Let's see,
First of all:
wherever Rajneel1 is practicing, avoid that area like the plague. Does not sound very appetizing in terms of compensation. A 100,000 for a starting neurosurgeon in private practice...yikes...well, that's what you get for being in california
The average med school debt is approximately 100,000:%
10 year loans at 8.5 (which is not the going rate, but...): comes out to about a 1,000 a month if you want to pay it off during medschool (which you won't because you will defer it forever and a day).
Residency on average is about 38,000 - 40 G in pay, fellowship maybe a few thousand higher.
It's a big sacrifice...but at least you'll be in a stable job that you love, and get paid pretty well for it. The reality is to be the kind of wealthy where money is no problem for you would require that you take massive risk. That's the only way, outside of being born into it, that these things can happen. If you want to be a banker and make money...you will either be: a) the guy who makes millions, who went to the right school and then got in on the right deal and stayed with the bank, etc., etc. or b) the guy who manages your local bank and approves your loans...does good some years, bad in others. Medicine is a nice, stable, well paying job that you can get without luck or chance, but through hard work. You don't have to go to the top school (like lawyers), and you get to help people...and you get paid a buttload to do it. Yes, putting up with residency sucks big...but...every stage has it's positives. In med school, I hated no responsibility. In residency, I'm sure I'm going to despise excessive hours and limited pay...and when I'm an attending I'm going to have difficulty with the repetition and boredom that are associated with anything in medicine that's lucrative. But, I get to choose my life...choose where I want to live..what kind of practice I want to work in..and what type of life I want to have. Those are all great options...and if I hate it...I'll get involved with businesses on the side and maybe get a business degree and do some venture work. Basically, what I'm saying is...DO THE FELLOWSHIP YOU WANT TO...don't factor in the time..in the whole kernel of it all..it won't matter. Whether you start practicing in your early late twenties, early thirties, late thirties...whether you made all your money in your 60's or your 20's...do what makes you happy. If you're in medicine for the money...you are going to hate it. I gaurantee you that...
sorry lecture...if you don't want to do a fellowship that is your perrogative...but...the opportunity cost of those few extra years..isn't going to mean much in the end...you'll recoup the cost in no time. My friend and I graduated med school at the same time...and I've been running my own company for a few years..and he's been a resident...when I start my residency next year...it will take him just in salary about two years to catch up to me...so in the end, who made the better decision. We both did..he did what he likes...I did what I liked. Hope that works out the same way for you.