Cost of your education

[jIM_Ohio]

I totally understand the desire to become a physician, being one myself, but if I had been making that kind of money before going to med school, I doubt that I would have done it.

My BIL works weekends, holidays, misses the xmas eve party and has to go in for special sales at special hours (like if there is a new CD going on sale at midnight, or doing inventory at 3 am before store opens at 5 am.

I would not change to his occupation unless I had to, as I prefer my weekends to be free (he has to work either Sat or Sun every weekend).

He also started at the bottom, age 18, as an hourly employee making minimum wage. He is 33 now (maybe 32?) and has been a store manager for about 5 years (maybe 7). To get the job he needed to move 300 miles away to be an assistant store manager, then wait 9-15 months for a store manager position to open up back home. During this time his wife gave birth to my niece (who is now about 4 or 5 years old) and his wife had to tend to infant without either grandmother or any of his friends within 300 miles from him.

So the retail route is a good occupational path, but it does require some sacrafices not all are willing to make.

[disneysteve]

My BIL works weekends, holidays, misses the xmas eve party and has to go in for special sales at special hours (like if there is a new CD going on sale at midnight, or doing inventory at 3 am before store opens at 5 am.

Sounds a lot like many physicians' schedules. Work weekends, on-call 24/7 which could require going to the hospital to see a patient any time day or night, work holidays, miss family gatherings. Pretty close correlation actually. But without the 6-figure educational debt in the process.

[disneysteve]

I have thought about this for sometime now, espically the part where I sacrifice the income. Guess I'm just bored, there really is no challange in the work I do. I want to have a college degree, but I can't justify going to school to get a degree in a profession that will pay less than I am currently making.

That's a really tough call. Becoming a doctor is a major committment of time and money. It requires a lot of sacrifice all around. And then becoming a surgeon especially means being on call at all hours, having to do emergency operations, working nights, weekends, holidays, etc. Do it if that's what you are really drawn to. Just be sure you understand what you are getting yourself into.

[illinigamer]

Re: Cost of your education

For three years of undergraduate, total cost (including room and board) was about $40000, graduated in 2002. I won a $20000 scholarship, and the remainder was paid with $15k student loans and $5k from summer jobs. Grad school was free.

Starting salary was $69k after my masters.

I was lucky to grow up in a state with a public university with a top tier engineering school, though.

[globetraveler]

When I started college part time in 1998, the state school i attended was around $1200 a semester for classes and books.

I started full time in 1999 and graduated in 2003 with a BS degree with 23k in student loans.

If you average that out, it would be around $4600 a year for school.

I also work part-time the whole time I was in school to pay for lving expenses.

So if I had to guess, I would say my total school/living expenses cost me around 50k.

My first fulltime job out of college paid $21k a year.

I am currently at $95k a year

-globetraveler

[Thrif-t]

Wow I really feel like a pauper after reading all your posts. I graduated in 1988 from a state school no loans, worked my way thru and it cost 12k for 4 years. I lived at home and commuted. Got my first job making $17,500. I only wish my children could be so lucky.

[bigsaver]

undergraduate and medical school totaled around 180k. Made about 38k in internship, 50k a year in residency times three years. Starting job out will pay somewhere between 250-300k depending on how much overnight and weekend call I want to take.