i_330 t1_j8xzrj9 wrote
Reply to comment by [deleted] in Penn Medicine residents and fellows want a union, citing grueling workloads and 80-hour workweeks by nankles
That is patently untrue lmao. There are some surgical specialists (cardiac, neurosurgery, plastics) who make 700+, but not many. 300-450k is more in range for general surgery, and these are people who have been through 5 years of grueling residency and usually have $250-500k in student loan debt to pay off. Surgery is not as sweet a deal as it seems to the general public, in fact it's widely regarded in medicine as a specialty for insane people.
just_start_doing_it t1_j8y979g wrote
There is certainly hard-work and debt that is put into it but most doctors in the US are part of the top 1% in terms of wealth. They are compensated very well. Medicine pays much more in the US than comparable European countries.
c_pike1 t1_j8yogwa wrote
What's the average US vs. European med school grad's debt?
That's why US doctors get paid more. They're starting from a huge negative
just_start_doing_it t1_j8ywtm7 wrote
It’s more than 2x in the US compared to the UL and Germany. Debt from school accounts for some but not all the difference. This has been explored extensively and it is widely accepted that in the US physician salaries, on average, are profligate.
hippopowertamus t1_j8zv5e2 wrote
Wealth and income are not synonyms.
just_start_doing_it t1_j91r5l7 wrote
Yes, in this case it is both. It is a hard grueling job (especially the training)— i’m in a family of doctors— but for most they end up very well paid.
hippopowertamus t1_j92neef wrote
I see your "being in a family of doctors" and raise you "being a doctor in a family of poor people". My income is way higher than my family aggregate growing up. My wealth is negative: I'm still hundreds of thousands in debt, despite living like I'm still in section 8.
just_start_doing_it t1_j9329nr wrote
I’m sorry to hear that. Not sure how long you have been a doc. Have you read white cost investor?
hippopowertamus t1_j937llt wrote
Just in my 4th year now. Definitely have looked at whitecoatinvestor and have been aggressively (most would say too aggressively) implementing financial best practices for awhile now. Still, despite having had a full ride to undergrad, worked since I was 16, and having had a side gig in med school, the debt is enormous. PSLF and REPAYE should get me through, but quite a few of my colleagues are in worse shape, and other career paths would have had much higher ROI. Workers everywhere are getting a raw deal, docs included. Capital defeats labor by a landslide.
just_start_doing_it t1_j8yx8pr wrote
I’m unclear about the down votes. These wages are publicly available in US labor reports and you can see that they are in the top 1% (even among some of the lower paid specialist). This is just a fact. Now, if you think they are too high, too low, or just right— that can be debated.
_Abobo t1_j8zamel wrote
You're being downvoted because Reddit can't reconcile a concept of the the victimized proletariat also being part of the oppressive 1%.
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