenly collapse. Do you know what the salary scale for plumbers is? (Seriously) If you work your way up and own your own practice, you can be a subcontractor... all those guys are rich because they get multimillion dollar contracts to work on plumbing in large government buildings. Government buildings have lots of lots of plumbing. Miles of it. And just hire workers to do the real work while you are back in the office writing applications to get more contracts. How about plumber start salary? My possible path will be PhD -> MFE -> plumbing school This reminds me of the following joke:One professor of mathematics noticed that his kitchen sink at his homebroke down. He called a plumber. The plumber came on the next day,sealed a few screws and everything was working as before. Theprofessor was delighted. However, when the plumber gave him the billa minute later, he was shocked. "This is one third of my monthlysalary!" he yelled. Well, all the same he paid it and then theplumber said to him: "I understand your position as a professor. Whydon't you come to our company and apply for a plumber position? Youwill earn three times as much as a professor. But remember, when youapply, tell them that you completed only the seventh grade. Theydon't like educated people."So it happened. The professor got a plumbering job and his lifesignificantly improved. He just had to seal a screw or twooccasionally, and his salary went up significantly. One day, theboard of the plumbing company decided that every plumber had to go toevening classes to complete the eight grade. So, our professor had togo there too. It just happened that the first class was math. Theevening teacher, to check students' knowledge, asked for a formula forthe area of the circle. The person who was asked was the professor.He jumped to the board, and then he realized that he had forgotten theformula. He started to reason it, he filled the white board withintegrals, differentials and other advanced formulas to conclude theresult he forgot. As a result he got "minus pi times r square". Hedidn't like the minus, so he started all over again. He got the minusagain. No matter how many times he tried, he always got a minus. Hewas frustrated. He looked a bit scared at the class and saw all theplumbers whisper: "Switch the limits of the integral!!"LOL!!! Thanks for that one (I am from mathematics).

QuoteOriginally posted by: gardener3When I was an undergraduate, I consulted one of my professors for career advice. HE told me the same thing his grandmother used to tell him: "don't chase the money, the money will always be there " That has got to be the dumbest advice I have ever received. to the professor, $1000/month is a lot of money, so in his perspective, he is a rich man. Here is a true story. When I was an undergraduate, I had several odd jobs during the summer. One was as a salesman, another was at a part-time construction worker. This meant that I had to show up at a certain location when I want to work and then they "randomly" assign you to go somewhere and knock down some walls or move some rocks. After a couple of months, I became friendly with another part-time construction worker. He was a strong man, very good with a giant axe. One day, I hurt my arm (minor injury). He quickly jumped to my asistance, examined the wound, and said "don't worry. It's not broken. I used to be a physician back in russia."