It’s common knowledge that if you want a secure career with a good paycheck, becoming a doctor isn’t a bad way to go. But wait a minute — becoming a doctor requires four years of college, four years of medical school, internships, a residency and possibly more schooling if you’re going into a specialty field. Along with lots of studying, all that schooling also requires a lot of money. In addition to the high debt that many people rack up getting their undergraduate degree, U.S. News & World Report shows that a medical degree, with room and board, will cost you more than $140,000. Plus, what are all these rumors of burnout and professional dissatisfaction among medical professionals?
If you’re thinking about going to medical school but can’t decide if it’s right for you, we’ll show you what it takes — and then you can decide if it’ll pay off — for you.
The High Price for Education
According to data collected by the American Medical College Application Service (AMCAS), the average medical graduate in 2009 carried a whopping $130,000 debt load. Loan re-payment can typically take between five and thirty years: yikes. And according to Liana Smith, Assistant Director of Pre-Health Mentoring at Emory, “there are plenty of jobs where students can help other people without going to medical school and students need to really be sure of their reasons before jumping into medical school.”
But if you decide that you love medicine, it’s not like you’ll be living in a cardboard box for the rest of your life. Though your salary depends on a variety of factors, the average starting salary for Internal Medicine in 2009, first year post residency, was $170,000. Also, according to Smith, around 92% of medical students take advantage of some sort of financial aid or scholarship to help cover costs. There’s a reason that the stereotype of the starving doctor isn’t as popular as that of the starving artist.
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Time, Time, and More Time
Though starting salaries can often help pay off medical students’ high debt loads relatively quickly, medical students have an additional four years of schooling after they complete their undergraduate degree, and then a further three to eight years of residency, before they start earning such salaries.
While other professions, such as I-banking, may also require graduate school training, some need only a two-year master’s program and most do not have a post-education residency term. As an I-banker, unlike a doctor, once you have your degrees, you’re ready to get to work, and many I-bankers have only an undergraduate degree.
Will I Be Able to Find a Job?
Once you are finally certified, however, what are your chances of actually getting a position where you can use your hard-earned degree?
With an ever-aging population and chronic diseases running rampant, the good thing about medicine is that your chances of landing a job, and your ensuing job security, will be pretty high. The health industry is one of the largest industries in the United States, providing 14.3 million jobs for wage and salary earners in 2008. Further, employment of physicians is projected to grow 22% from 2008 to 2018, a rare thing in today’s hostile economic climate. Job prospects for those going into fields that deal with common ailments among the elderly, including such specialties as cardiology and radiology, are particularly good.
What’s Up, Doc?: Why It’s Important to Love What You Do
Though the drop-out rate is low for medical schools at only 4% in 2007, according to AAMC, mental health and professional satisfaction is similarly low. Unfortunately, rumors of unhappy doctors are true—big salary or not.
According to a September 2008 Annals of Internal Medicine study, 50% of the approximately 2,200 medical students surveyed at seven medical schools reported burnout. Even more shockingly, 11.2% reported considering suicide within the past year, while 25.1% reported having considered suicide at some point in their lives.
And, unfortunately, these thoughts of suicide lead, all too frequently, to action. Doctors have the highest rate of suicide of any profession, with an estimated 400 physicians committing suicide each year—that’s, on average, more than one each day. Further, while male suicide rates are significantly higher than female suicide rates in the general population, female medical professionals are equally likely to take their own lives as are their male counterparts.
“There is extensive literature demonstrating medical students begin medical school with mental health profiles similar to their non-medical peers,” says Tait D. Shanafelt, MD, director of the Mayo Clinic Dept. of Medicine Program on Physician Well-Being and co-author of the 2008 Annals of Internal Medicine study cited above, “But through the course of medical school they experience substantial deterioration in their mental quality of life.”
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Letting Medical School Pay for You
So the job satisfaction — for those who aren’t genuinely interested in the field — isn’t too great, and the process to becoming certified is long and expensive. But the salary and job prospects are pretty stellar, and at the end of the day, your job revolves around helping people and saving lives: not a claim we can all make.
If you’ve weighed all the factors and have a passion for helping others, a career in medicine sounds like a perfect fit: so how can you maximize the value of your career choice?
Residency salaries are infamously low and the hours are infamously long, but not having to take on loads of med school debt sure goes a long way towards making a medical career pay off sooner. Here are some ways to keep those bills down:
- Get a Medical School Scholarship. The University of Central Florida, for example, is offering full ride scholarships to all forty members of the class of 2013. There’s just one catch — that’s their first class, so all the bumps might not be ironed out yet. For tried-and-tested schools, Vanderbilt and Washington University offer a few full-ride scholarships each.
- Join the military. Whether you’re in the Air Force, Navy, or Army, you’ll get a medical degree for free. But you’ll have to commit to a minimum of two years of active duty upon graduation.
- Get a National Health Service Scholarship. There are just two catches: National Health Service scholarships are highly selective and you’ll have to work one year for every year of scholarship—and probably in a really needy area under less than ideal conditions.
- Do Some Research. If you want to do a joint PhD-MD program, you might be able to get a stipend for your research that will cover your medical school expenses, as well.
- Compare School Costs. Some schools offer significantly lower tuition than others. The Mayo Clinic, for instance, is known for its relative affordability.
Whether or not medical school pays off is something only you can decide for yourself. As for now, collegiettes™? Good luck in Orgo!
Sources
Liana Smith, Assistant Director of Pre-Health Mentoring, Emory University
Tait D. Shanafelt, MD, director of the Mayo Clinic Dept. of Medicine Program on Physician Well-Being
“How to Go to Medical School For Free,” US News & World Report, http://www.usnews.com/education/best-graduate-schools/top-medical-schools/paying/articles/2008/06/02/how-to-go-to-medical-school-for-free
“Analysis in Brief,” AAMC, https://www.aamc.org/download/102346/data/aibvol7no2.pdf
Med Page Today’s Kevin MD, http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2008/04/profession-with-highest-suicide-rate.html
Bureau of Labor Statistics, http://www.bls.gov/oco/cg/cgs035.htm#emply