> Probably close to half of doctors make less money than the average person working at FAANG.
I feel like comparing doctors as a whole to the subset of software engineers who are at FAANG is not really apt.
> delay any wages until 34
What?
Out of HS at 18, BS at 22, MD at 26.... then what? At least 2 years of residency (PGY1, 2) and you're 28. And then what are you doing for the next SIX years before you're earning wages? Uhhh.
> lower middle class life until 50 while paying of medical school debts
I work as a paramedic, and have multiple provider friends, from family practice, to EM to anesthesiology. While the anesthesiologist is 40 and already owns a book store, and multiple homes, none of the others are wallowing in the "lower middle class". You can pay a lot of student loans at the $300-350K EM residents make in this area.
> barely be in the top 10% after that
I think you're exaggerating on top of exaggeration.
The top 10% line would be at $86K/year.
Let's be more real. Public Health pays the lowest physician salary, averaging at $249K/year. That already puts you in the 2%.
Cruise on up the ladder and Gastro, Cardio, Ortho and Plastics all are north of $500K.
Yes, there is malpractice insurance, and it's not negligible (and some networks will provide allowances to providers for this). But it's also fairly linear to specialty and income, and often not as much as assumed. Obstetrics, as expected, is the highest, at ~$42K (with average salaries of $390K), family practice averages around $10K, and even my anesthesiologist friend is only paying around $13-15K/year.
> It does not put you in the top 2% if you have a tax rate of ~45%
The top 2% pays tax, too. They're still in the top 2% of income, by definition. And that tax rate is more like 35%, less if married.
After that student loan you're still taking home ~$11K/month.
Other professions with higher pay also have student loans, you don't get to say "doctors are different and aren't in the income bracket you think they are because loans".
Length of residency depends on specialty, but is generally at least 3 years and can be 7+. Some physicians also have to complete an additional fellowship before they can really practice independently.
There is a real shortage of residency program slots. Every year some students graduate from medical school with an MD but are unable to practice medicine because they don't get matched (some of those do get matched the following year). The most effective thing we could do to increase the supply of physicians (and reduce their wages) would be to get Congress to allocate more Medicare funding to expanding residency programs.
I feel like comparing doctors as a whole to the subset of software engineers who are at FAANG is not really apt.
> delay any wages until 34
What?
Out of HS at 18, BS at 22, MD at 26.... then what? At least 2 years of residency (PGY1, 2) and you're 28. And then what are you doing for the next SIX years before you're earning wages? Uhhh.
> lower middle class life until 50 while paying of medical school debts
I work as a paramedic, and have multiple provider friends, from family practice, to EM to anesthesiology. While the anesthesiologist is 40 and already owns a book store, and multiple homes, none of the others are wallowing in the "lower middle class". You can pay a lot of student loans at the $300-350K EM residents make in this area.
> barely be in the top 10% after that
I think you're exaggerating on top of exaggeration.
The top 10% line would be at $86K/year.
Let's be more real. Public Health pays the lowest physician salary, averaging at $249K/year. That already puts you in the 2%.
Cruise on up the ladder and Gastro, Cardio, Ortho and Plastics all are north of $500K.
Yes, there is malpractice insurance, and it's not negligible (and some networks will provide allowances to providers for this). But it's also fairly linear to specialty and income, and often not as much as assumed. Obstetrics, as expected, is the highest, at ~$42K (with average salaries of $390K), family practice averages around $10K, and even my anesthesiologist friend is only paying around $13-15K/year.