5 ms·

Medicine is definitely has to be more of a calling than lawyer or accountant, since the investment/payoff ratio is so much worse. You have to work much harder,

by qq66 15y ago

Medicine is definitely has to be more of a calling than lawyer or accountant, since the investment/payoff ratio is so much worse. You have to work much harder, in much more stressful conditions, elbows deep in someone's guts, for similar pay to a lawyer, so you have to derive a lot of benefit from the fact that you are a doctor healing people. Similarly, investment banking doesn't have to be a calling at all because the investment/payoff ratio is so good, and things like being an astronaut or a opera singer need to be "vocational" for anyone to choose them.

rdouble 15y ago
The payoff in medicine might be worse from a total possible payoff standpoint, but definitely the best from a stability standpoint. A mediocre doctor can throw a dart at a map and still make $150K-200K per year. In fact, with the strange renumeration structure of modern medicine, a doctor in the sticks can make more money than a doctor in a desired suburb. Worst case scenario in medicine is working as a GP in Montana for "only" $150K a year. Worst case scenario in investment banking is you are out on your ass in 2 years with skills applicable nowhere outside of downtown Manhattan.
barry-cotter 15y ago
I strongly dispute that the investment/payoff ratio is worse for M.D.s than J.D.s. Lawyers 44-173K (Imputed median 108k) General Surgeon 225K Paediatrician, General 95K Family Physician 164K For various "Physician" categories the median goes from 118 to 217K. (All salary data taken from payscale.com) This neglects the fact that most people who finish medical school get fulltime permanent jobs as doctors, while getting a J.D. is a disastrously bad idea unless you can get into a T14 school, and not actually a good idea unless you can get into a T6[0] [0]http://insidethelawschoolscam.blogspot.com/ http://insidethelawschoolscam.blogspot.com/ written by a law school professor http://balkin.blogspot.com/2011/10/depth-and-breadth-of-misleading.html http://balkin.blogspot.com/2011/10/depth-and-breadth-of-misl... evidence that newly qualified lawyers aren't getting paid much, even if they've got jobs
- qq66 15y ago
  You're only looking at the payoffs. Think about how much harder it is to be wrists deep in feces vs. wading through a stack of papers in a comfortable office chair.
  - barry-cotter 15y ago
    Think how much more satisfying it is to save people's lives and spend your days surrounded by people who treat you with respect, fear and dread than to spend 12 hour days doing really boring paperwork.

by qq66 15y ago

rdouble 15y ago

The payoff in medicine might be worse from a total possible payoff standpoint, but definitely the best from a stability standpoint. A mediocre doctor can throw a dart at a map and still make $150K-200K per year. In fact, with the strange renumeration structure of modern medicine, a doctor in the sticks can make more money than a doctor in a desired suburb. Worst case scenario in medicine is working as a GP in Montana for "only" $150K a year. Worst case scenario in investment banking is you are out on your ass in 2 years with skills applicable nowhere outside of downtown Manhattan.

barry-cotter 15y ago

I strongly dispute that the investment/payoff ratio is worse for M.D.s than J.D.s. Lawyers 44-173K (Imputed median 108k) General Surgeon 225K Paediatrician, General 95K Family Physician 164K For various "Physician" categories the median goes from 118 to 217K. (All salary data taken from payscale.com) This neglects the fact that most people who finish medical school get fulltime permanent jobs as doctors, while getting a J.D. is a disastrously bad idea unless you can get into a T14 school, and not actually a good idea unless you can get into a T6[0] [0]http://insidethelawschoolscam.blogspot.com/ http://insidethelawschoolscam.blogspot.com/ written by a law school professor http://balkin.blogspot.com/2011/10/depth-and-breadth-of-misleading.html http://balkin.blogspot.com/2011/10/depth-and-breadth-of-misl... evidence that newly qualified lawyers aren't getting paid much, even if they've got jobs

qq66 15y ago
You're only looking at the payoffs. Think about how much harder it is to be wrists deep in feces vs. wading through a stack of papers in a comfortable office chair.
- barry-cotter 15y ago
  Think how much more satisfying it is to save people's lives and spend your days surrounded by people who treat you with respect, fear and dread than to spend 12 hour days doing really boring paperwork.