Won game as Doctor. Can I career change?
Not sure if right place. If there is better one point the way please
I Am Doctor currently 36 who won the game in my current career. Top 10pct at what I do. Did everything I wanted to do and am a little bored. Saved some lives. Published in best journal. Turned down academic career. Make 300k working 50hrs a wk. can make 600k if I move to bumblefuck. Practice got sold in PE deal. Have enough money we can put our (current very young) kids through college and also never work again. We currently save 60 pct of income. I’m not fancy.
My deal fully vests when I’m 40. I will prob retire or change careers.
I’ve been very interested in finance since I was 10. Read txtbooks, papers, books, listen to podcasts etc. it’s literally my only hobby. Find markets really interesting. Am a little obsessive about it. Didn’t go into field out of sense of altruism desire to make world better place etc.
I’m very aware there is a huge difference between liking to bake bread and being a baker. And being a doctor is basically useless for any other career.
My questions:
Is there a career option in finance/high finance where I can work 50-60hrs a week since I need to be present for my kids?
What should I do to make myself competitive for that job in next 4 or so years... CFA exams, MBA at 40, programming skills, quant math willing to do whatever?
Am I an idiot, and should I just retire at 40? Obvi I don’t care about money/paycut. I just want to do something interesting. But, I hire people currently and realize the reasons why no one would want to hire me.
I’m just a college student, so take this with a grain of salt, but I noticed nobody was replying to your thread so I wanted to help you gain some traction.
50-60hrs/week in high finance is relatively unheard of. If you’re willing to raise that a little higher to 60-70, it’s possible you could join some private equity fund or VC fund that focuses specifically on healthcare, given your background. I think that would be an interesting, albeit extremely difficult, possibility. You’d have to network in and show people you can do what they want you to do. You would have a massive pay cut right off the bat, but the difference is that your pay has an unlimited ceiling in high finance, so down the line you’d have a much larger paycheck. Another alternative is if you save up a good amount of money, recruit some sharp people, and start your own healthcare fund; a lot of celebrities are starting their own funds, so there’s literally no reason you couldn’t besides the capital you’d need to hire people. You’d also have to figure out how to get investors interested in your fund, which could be difficult.
Given your age, I feel like it would be extremely difficult, but if you’re able to convince some top business school to let you in then you still have a wealth of possibilities. The biggest problem here is age though - after getting into bschool, you’d have to convince potential employers that you’re in it for the long haul, rather than just for fun/you won’t switch back to medicine. You could hypothetically go for some corporate FP&A role which would be 40-60hrs/week, but your salary is massively capped compared to what you’ll make where you’re at, unless you end up working up to CFO/CEO (extremely doubtful given your age, unfortunately, but still possible).
Reality is man, there’s nothing stopping you except yourself. Just because something hasn’t been done before doesn’t mean it’ll never be done, you just need to be dynamic and willing to give up everything to get what you want. If you’re simply bored, maybe you’re going through a midlife crisis and should buy a Porsche like most people, but if you genuinely hate your job then there’s no reason you shouldn’t pursue your dreams if your family is on board. If you decide to go down this path, it’ll be hard and your spouse needs to be on board, because you’ll need their support through everything. That’s my 2 cents, and I hope it’s slightly helpful.
Actually one last thought: you could also manage your own portfolio as a side hobby if you choose to not do it. If you DO choose to career change, you WILL NEED TO do everything you can to show that you’re interested in finance. Pass the CFA, go to business school, do whatever you can to show that you’re invested in finance now.
Thank you for such a thoughtful reply. I really appreciate it.
Any time for the Dread Pirate Roberts man. Make sure you don’t get killed by the rodents of unusual size
Anything Healthcare focused would probably be interested in your background. Healthcare consulting is a natural entry point but it sounds like you're interested in markets. I'd research HC focused Equity Research groups at the large banks, Asset Management firms, and Hedge Funds. MBA could be helpful but you're on the older side for full-time and part-time is not as useful for career changes.
