Is medicine worth it financially compared to tech?

[@lincolnfirmo8221]

With all being said, no doubt medicine wins in terms of stability and has no chance of massive layoffs. Plus, no need to switch from company to company for the sake of higher positions/salaries. And no need to start your own company or consulting office when ageism hits you in the belly.

[@donaldbowler4514]

Not sure if you'll read this, but I'll leave this out there. There is another additional benefit to medicine that has not been stated and that is the ability to do "partial retirement", where you can work part time with only 2-3 days per week and enjoy the rest of your time if you continue to decide to work. And seeing how inflation is increasing and the age of retirement might be going up, this is a good option for medical workers in old age. But hell, you could theoretically "partial retire" after you finish training, provided if you have all your medical debt paid. Partialing retiring would mean lesser income, but at the same, alot more time. Software developers, even with all their amenities don't have the kind of flexibility. Unless they go to work for themselves, but even then you would be making sure your business is up and running which is a 24/7 job. I would say the equivalent to the partial retire here for developers is to save their income, and invest in something.

[@AjitMD]

Tech workers like software programmers may start young, though these days a MS helps. However, many become obsolete by the time they hit 35-40 years unless they develop a niche. There is a lot of competition from overseas, especially India. They come with quick H1 visas. Many can work remotely overseas. Most end up in bucket shops. Only the select few get to work at Google. Ever heard of a recession? Hundreds of thousands get laid off. Can not pay mortgage. Physicians even in Primary Care can earn $250-350k per year. Cards, GI, etc do ok.

[@InvestingDoc]

I don't disagree with you but I guess maybe I have a skewed perspective because I see a lot of tech workers where I'm located and I do not directly ask their salary but they seem to have a wonderful work-life balance and make a very good living to be able to afford to live in the city.

[@N0T0R1OUS]

Just damn. LOL, now I'm debating if I wanna go the med/dentistry route vs tech

[@joodsaad-ms9vn]

So what did u end up choosing

[@richoffks]

@@joodsaad-ms9vnneither, keep switching back and forth until I’m homeless

[@richoffks]

actually, us future surgeons are very very much considering the differences between tech and medicine

[@InvestingDoc]

Crazy time to be alive where even surgeons are considering tech vs medicine.

[@Ammar-tx9zw]

I don’t really understand this argument. You are calculating physician pay as an academic salary of a mere 180k-250k. You do know that you are able to make 350-450 in primary care specialties in private practice and in smaller cities. That makes up the difference..

[@ericholland6262]

Just curious, at what point would you personally say medicine isn't worth it (regardless of tech)? (ex 400K in loans at 7% interest). The debt you accrue with this career is soul crushing. Really wish a decent livable wage(100-120K) was earned during residency instead of 60K. I understand the extra training is necessary, but that pay is kind of ridiculous for 8+ years of college.

[@InvestingDoc]

The benefit of going into medicine from the financial aspect is still there in terms of high average pay but I suspect it will continue to erode over time

[@Aloof_Loofa]

Are the physician salaries you listed current? All my friends did fellowships and we make anywhere from 400-800k. The guy making 800k does Interventional Cards, I am a GI doctor making $400-500k (RVU based model). I suppose these are procedure based but they are not surgical. Thoughts?