Re: conclusion on salaries

Dear Career as ND,

The simple truth is that if you want to be well paid, you should choose another career.

That said, my standard medical friends would be mad at me if I did not add: if you want to be well paid for the time and energy you put in, you should choose a career other than medicine. (Regular doctors are well paid, but not if you calculate salary per hour, and salary per hour is dropping for many).

That said, my legal friends would say: if you want to be well paid and still keep your ideals, don't choose law. The really wonderful legal positions make less than 36k in most states. Several of my friends would also say that they are not well paid per hour, because of ever increasing billable hour requirements.

My teacher friends would be mad if I didn't add: 36K? Those are good wages for a teacher! And don't talk about our pension plans, they are miserable. And by the way, we do work during the summer.

So if you look at the professions, none of them really considers themselves well paid. But by all means go for the higher salary. Just be sure to calculate the total loan payoff amounts with compounded interest after residency, then figure out a monthly budget and how much extra after paying thirty percent in taxes you actually bring home. Or ask you local MD if he's well paid.

I hope this is helpful.

Christopher Maloney, Naturopathic Doctor
Augusta, Maine www.maloneymedical.com.
Informational only, I cannot treat or diagnose via the web.
I can give you research, and research is available on my site.
I have no affiliation with Naturopathic Medicine Network, I just post because someone needs to.

Post New Reply

Name/Nickname:
Subject:
Message:
Enter combination shown above: