Article
The Opportunity Cost of a Career in Medicine
We all know establishing a medical career in America is a long, arduous process that requires much talent and even more dedication. Do we really end up better off (financially speaking) compared to our friends who enter the workforce immediately after college?
We all know establishing a medical career in America is a long, arduous process that requires much talent and even more dedication. Sure, we enjoy the respect of those around us and the privilege of reaching inside another human being without going to jail, but we also enjoy the gift of delayed satisfaction. Do we really end up better off (financially speaking) compared to our friends who enter the workforce immediately after college? Let's take a look at how that adds up in terms of dollars and cents...
Assumptions
In order to compare these two scenarios, I make the following assumptions. Your individual situation may vary depending on your chosen specialty of practice. Notice I did not include student debt in my modeling as I expect you to pay for that along with all other living expenses out of the un-invested 85% of your income. An editable Excel Spreadsheet is provided
if you would like to play with the numbers.
Results
Starting Work After College
Starting Work after Med School
Discussion
As you can see, despite delayed entry into the workplace, physicians still come out ahead compared to their friends who start earning an income immediately after college (on average). Given my assumptions, the breakeven point where you catch up with your friends in term of investments is ~10 years after college. Want to enter your own assumptions? Download the editable Excel Spreadsheet here.
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