I'm 28 and have spent the last several years contemplating leaving the business/finance world for medicine. I've shadowed physicians and taken a couple of pre-med courses (Gen Chem I and Bio I), receiving an A in each course. I believe that I would enjoy being a doctor. However, I'm concerned about the working hours required of physicians, particularly in residency. I also anticipate being 500k in debt if I went the medical school route. Assuming that I would probably be leaving residency around age 40, I am also concerned that having that much debt late in life could be a dealbreaker. I'm sure that others have been in a similar situation. I was wondering if anyone has any input or advice? Do you think that leaving residency at that age with that much debt would be a dealbreaker?
Should I Still Consider Medical School?
- Thread starter nbc1992
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There is an element of invested costs for sure. I started med school at 33. I graduated with about 250k of debt. I had it paid off in 3 years. I'm in Derm so residency actual work hours aren't as bad as something like IM or a surgical specialty.
How much do you want to be a physician? If you're not super driven to do it, you probably shouldn't since you could end up regretting it. In the end, being a physician is still doing a job. If you don't like that job, you will unlikely be happy investing so much into it.
I was fine with it and am happy with where I am. You of course have to forecast and make that decision for yourself. Good luck. I'm happy to answer any more specific questions if you have them.
How much do you want to be a physician? If you're not super driven to do it, you probably shouldn't since you could end up regretting it. In the end, being a physician is still doing a job. If you don't like that job, you will unlikely be happy investing so much into it.
I was fine with it and am happy with where I am. You of course have to forecast and make that decision for yourself. Good luck. I'm happy to answer any more specific questions if you have them.
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Lots of people are going to say yes, because half a million is an insane loan burden. But I don't think that kind of debt is completely insurmountable as a practicing medical doctor. However, it all depends on what you want out of life.
Mr. Snakehole and I will have around ~$350K student loan debt when I get out of medical school in a couple years, and I will be in my late 30s. We sat with our financial advisor and hashed out a preliminary plan to pay that off within 10 years of finishing residency, aggressively save/invest, and we still retire with a low-mid 7 figures net worth. The guiding assumption is that I would take home $250K/year after taxes as an attending, which seems reasonable given the specialties I'm considering.
The major caveat about us is that we have very little in the way of major expenses. We don't have children, not sure if we ever will, and those little guys are supermassive black money holes. We maintain a small, reasonably comfortable, and, most critically, cheap living situation. We drive used 10 year old Japanese imports for which we paid cash and will drive until the wheels fall off. We go on nice-ish trips, but only once or twice a year. No credit card debt. No expensive toys other than the PS5. Husband makes a shade over 100K/year currently. I have decent retirement savings from my former career, and husband has a nice balance in his Roth IRA as well. Both our parents have done very well financially, and we will eventually benefit from this wealth.
But I know I can't have it all. We are going to spend my attending money on things that are very important to us (taking care of elderly parents, investments, travel), and live fairly modestly in all other facets of our life. It's fine - this is how we more or less elect to live our lives today, and I think we actually prefer it this way.
So you need to consider your own situation and aspirations, and meet with a professional advisor if you need to. If you've got a stay at home spouse, expensive hobbies, world travel aspirations, several kids requiring college tuition someday, a mortgage, car leases, etc., then you've got some major decisions to make about whether a debt burden of $500K at age 40 is reasonable.
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What does your heart tell you? Medicine is a calling, after all, like being a priest or a career soldier.
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Unless you have significant undergrad debt, you should ideally be able to keep your total debt well below $500k. Average medical school debt is $200-300k.
Yes, residency hours are going to suck, but they're finite, and then afterwards, attending life will be lucrative and can be very flexible depending on your specialty.
I think this decision all comes down to priorities. If you enjoy your finance job, it probably will give you a slightly easier ride both personally and financially through the remainder of your 20s and 30s. But if you're really interested in medicine, go for it. Most people don't retire until their 60s, and you can still have a lucrative 20+ year career and fulfilling personal life even if you don't become an attending until you're 40.
Yes, residency hours are going to suck, but they're finite, and then afterwards, attending life will be lucrative and can be very flexible depending on your specialty.
I think this decision all comes down to priorities. If you enjoy your finance job, it probably will give you a slightly easier ride both personally and financially through the remainder of your 20s and 30s. But if you're really interested in medicine, go for it. Most people don't retire until their 60s, and you can still have a lucrative 20+ year career and fulfilling personal life even if you don't become an attending until you're 40.
