The professional-class bubble is bursting

[Prince Medward]

The article may be sensationalistic and the facts may be incorrect. However, the essential point of the article is true.

 

This generation of professionals has it much worse that the babyboom generation of professionals. Med nd Law are not nearly as good for us as they were for them.

 

It's one more example of how the previous generation gobbled up all the money and opportunities leaving their children with deficits, pay-cuts, outsourcing of jobs and unaffordable real estate.

[rogerroger]

Wow, you guys really did have a lot to say about that globe article I posted.

 

Now if you are sufficiently disillusioned with medicine...

 

Here is a more optimistic article from the National Post. Albeit, not directly medicine related, it is an interesting contrast.

 

A life fulfilled in the skilled trades

 

.

[Birdy]

Wow, you guys really did have a lot to say about that globe article I posted.

 

Now if you are sufficiently disillusioned with medicine...

 

Here is a more optimistic article from the National Post. Albeit, not directly medicine related, it is an interesting contrast.

 

A life fulfilled in the skilled trades

 

.

 

A wonderful article. I really like how he addresses women in the trades, as an untapped resource. My husband's employer (oil rig servicing company) has 150 employees, three of whom are women. The receptionists and the benefits coordinator. If women in particular were not so discouraged from entering the skilled trades, perhaps it wouldn't be so difficult for that company and others like it to find workers.

 

However, there is also a fairly strong culture of sexism in the trades, which the article does not address. A lot of women simply do not want to pursue careers where harassment is the norm, or where their gender may severely limit their ability to attract customers. It will be difficult, I think, to attract more women to these jobs until that changes. Not every woman who enjoys working with her hands will want to work in that atmosphere.

[RedLily]

Society is a collection of individuals.

 

It starts with the individual. And the better the health of each individual, the better the society.

 

This is what I think of when people talk about making a difference or change in the world as a doctor. That changing the world doesn't necessarily have to happen through the development of some new procedure, surgical technique or discovery, but also be the impact that you could make for one person, how your own personal approach could possibly make all difference in a person's health care experience. Large scale actions don't have to be the only way you change the world

[future_doc]

Absolutely. Save one person and you save the world!

 

Unless involved in public health, all doctors can do, is help one patient at a time.

[megaMooMoo]

A wonderful article. I really like how he addresses women in the trades, as an untapped resource. My husband's employer (oil rig servicing company) has 150 employees, three of whom are women. The receptionists and the benefits coordinator. If women in particular were not so discouraged from entering the skilled trades, perhaps it wouldn't be so difficult for that company and others like it to find workers.

 

However, there is also a fairly strong culture of sexism in the trades, which the article does not address. A lot of women simply do not want to pursue careers where harassment is the norm, or where their gender may severely limit their ability to attract customers. It will be difficult, I think, to attract more women to these jobs until that changes. Not every woman who enjoys working with her hands will want to work in that atmosphere.

 

i work as a brick layer and we had a few ladies who worked as general labourers. no one made fun of them bc they were women. in fact they were very pleasant to work with, except that they could only carry 1/2 the bricks/mortar that we could = /

[future_doc]

u r not in high school. you cannot be this intelligent and be 17.

 

You are confusing the meaning of the word intelligence.

[nonstop]

Just for the record, "circlejerk" doesn't mean to literally sit around in a circle and masturbate. A good definition in urbandictionary is:

"A group discussion or activity between like-minded individuals that validates mutual biases or goals in a non-confrontational environment."

To say that pm101 is a circlejerk means that everyone usually will say something which they know is the most agreeable, in order to feel accepted and avoid conflict; ie, not many people will "swim against the current" and challenge the norm like I did, (or medigeek sometimes does), as they get branded as "jerks" or unintelligent. I don't have anything against this social "policy", btw. It's pretty normal in most forums. Just thought i'd point it out.

 

haha does realizing that you aren't up-to-date on street lingo make you feel old? I bet it does.

[tupacandbiggie]

It is only human nature for you to aggressively defend your decision, especially when someone is attacking it's very foundation. I'm not offended.

 

I've been lurking these forums for a couple of years and I know the general attitude of the folks around here and I feel that's it's just one big circlejerk that over-glorifies medicine. Seriously. It's just a profession. And I don't understand the deal of "placing your life above others".

You wanna know who places their life above others? airline pilots, ship captains, firefighters. Your life isn't exactly in danger when you're in the OR/clinic treating patients. Oh maybe you'll miss that quality time that you've been planning to spend with your spouse and kids. Well you make sixfigs so don't complain.

 

Again I am not protecting medicine at all. I am just pointing out how little you know about the field and yet pretending (or thinking you know so much) to know so much about it. And after people pointing it out you still don't see it. Listen up, if you wanna dig up my previous posts you will see where I stand. I chose medicine mainly for it's career stability, prestige, money. It sure is interesting just like a lot of the other careers but it's the best package for me. I am not glorifying it at all, and I always argue with people who think medicine is a field of altruism (It's not). But having said all that, the point i am bringing up with u is how rude and ignorant you r to those people who contribute so much to the society in every way. You are very disrespectful to those individuals who are not politicians or those well known people you mentioned. You clearly don't show any respect to people that don't win a Nobel prize because their work is not worthy of doing.

