8 ms·

> not of the good kind, like e.g. becoming a doctor I would estimate that around 90% of the people I know who want to become a doctor (around 30 people) are mo

by tntn 8y ago

> not of the good kind, like e.g. becoming a doctor I would estimate that around 90% of the people I know who want to become a doctor (around 30 people) are motivated solely by the desire to make lotsa money and be able to drive an expensive car. Just saying, I don't think you can easily divide ambitions into "good" and "bad.

mantas 8y ago
I'd say good ambitions are those where you want X for X itself. If you want to be a doctor because you want love helping people - good. If you want to be a doctor just for $$$ - bad. If you want to become a singer because you love singing - good. If you want to be a singer just for $$$ - bad. Old good "follow your passion"?
- ahartmetz 8y ago
  As long as X is a good thing - a few people want power just so they can hurt others...
  - Rexxar 8y ago
    Not really. For example, a doctor who is here only for money can chose more expansive operation/treatment than necessary in order to win more even if it is not a good choice for the patient.
    - alfredallan1 8y ago
      I think you might have nailed one of the more fundamental problems in US healthcare.
  - mantas 8y ago
    Well, seeking power to hurt others still falls in line with X for Y = bad...
- moneytide 8y ago
  Money is other people's time.
  - deleted 8y ago
    [deleted]
- meko 8y ago
  it's almost like money makes things bad.
coldtea 8y ago
>I would estimate that around 90% of the people I know who want to become a doctor (around 30 people) are motivated solely by the desire to make lotsa money and be able to drive an expensive car. There far easier ways to go about getting more money than spend over a decade in studying for it, plus all the hard work that comes afterwards. More people that get into medicine that I know of either are idealistic, like the lifestyle (as portrayed on TV), had parents that were themselves doctors, or do it for the prestige. The money is not the biggest factor.
- pimmen 8y ago
  It’s not easy going into medicine but it is more reliable than many other paths. In finance you can be very dependent on the market conditions, same in law (without a lot of business activity businesses don’t need to consult lawyers), in research you are also very dependent on the hype around your field to get grants, starting your own successful business is brutal if you don’t find the right opportunities or network of people, engineering is no cake walk of study either (especially adding in the work to stay relevant in the field) and joining a startup for good money is absolutely not a secure employment. There will always be a need of medical personel however and since it requires a license given out by a few institutions you can be sure that your field will not be oversaturated, especially as it’s hard to obtain said license through study. Again, not saying it is easy becoming an MD, but if you are a competent person the path to a secure, good paying job is clearer if you choose med school than engineering, law, graduate or finance.
  - coldtea 8y ago
    >It’s not easy going into medicine but it is more reliable than many other paths. It is, but it also has a much smaller earnings cap than other professions. So "for the money" here means "for decent enough money but nothing to write home about".
    - pimmen 8y ago
      I wouldn’t say that either, there are bio-tech startups you can join (only if you fail there’s a high paying job at the nearest hospital waiting for you) or you can climb within drug companies if you have the correct specialization to become an executive. I would say that’s analogous to becoming partner in the law world or a co-founder of a successful tech startup which is what money focused lawyers and engineers dream of respectively. And depending on the country surgeons in specific fields can make obscene amounts of money. Neuro surgeons have a median salary of almost $600 000 in the US and to earn that much money as an engineer you have probably co-founded a successful startup or become an executive.

by tntn 8y ago

mantas 8y ago

I'd say good ambitions are those where you want X for X itself. If you want to be a doctor because you want love helping people - good. If you want to be a doctor just for $$$ - bad. If you want to become a singer because you love singing - good. If you want to be a singer just for $$$ - bad. Old good "follow your passion"?

ahartmetz 8y ago
As long as X is a good thing - a few people want power just so they can hurt others...
- Rexxar 8y ago
  Not really. For example, a doctor who is here only for money can chose more expansive operation/treatment than necessary in order to win more even if it is not a good choice for the patient.
  - alfredallan1 8y ago
    I think you might have nailed one of the more fundamental problems in US healthcare.
- mantas 8y ago
  Well, seeking power to hurt others still falls in line with X for Y = bad...
moneytide 8y ago
Money is other people's time.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
meko 8y ago
it's almost like money makes things bad.

coldtea 8y ago

>I would estimate that around 90% of the people I know who want to become a doctor (around 30 people) are motivated solely by the desire to make lotsa money and be able to drive an expensive car. There far easier ways to go about getting more money than spend over a decade in studying for it, plus all the hard work that comes afterwards. More people that get into medicine that I know of either are idealistic, like the lifestyle (as portrayed on TV), had parents that were themselves doctors, or do it for the prestige. The money is not the biggest factor.

pimmen 8y ago
It’s not easy going into medicine but it is more reliable than many other paths. In finance you can be very dependent on the market conditions, same in law (without a lot of business activity businesses don’t need to consult lawyers), in research you are also very dependent on the hype around your field to get grants, starting your own successful business is brutal if you don’t find the right opportunities or network of people, engineering is no cake walk of study either (especially adding in the work to stay relevant in the field) and joining a startup for good money is absolutely not a secure employment. There will always be a need of medical personel however and since it requires a license given out by a few institutions you can be sure that your field will not be oversaturated, especially as it’s hard to obtain said license through study. Again, not saying it is easy becoming an MD, but if you are a competent person the path to a secure, good paying job is clearer if you choose med school than engineering, law, graduate or finance.
- coldtea 8y ago
  >It’s not easy going into medicine but it is more reliable than many other paths. It is, but it also has a much smaller earnings cap than other professions. So "for the money" here means "for decent enough money but nothing to write home about".
  - pimmen 8y ago
    I wouldn’t say that either, there are bio-tech startups you can join (only if you fail there’s a high paying job at the nearest hospital waiting for you) or you can climb within drug companies if you have the correct specialization to become an executive. I would say that’s analogous to becoming partner in the law world or a co-founder of a successful tech startup which is what money focused lawyers and engineers dream of respectively. And depending on the country surgeons in specific fields can make obscene amounts of money. Neuro surgeons have a median salary of almost $600 000 in the US and to earn that much money as an engineer you have probably co-founded a successful startup or become an executive.