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My Future
(16/m)
I know it may be too early to worry about my future, but I figure why not start worrying now? ;]
Anyway- here's my "dilemma". I'm planning on pursuing a career in the medical field, most likely something cardiac related. I'm worried about being able to pay off the cost of college and medical school. Is it true that you start making money during residency? If not, when do you start making money, and usually how much do you make starting off?
If you are a doctor or you know someone in your family who is a doctor, how long did it take them to start working in their specialized job, as in, how long was it before they became a brain surgeon, podiatrist, cardiologist, or any other profession? How does that work?
Is going into the medical field really rewarding or is it extremely stressful?
Thank you for any responses =].
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First off, it's never to early to worry about your future. I think it's much better to be prepared than get to the end of high school and freak out, ya know?
Anywho, my mom is a nurse, so I'll tell you a bit about her and her journey, I guess:
My mom went back to school after taking a few years of or whatever to raise my brothers and I. School itself took a long time, but after that, it really didn't take her long to settle into the job she has now as an emergency room nurse. She worked first on a different floor; then switched to where she is now.
As for how stressful/rewarding it is, for my mom it seems like she finds it a lot more rewarding than stressful. She is always telling me stories or people she's helped and how much she enjoys her job. She's even got me planning on going into the medical field in a few years!
I hope this helps, and good luck! =]
-Laura (16-f)
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I don't know about the medical stuff, but I am familiar with student loans.
As long as you accept student loans as it is subsidized. Unsubsidized would mean that you will immediately start repaying your loans as you accept them. With a subsidized loan you will begin payments 6 months after you graduate by way of a monthly payment.
Tiffany/=D
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Yes, you will be paid a salary during residency. The amount is dependent upon your area of concentration, your experience and obviously where you are doing your residency.
A starting salary for a resident can be anywhere from $30,000 to $45,000 before taxes. This is quite a small salary for the number of hours you will be putting in (about 80hrs a week) and for the expenses of medical school.
This will NOT go a very long way in allowing you to pay of your loans, especially if you are living on your own and paying your own bills which you will most likely be doing.
There is an option to defer your loan payments while in residency but again, this depends on who you take your loan out with. Remember though that you will incur interest during that time. More than half of med students are in debt once they graduate so the hope of getting out unscathed isn't really even worth entertaining. You can look into scholarships and such as the time nears.
As far as how long it will take to become a doctor? You will have 4 years of college, 4 years of medical school, an internship year during which you will get your medical license and then you will begin residency which can be anywhere from 2 to 7 years. Board certification in any specialty can be offered anywhere from directly after residency to after 1-2 years of practice. The educational process after that is ongoing as advancements are made in medicine.
Working in the medical field myself, I'm not going to lie to you. It's very stressful, you are not paid enough for the amount of work that you do and the hours are long. It is very, very rewarding but you need to really be able to work well under stress and make important decisions quickly in emergencies. A strong desire for what you do and ALOT of self-motivation doesn't hurt either!
Good luck!
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