[Robin Hood]

By nonstop's logic, people who suffer from severe mental disorders (like intellectual deficit) are a waste of oxygen because they can't do the slighest contribution to anyone.

BTW, Hitler has his name remembered because of his dehumanizing views (and their consequences).

[megaMooMoo]

You are confusing the meaning of the word intelligence.

 

i can spell it out in french for you if you prefer? sure, the words from that high schooler are crude and jaded. but its sure as hell better than the naive kumbaya mumbo jumbo coming from the rest of the premeds.

 

hearing stuff like "medicine is the ONLY career that could make me happy" and "putting others before myself in this profession" is simply laughable, that is unless you plan on joining Docs without boarders for a decade or so. In this case then I humbly take back what i said. slim chance though..right =/

[future_doc]

I am just pointing out how little you know about the field and yet pretending (or thinking you know so much) to know so much about it........the point i am bringing up with u is how rude and ignorant you r to those people who contribute so much to the society in every way. You are very disrespectful to those individuals who are not politicians .................. You clearly don't show any respect

 

Yes.......

[medigeek]

i can spell it out in french for you if you prefer? sure, the words from that high schooler are crude and jaded. but its sure as hell better than the naive kumbaya mumbo jumbo coming from the rest of the premeds.

 

hearing stuff like "medicine is the ONLY career that could make me happy" and "putting others before myself in this profession" is simply laughable, that is unless you plan on joining Docs without boarders for a decade or so. In this case then I humbly take back what i said. slim chance though..right =/

 

Agree with this but it's extremely unrealistic to expect of yourself to discover something that'll change the world. It just won't happen.

[apache]

+1… but i'm going to challenge you on this... my dream job would be to be a touring guitarist/bassist, lots of diff genres, great pay check, travelling, plus stage high, that beats medicine, law, anything else i can think off… any day… i haven't done it, but something tells me i'd enjoy it… of course though, i'm sure the gruelling schedule and never being in one place would suck… and id prob wanna do other things too… in fact i'd prob write a ton on the road… so in reality there's no perfect career, and you can't know what you'd enjoy until you do it often

 

You have absolutely no way of knowing that.

 

Really find funny when people with no life work experience beyond say Mc****s, Tmmies or retail work can say that medicine or any other career is the only only that will make them happy. Delusional at best

[apache]

so do i get consideration as adjunct, non tenure-track leader with no mod privileges, lol...

 

You are confusing

[apache]

i was reading alberta venture, and i have to say, alberta is economic heaven… 120 g jobs for jr-mid level eng's everywhere… us social science guys can pick up huge bucks selling contracts too, or working maintaining customer relations w/ big customers

 

Are you sure the job market is that great? What about technology causing a decrease in the demand for the jobs?

 

Engineering doesn't have a good market/good pay unless you're in alberta. A lot of engineers will be happy to start with 45k in toronto/gta. I've heard the same for comp sci.

 

Of course you can look at the top 10% which get high paying jobs to start, but there's more people doing that in medicine/law than pretty much any career path.

[apache]

i'm changing the world, put the world out, discoveries, that's not my thing, i'm thinking more mobilizing idea's from behind the scenes and via soliciting financial resources with tangental interests... someone else will be giving the big speeches one day, but i'm going to be writing the speech, lol, there's some narcissistic personality disorder for you , lol

 

Agree with this but it's extremely unrealistic to expect of yourself to discover something that'll change the world. It just won't happen.

[mrwisdom]

Doom and gloom.

[nonstop]

i'm changing the world, put the world out, discoveries, that's not my thing, i'm thinking more mobilizing idea's from behind the scenes and via soliciting financial resources with tangental interests... someone else will be giving the big speeches one day, but i'm going to be writing the speech, lol, there's some narcissistic personality disorder for you , lol

 

That's okay because imo fame is temporary. I feel that it is completely insignificant.

[future_doc]

wasn't my impression

[apache]

Lol, I'd prefer if no one ever knew who I was, I just want the power and influence behind the scenes.

 

That's okay because imo fame is temporary. I feel that it is completely insignificant.

[future_doc]

I understand

[megaMooMoo]

so do i get consideration as adjunct, non tenure-track leader with no mod privileges, lol...

 

trust me thats a good thing

[apache]

Lol, there's a lot of ways to read into this...

 

trust me thats a good thing

[UBCStudent128]

I used to feel the same way as nonstop, thinking that medicine won't change the world and I will end up with insignificant life.

But after experiencing losing someone close to you, you realize that preventive medicine/emergency medicine or whatever that save one or two lives can be 'changing the world' for the patients and their family.

But I also agree that if that doctor wasn't in that spot, another easily could have. But then you can use the same logic for every other profession.

 

If someone didn't find cure to a disease, another would soon. I don't see how that is 'significant' or 'changing the world' per se in nonstop's definition either.

 

But really saying you won't be a great doctor if you go into medicine primarily for money/prestige is bull.. I know tons of docs that value money/prestige the most, yet I would consider them to be great doctors. Patients love them.

 

People on pm101 have most ridiculous logic that if you care about money, you must not care about patients.. That is not true. You can be just as empathetic and caring to patients, but still have chosen medicine primarily for money/prestige.