If they have to switch specialties at that 5 year mark, all that salary buildup may go away and they might have to start from junior-ish levels again... To OP:

If they have to switch specialties at that 5 year mark, all that salary buildup may go away and they might have to start from junior-ish levels again... To OP: I recommend switching ASAP to the field you are most interested in. It may turn out to be what you've been hoping for or it might not, but at least you'll learn something and will be able to go from there. Whereas accumulating raises doing stuff you don't care about is just wasting years of life in a holding pattern.