You don't go to med school to make money and if you do you are a fool.

 

You don't pay tuition to make money? Whaaaaat? Not sure why you said that...

You don't go to med school to not become a doctor (or medical professional). In order to maintain a high level of regard in the medical field, I can see the school filtering out students who don't have the right intentions for when they become full-fledged doctors.

If I were running a school and didn't think you wanted to get in for the right reasons, I'd skip over you and go to the people who have passion for the profession, and not just the financial rewards of it.

 

for the level of talent/intelligence and hard work it takes to be a physician, you can make more money doing something else. That's what he means.

I'd have to add, as with everything else in life, this is generally true in most cases, but not always. Some physicians do make obscene amount of money but most are well off, not super wealthy.

 

oh... and come to the interview with a well rested mind in a calm relaxed but alert state, like when you go take your final exam.
be prepared for any question.

 

I am currently enrolled in medical school and i did it for the money...

 

i should revise. You don't go to med school to get rich. Like s2020 said. The doctors I know that are rich are also business men/women. There are other easier ways to get wealthy/rich.

I make a comfortable living now, but I'm almost 35. I still work a LOT of hours to make/keep a lifestyle that I want. I didn't make much more than what I could live on before last year.

The school doesn't have to actively have to filter our people that don't have the right intentions, the work is greuling enough that they'll filter themselves out.

 

Fair enough!

It's true, I've had several friends go through med school and not all finished. But for the high ranking schools, there isn't enough room to accept everyone and go at it with the expectation that the weak ones will drop off. You have to have some systems to filter those who aren't suited to ensure there's a place for those who are. KnowwaI'msayin?

 

Get ready for a huge disappointment.

 

yep. sorry, this is a novel:

with a BS in engineering, average salary is $55k starting when the same year you can start med school, and salary makes a jump at about 5 years, just after your intern year. i also only have to work 40hrs a week, M-F and have insurance, etc. if i wanted big money before age 35, i COULD live the same lifestyle as a med student and live in a cheap apartment, drive a beater or no car, and invest all my paychecks. to take it further, i could nearly double my salary (and investments) by working at a firm that will let me work the same 60-70hrs/wk you do.

before you finish your residency and start to get ahead of the debt, i could have nearly half a million in investments accruing interest. keep in mind, doctors' 0 to hero salary gets hit a lot harder by taxes thanks to our progressive tax system. good luck catching up--if you choose a lucrative field and dont buy a car or house, you will. if you become a pediatrician, family doc, etc and dont work 70hrs a week as a crotchety surgeon though, tough luck--you lose, and you never will catch up to my investments.

but in both cases, i'd hate life until i hit 30-40 and started to live it. and in both cases, you could make several times more with the same misery level by getting into a highly accredited 5 year MBA program (thunderbird for example), making good contacts, and working your way into executive positions anywhere. you'd have to be sharp, but for money, wow, similar earnings timeline to the engineer (0 debt and an income at 5 years) and after a few year, you get similar wages to the doctor--rather surgeon, not just doctor. looks like we have a winner!

i'm an aerospace engineer because i think its fun (breaking the world rotorcraft speed record is my current project, i'm in a team of about 20), and my wife is an MSIII, becoming a doctor because she wanted to since childhood, and she wants to help.

and we dont donate all our money to charity, but while she's in school, we still manage to donate over 10% of our (well, my) net income. we want to do more, and we try to live below our means so we can someday have the means to do so. my uncle is a self-made multi-millionaire (start-up company made it big in heart pacemaker sales, they lived on $50k for 5-10 years while making double that). he recently funded a free clinic, which uses voluntary labor of doctors and dentists. it's been very successful. if people have the mindset to get over greed and materialism, they live below their means and therefore get the money, and often a good chunk of their extra money will go to philanthropy.

 

This thread is interesting... the guy just asked for interview advice, and he's been getting everything but...