Hi everybody,
Recently, I was talking to my doctor about debt. I'm in education (teacher), 27, have received a dual masters and i'm debt free. Now my doctor friend is 35, board certified, married, a internist, and owes $ 250,000 in college & medical school debt, a mortgage at $ 900,000 (with $ 50k down), car loans, children, living expenses like food, clothes, utilities, and etc.. Today, he owes $ 1.5 million in debt! I ask him that if your making in 6 figures in gross income a year, shouldn't you be paid off and enjoying a lavish lifestyle? He said, after malpractice fees, federal & state taxes, student & medical loans all together, he pretty much makes a net worth of a blue-collar employee. In conclusion, he'll most likely never will be debt free in his lifetime!
I don't understand? The doctor with a better education then me with a higher income owes more then me, and I don't have debt at all and is younger then him.
Isn't it should be the other way around? I mean the more educated you are, better changes of having the lavish style? Why do doctors don't get rich, but others who are less educated are?
Chris B
HMOs and insurance companies.
Viva Vegas
Medicine is not a great area of study anymore. Business is the best major.
Barry Hendrix
A medical degree takes a long time and is costly. The cost of buying a practice can add even more debt. If ObamaCare limits a doctors compensation we can't expect many to take up the practice.
Foghorn
Doctors do very well by virtue of congress, in collusion with the AMA, limiting the number of students allowed to enter medical school. We should be limiting lawyers and then things would improve. Perhaps a 20 year moratorium starting today.
He will also recoup a great deal of that debt when he sells his practice.
Caveat: This assumes that the US and world economies last long enough for this to play out. I would play the under on that wager.
John gibson @foxnews.crap
your example made a lot of poor choices with his fiances,being a dr had nothing to do with going 1.5 million in debt
Kari
Well, I don't understand why he has a $ 900,000 mortgage and is complaining about money. If he has so much in loans, why doesn't he live a little more modestly and pay back his loans quicker. Here is what I found about what internists make:
"On an annual basis the median Internists salary is greater than $ 183,990." (http://www.healthcaresalaryonline.com/internist-salary.html)
Also, he must be in private practice to have you for a patient, so this would apply too:
"Internists are typically employed in private practice, offices and hospitals. Those in private practice earn more than $ 200,000 per year." (http://www.healthcaresalaryonline.com/internist-salary.html)
Orignal From: Q&A: Why doctors in high debt?
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