Medical Practitioner (This question is for doctors only)?

Question

Hi, im Chad, im 17 and im thinking about going to a medical school in belgium (UCL). With the specialtization, its about 12 to 15 years of study and hard work. The thing is that i don't wanna waste 15 years of my life to only get a puny salary at the end! So i wanna know how much a doctor wins on average per month (or yearly) wether it is in europe or in the U.S. ??

Answer 1

It all depends on the type of doctor that you want to become, if you are located in a large city or small town, if you have your own practice or work in a hospital and many other things.  Obviously, the more you specialize, the likelihood of earning more money is greater.  If you live in the middle of a city, you will also earn more but have much more competition.  Doctors who own their own practice also tend to earn more than doctors working in a hospital but they also have much more to pay such as rent and insurance.  I am in the U.S. in medical school at the moment.  Remember, sometimes you have to think more about whether you really love what it is you are doing and not about the money.  Trust me 15 years of your life is a long time but imagine doing something that you don't like for the rest of your life. It wouldn't be worth the money. I had to do some serious soul searching before I decided on this.  Good luck!  (here in the U.S a general practitioner can average 100 grand give or take a few thousand, and a heart or brain surgeon can average close to a million dollars- and I know doctors in both cases)

Answer 2

Going into medicine means much more than a paycheck. It is a way of life and a calling. There are many professions and trades that can make as much money as I do as a doctor but none have the honor and respect. I give away half of my work. I get abused as the doctor who will see you when you are broke but I also know that they know that I care.

Caring is the real reason to become a doctor, not money. If universal health care becomes the norm here in the US, there will be a lot of unhappy doctors but I won't notice it much. ( I might make more.)

If financial security is your real goal, use your abilities in some other upcoming field, like global warming research or portable computers / phones. Medicine is not a stable field right now. maybe a long distant computer will be doing my job and technicians or machines are the only things to touch the patient in the future.

Old Doc Practicing since 1984