Doctors don't make as much as you think
Posted by hank, Mon Aug 27 03:33:00 UTC 2007
I found that after paying off medical school loans and paying malpractice insurance, and factoring in that most doctors don’t get vacation and work more hours per week than I do, it might not be worth the added years of schooling and the added stress unless you really love what you’re doing. Here are some calculations:
The Programmer
Assumptions
- The average programmer makes around $70,000 mean salary while in the work force
- They get a 2-week vacation
- They work 40 hours per week for the remaining 50 weeks
- They start working at 22 and retire at 59. (37 years of earnings)
? (70000 * 37)/(37*50*40.)
= 35.00
$35 per hour
This is assuming the programmer goes to a state school and has little or no debt. Ivy-leaguers might have some more issues.
The Doctor
Assumptions
- The doctor makes around $135,000 per year
- He/she works 50 hours per week (which can vary per specialty, but some are as high as 80-100 hours per week)
- The doctor pays $20,000 in malpractice insurance per year
- He/she has $120,000 in debt from medical school and plans to pay it off in 10 years at 5% interest (not compounding, but it’s negligible)
- He/she has a residency of 4 years, making $40,000 per year
- They start medical school at 22, finish at 26, are a resident until 29, and retire at 59. (30 years of good earnings)
Now, let’s make a nice huge equation for a doctor:
? ((135000*30) + (40000*4) - (20000*34) - (120000 + (120000 * 10 * .05)))/(34*52*50.)
= 37.90
$37.90 per hour
So, after all that hard work, all those stressful hours, all that worrying about job security (especially for anesthesiologists), in this case they would make about $3 more per hour. Now, I do realize that being a doctor isn’t all about money. This is just a warning for those who are misled by the high salaries. If you believe you would enjoy being a doctor, go for it! But, if you don’t think it’s right for you, you may consider other things that in the end pay just as well.
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