Fact: Average Doctor makes way more than Average Finance/Banker

Good luck with insurance, obamacare, declining reimbursement, etc.

This claim is laughable. I make more than the average doctor now and I'm in my mid 20s. Anyone who STAYS in banking or pe or hf will likely exceed the average doctor's salary before their 30. There are tons of people who don't make it that far, but then again med school is also competitive and getting into a good residency is no cake walk either.

Long story short, you'd be a fool to take medicine over banking/pe/hf if your only goal is money.

My Dad was a doctor (eye surgeon) in Canada so not directly comparable but just another data point to throw into the mix. As an analyst at a HF in London (30 years old) I was making more money "all in" than my Dad made in his peak years as a surgeon. However, two points worth mentioning. First, my Dad never worried about recessions and layoffs and his earnings just kept increasing as the majority of medicine in Canada is government funded. My Dad even bought a brand new Merc in 2008 and the GFC had almost zero impact on his life/career. Secondly, I have to work in the world's most expensive cities (London or NY) whereas my Dad could set up shop in a cheap COL city where his 300K salary bought a massive house with a swimming pool and he could afford to educate four kids. My all-in number buys sweet FA in London and there is no way I could afford to raise four kids in either London or NYC.

This may be true, but I think the future of medicine is very alarming. There is a reason top students (who have the choice to go into medicine if they want to) are overwhelming choosing other paths.

Good to see status-seeking materialism is not exclusive to Wall Street wannabees.

Certain doctors make so much because there's such a high barrier to entry. Any tim buck two could work in finance and pick up most of it tbh if they are starting from the very bottom. To be a doctor absolutely requires almost 10 years of schooling before you can even really start your career. And a small percentage actually makes it through med school and into residency and then into becoming an actual doctor.

To be a doctor you have to slave for years with no pay. At least in banking you're compensated well for the hours and work.

time value of money ... that is all

Dated a medical resident for awhile and that lifestyle is crazy in a bad way. She'll make bank, unquestionably add value to society and have a very rewarding career (biggest perk IMO, no one tears up thanking an analyst for their excel work) when its over but residency is a nightmare for waitress pay.

Fact: no one gives a shit

Disagree on most points. As someone that lived in Westwood (in between Beverly Hills, Bel Air, and Brentwood) for 3 years and worked in swank, local health clubs while attending UCLA as a premed, I interacted with quite a few doctors practicing at Ronald Reagan, Cedars Sinai, etc. Frankly, their salaries don't touch what you need to buy a home in that area, let alone lead an assumedly "BeverlyHillsMD" lifestyle with the top rolled down on Wilshire. Even that plastic surgeon with his own reality show (Dr. 90201) can barely afford a decent place in Beverly Hills; I saw the episode where he bought his house in a meh neighborhood.

Another thing, doctor's lifestyles are terrible, and their job satisfaction isn't that far removed. And FYI, a lot of "brain drain" is happening now that medicine is becoming socialized whilst opportunities in tech and pharmaceutical development increase. In fact, I'd predict that you'll see premeds start coming here to learn about alternatives to medicine in pharmaceutical/healthcare-related finance as soon as they find out that they can make as much and more than physicians with less schooling, no grueling residencies, and none of the stress that goes into spending 8+ years on their medical educations after earning undergraduate degrees.

Based on your statistics and my banker excel skills, there should only be about 6 or 7 people in finance in the entire world that make more than doctors. Am I missing something?

Honest question: Do you think bankers care about how much others make? Would love to learn more about the mindset.

Does it really matter what someone else is making relative to another?

Opportunity cost of school and debt. Would've known that if you picked up Freak-o-nomics instead of Greys Anatomy.

You can make banker salary labouring in an oil town. go into finance because you are interested.

Lol there is no way in hell this is not a troll; member for 19 hours and no other posts/comments. At first I thought this might be Fear The Bulge, but it definitely does not fit his level of satire.

Doctor vs. Banker/Finance is the dumbest comparison I have ever heard of. Unless of course you're an lowly elitist douche canoe (which OP seems to be), they are two totally different career paths that really depend on the personality of the person.

Personally, I enjoy putting on a suit everyday, living and working in downtown, and getting into the math to close deals. I couldn't imagine working hours in a hospital and working with the human bodies. But hey, if you like science and saving lives, this might be the career for you. As I said earlier, I prefer math and the corporate atmosphere, thus finance is my choice.

Also to clear your "lifestyle" misconceptions, doctors work as hard as bankers. They work horrible hours, no matter how senior they are. My mom had leukemia when I was very young and those doctors came into the hospital at 2am when she was admitted on a regular basis. Also they give up many more years and so much money on getting through med school so when they get out, bankers are already at the Associate (maybe VP) level earning much more than a rotating physician.

The doctors like the one's who treated my mom, you know the ones who worked hard in life, are true heroes of our society. They cared and cured thousands of patients and I am forever in debt to them. So if they earn more than us, I am happy, they deserve it. However, the 'BeverlyHillsMD' type doctors are a different story. You know the type who works for one hour a day performing an unnecessary plastic surgery to make some gold digger's tits bigger (or dick, I support equality). The type who takes the rest of the day off to cruise around in his rented S600 trying to pick up chicks. And the type who when he sees the girl is with someone in finance, he'll go home to angrily create a WSO profile and rant on the entire finance community.

