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How many doctors would still do the job if they got paid a middle class salary? It's pretty clear, to me at least, that very few would even bother. Veterinarian

How many doctors would still do the job if they got paid a middle class salary? It's pretty clear, to me at least, that very few would even bother. Veterinarians are a good comparison - there's very few, low salaries, passionate about animals, and high suicide rates due to unending debt. Yes - some doctors end up volunteering with Doctors without Borders & similar non-profit groups. Some engineers have gotten more political as time goes on. But if the money isn't there, doctors will definitely not be there either.

jes5199 6y ago
the doctors I know make less money than the programmers I know
burntoutfire 6y ago
In Poland, being a doctor paid a pittance up until around 2005. Your only shot at a decent income was taking bribes (the medicine is socialized, so doctors are in charge in state's resources and, when bribed, will direct them at you) or starting a private practice, but for that you'd usually have to be 40+ years old. And yet, people did become doctors and worked hard. It was still a respectable profession, and hard to get into. Maybe Poland is (or was) just less materialistic than the US.
- shay_ker 6y ago
  Sure I'm not saying there will be 0 doctors if the salary was lower, but there would certainly be a lot less.
slumdev 6y ago
> How many doctors would still do the job if they got paid a middle class salary? Nearly all of them. The most common specialties do pay middle-class salaries. The very highest salaries (almost all in surgical specialties) skew the mean quite a bit, but the median is not as high as you think it is. It hasn't been a lifestyle profession for 20 years.
- mdorazio 6y ago
  For those questioning this, see [1] for a decent list by state. The median doctor makes less than a FAANG employee, and that's after many more years of debt-fueled education and residency. [1] https://www.ziprecruiter.com/Salaries/What-Is-the-Average-Physician-Salary-by-State https://www.ziprecruiter.com/Salaries/What-Is-the-Average-Ph...
  - shay_ker 6y ago
    They certainly make less money, but it's still, in general, a high salary. How many doctors would there be if the salary was 60k?
    - mdorazio 6y ago
      You mean if they still made more than most public school teachers? I’d be willing to bet a lot. People who choose professions that directly help people tend to be motivated by more than money.

jes5199 6y ago

the doctors I know make less money than the programmers I know

burntoutfire 6y ago

In Poland, being a doctor paid a pittance up until around 2005. Your only shot at a decent income was taking bribes (the medicine is socialized, so doctors are in charge in state's resources and, when bribed, will direct them at you) or starting a private practice, but for that you'd usually have to be 40+ years old. And yet, people did become doctors and worked hard. It was still a respectable profession, and hard to get into. Maybe Poland is (or was) just less materialistic than the US.

shay_ker 6y ago
Sure I'm not saying there will be 0 doctors if the salary was lower, but there would certainly be a lot less.

slumdev 6y ago

> How many doctors would still do the job if they got paid a middle class salary? Nearly all of them. The most common specialties do pay middle-class salaries. The very highest salaries (almost all in surgical specialties) skew the mean quite a bit, but the median is not as high as you think it is. It hasn't been a lifestyle profession for 20 years.

mdorazio 6y ago
For those questioning this, see [1] for a decent list by state. The median doctor makes less than a FAANG employee, and that's after many more years of debt-fueled education and residency. [1] https://www.ziprecruiter.com/Salaries/What-Is-the-Average-Physician-Salary-by-State https://www.ziprecruiter.com/Salaries/What-Is-the-Average-Ph...
- shay_ker 6y ago
  They certainly make less money, but it's still, in general, a high salary. How many doctors would there be if the salary was 60k?
  - mdorazio 6y ago
    You mean if they still made more than most public school teachers? I’d be willing to bet a lot. People who choose professions that directly help people tend to be motivated by more than money.