Given your situation, I'm not sure why you would want to start over near the bottom working for someone else. If you truly have enough to retire, why not start a business, open a few franchises, or buyout a local cash flow positive business? If you have enough start-up capital, the risk-reward on that is far better than a career in a finance and you can work whatever hours you want.
Thank you for the reply. Good advice. Re the starting over that is also my concern. I’m somewhat aware that the payout ratio is lower being an employee especially in a competitive field. I have been considering starting/running a business as an alternative just as you suggest. But I usually come back to the fact that I really like markets so it would be my preference. I figured it was worth at least asking around about. But your point is well taken.
Are there public companies that in the niche your practice was in? Would you be able to understand which ones will have better results for patients (and thus better businesses)? How well can you analyze a business? Can you dig through public 10K/Qs efficiently? Can you build a financial model? An investment memo? If yes to the above, you would be a valued team member at an ER/AM/HF shop within your niche HC vertical. Not uncommon for someone in your situation to do so as you’d be viewed as an expert in that specific HC niche. The hardest part will be telling your “why finance” story.
Yes to the modeling/financial statements. But only on a personal level. I can bring this up to a more professional par and this is an obvious necessity. What would the best way to signal this so I even get a look? Re the expertise The unfortunate truth is almost all of healthcare is driven by insurance plan agreements and marketing. Nobody gives a shit about patients (slight exaggeration) and I am forced to use less effective therapy almost daily due to formularies. Drug/device development is so power law distributed that expertise isn’t truly differentiable from chance. You’re better off with behavioral info than medical most days. Obviously I would sell myself the exact opposite way but I imagine people in the field realize this. Good for me if they don’t.
Gotcha regarding the expertise. For the modeling/financials part, have you considered taking the CFA? It would be less financially burdensome than an MBA and would show that you’ve got your financial chops.
I'm interested whether anyone has done the reverse? High finance to becoming a doctor? I've always thought that life is too short to just stick to one endeavor when one has interests and drive to try trod down a different path of life after seeing out one life path and excelling.
Yes a handful in my medical school class. They had all done a few years only. Only one person in my class of 200 or so was older and has a successful career elsewhere. She was an engineer with ivy degree and started med school at 43 (I think). I don’t think of myself as old until I think of her. Lol.
I know some people like that. It's not really for the money or prestige, but the challenge of always being the best. Wish I was like that.
This thread is stupid on so many level.
No you haven't won the career game. You think you've won because you're not aiming high enough.
The fact that you're considering going into finance is even more retarded. That's like wasting 14 years of your life learning how to run and then deciding you want crawl on the floor instead.
Market yourself and you can make 10x what you're making.
Hint: leverage your medical experience, your publication, your network, and build something of value.
Hey thanks for the reply. I equally appreciate the “you’re an idiot” perspectives. Won the game= Accomplished all career goals. Have FU money. Sold off future earnings to PE. I ain’t Jeff Bezos.
I think you’re totally right re building something of value and 10x. But I would have to repurpose (learn to crawl again) for this also. Even in healthcare space. I am pursuing this avenue already also. Not really trying to optimize income here though. Markets have just been my largest outside interest for literally 25 years. In the past I decided against pursuing because I didn’t think I was adding value to world. Now I’m seeing if feasible to just do what I like. May still be better as just a hobby tho. Thank you again for the advice.
That’s fair. If you’re interested in the markets, it would be a good way to see things from a different perspective and that’s quite admirable.
Learn about investing, and invest your money as a career. Hell of a lot better than working for someone else. If you end up good at it, you can manage money for others too.
Why don’t you try to move up in the now PE backed Company you are part of? You could be their in-house consultant? Be responsible of PnL or something like this. Give it a shot until the deal vests and then see where you want to take it. If you liked it you could keep doing that, do consulting or simply go back to open a new practice.
Imo its a good option as you get to see business without taking too much risk.
Nulla nobis eum aut. Eos enim reprehenderit veniam possimus ipsa perferendis.
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