In other words, find another forum to jack off your feelings into OP.

What the fuck are you talking about? Of course doctors with their own practice make more than a 21 year IB analyst.

Taking the troll bait but pretty sure your "average" doctor let's say a family physician only makes about $200k a year. An investment banker can make that before someone graduates med school at 26.

you realize how much longer doctors have to go to school right...? Plus residency plus fellowships. Bankers start making money immediately after undergrad.

What is wrong with you ? Get a life .

I am a doctor in an oil and gas rich country, I probably make more than you and I am moving to finance because it's far more interesting for me .

A lady once made little rings to put on and decorate your Crocs and sold it for $10mm. Didn't even start out at a BB

I'm just going to leave this here....

http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20160922/NEWS/160929962?utm_sou…

You guys are missing the biggest issue with Ops argument:

Median age of banker= ~27 Median age of doctor = ~47

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The difference between finance and medicine is that doctors don't HAVE to have a terrible lifestyle, nor do they HAVE to live in expensive cities. My father is a physician. He used to make 400k+ working all the time. He got tired of working like a mad man, so he CHOSE to work 7 days on and 7 days off, making "only" 240k.

Having that ability to consistently have a week off while making more than most Americans is pretty sweet. I don't see that being a thing in finance. You either have to work a lot or a ton.

My dad's best friend is also a physician. He does ER work. That's the place to be. He gets paid $200 an hour, and does 12 hour shift work. This fucker works 3 days one week and 4 days the next week making 400K. Sometimes he wants to buy something nice so he'll work extra shifts to splurge.

This is Wall Street Oasis, go post on Web Md or tell someone who gives a shit

I have to agree with the premise of this thread. The best example of a high earning doctor that comes to mind is Doctor Dre. I mean, can we not agree that he has earned way more than your average banker? And I'm not so sure he spent a crazy long period of time in college.

Good for them. Not everyone can be a doctor.

Yeah, but bankers don't have the $100s of thousands of med school loans.

Overall, is gives you a 3/10. Good attempt, but there are better trolls out there.

Who cares! Bankers are in it for the money and their love of finance. Doctors are in it for helping people and their love of science. There is no way someone could survive intense training of medical school and residency just for the money, not worth it then.

Oh, not this again. Why is this thread being revived?

I feel like this is always a tough call. A doctor is probably a safer bet, but bankers have tons of options as the business world is so vast and large. I think bankers with good MBAs (cheaper and shorter than med degrees) can amass more wealth as their worst option is all the tons of F500 management positions that pay just as well as physicians.

why people love to compare bankers with either lawyers or doctors..

Lol this is by "Beverly Hills MD". It's funny as a fellow West LA denizen I am saying this, and I certainly hope you are not one of those plastic surgeons seeking a secretary and offering her fake boobs. Yes, this happened to me when I was in undergrad at the school that must not be named in L.A.

Understandably if you are world reknown surgeon you would have talk show gigs, books, etc. or if you have a cosmetic service to sell but at that point you are no longer just a physician but a business or salesman. Most doctors cap out around 500k. General practitioners make around 150k with debt from medical school, and your pay varies broadly based off of specialty.

I am sure most investment bankers on here, do not and besides they have a passion for finance, not decomposing whose tits look better. Since you are a physician debating about compensation and not saving lives, I know that you might be one of those.

Get off of here and go back to Student Doctor Network and stop trolling people! Lol.

The move for doctors nowadays is starting their own clinic and owning multiple clinics and care centers. Doing this, of course, means that these people are more businessmen than actual doctors as most of the time, they do not actually practice medicine every day in favor of running the numerous clinics they own.

Some of my close relatives who are doctors claim that their colleagues who have been successful in these types of things make over a million dollars in as early as their mid-40's.

That may have been the move a decade or more ago, but nowadays not so much. Consider:

-Onerous and expensive regulations passed down by feds that dictate clinical practice procedures (stressing performance based outcomes now, instead of patient volumes) and expensive IT framework (EMRs). Ironically cost is being added into the system (demanding upgrading healthcare infrastructure / modernization of best practices) in order to take cost out of the system.

-Shift from volume based to performance based reimbursement; incremental financial incentives now based on patient quality outcomes. Long gone are the days private practice clinician can churn through patients all day and send the bill to Medicaid / Medicare

-Increasing competition faced by mom and pop practices from rolled up physician groups operating at scale, allowing for better negotiation with payors and suppliers. Small practices can no longer compete on an economic basis

-Flight of physicians from small practices back into practicing in inpatient settings due to the factors mentioned above

You shouldn't be a doctor if all that matters is money. That's what finance is for...

My dad practiced medicine for 40 years, the pay and the hours needed to earn it were considerably better 15+ years ago. The major highlight to practicing medicine is people are seriously thankful for your help. Every year as a kid I remember around Christmas time the cards and gifts would start showing up in the mail expressing how much they owed my dad for his help when no one else could help with their chronic pain/accident related injuries/etc etc. He’s retired now, and guess what? The cards and gifts still show up when I head home around the holidays.