Jump to content
Premed 101 Forums

early retirement


offmychestplease

Recommended Posts

Just a thought for curiosity's sake

I often hear there are doctors out there that work well after age 70+ which is commendable and amazing. I'm just curious...has anyone heard of doctors on the other extreme who work (or plan to work) for 10-15 years and call it quits early?

Let's say one beings as an attending at age 30...works very hard for 10-15 years, saves and invests wisely...could they retire at 40-45? 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, offmychestplease said:

Let's say one beings as an attending at age 30...works very hard for 10-15 years, saves and invests wisely...could they retire at 40-45? 

Sure, why not. Depends on one's needs and the level of comfort.

However, for many, medicine is not a shortcut to a good retirement or prosperity. People work well into 70s and 80s because they simply cannot let go the one thing they love. Personally, I don't see myself retiring at any age. I hope to work until I can't no more.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yup - FIRE doctors - and they are out there. Additionally there are many others just going part time (every weekend, is a 4 day long weekend......). This by the way handles both the people doing what they love for as long as they can, and the idea of having time to do other things. 

retiring early is all about earning what you can, and control expenses as much as you can. The only question really is what standard of living do you want in retirement. 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I mean FIRE is very achievable within 10 years of practice, unless you have massive student debt, or plan to have that seaside cottage with yacht, or are stuck paying alimony or something. That assumes you are comfortable with a 60K/yr lifestyle, not a 200K/year lifestyle.

A lot of old doctors I find are bored without going to work. Honestly it's not that they really need the money, their house in GTA and cottage in Muskoka is already worth a fortune. I think a lot of them just don't like to sit and do nothing and needs to putter around a bit. 

On the other hand I know people who are slaving away because they gotta keep their (almost) ex-wife and multiple children happy until they hit university lol.

Let's say you finish Uni at 21, go to Mac/Calg, start residency at 24, start practice FM at 26, you should achieve FIRE by 40 no problem.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 6/27/2021 at 5:52 PM, shikimate said:

I mean FIRE is very achievable within 10 years of practice, unless you have massive student debt, or plan to have that seaside cottage with yacht, or are stuck paying alimony or something. That assumes you are comfortable with a 60K/yr lifestyle, not a 200K/year lifestyle.

A lot of old doctors I find are bored without going to work. Honestly it's not that they really need the money, their house in GTA and cottage in Muskoka is already worth a fortune. I think a lot of them just don't like to sit and do nothing and needs to putter around a bit. 

On the other hand I know people who are slaving away because they gotta keep their (almost) ex-wife and multiple children happy until they hit university lol.

Let's say you finish Uni at 21, go to Mac/Calg, start residency at 24, start practice FM at 26, you should achieve FIRE by 40 no problem.

Did this - Calg, 5 yr residency done at 28. One year fellowship though. 
 

I quite enjoy my job and am looking forward to my fancy house and view, as well as having a comfortable family. It absolutely was a positive financial decision though for the 3 year MD program - that is one more year at senior attending salary, and can’t complain about that.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, ChemPetE said:

Did this - Calg, 5 yr residency done at 28. One year fellowship though. 
 

I quite enjoy my job and am looking forward to my fancy house and view, as well as having a comfortable family. It absolutely was a positive financial decision though for the 3 year MD program - that is one more year at senior attending salary, and can’t complain about that.

If you got into UofC at the earliest possible age after third year UG (21) finished at 24, did a 5 year residency and then one year fellowship like you said you would be done at 30 at the very earliest, not 28?

your old posts show you got in after 4th year UG (22), then finished at 25, and after 5 year residency and fellowship you would be 31, not 28

Link to comment
Share on other sites

37 minutes ago, offmychestplease said:

If you got into UofC at the earliest possible age after third year UG (21) finished at 24, did a 5 year residency and then one year fellowship like you said you would be done at 30 at the very earliest, not 28?

your old posts show you got in after 4th year UG (22), then finished at 25, and after 5 year residency and fellowship you would be 31, not 28

They could have skipped years during elementary or high school. One of my classmates did a 4 year undergrad and finished our 4 year medical school at 24.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

well now we're comparing fast routes, you can just do high school in 3 years, go to UK/Australia for 5 year MBBS degree, and start residency at 22. 

I remember in the US there was some child prodigy that did undergrad when he was around 14 and finished med school around 18 or so.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, shikimate said:

well now we're comparing fast routes

:D exactly

To me personally, a faster med school is a disadvantage. I think it is a mistake to choose programs based on financial reasons. I chose a 4-year program to have a more paced, richer and ultimately better training. The prospects of being able to retire a year earlier means absolutely nothing to me.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

18 minutes ago, who_knows said:

:D exactly

To me personally, a faster med school is a disadvantage. I think it is mistake to choose programs based on financial reasons. I chose a 4-year program to have a more paced, richer and ultimately better training. The prospects of being able to retire a year earlier means absolutely nothing to me.

"To me personally" is exactly the point :) 

This is a highly personal choice to say the least. Also I think it is really important to note that a ton of people doing the early retirement pathway don't actually want to retire at all - even in many cases from their original career pathway. They instead want the freedom to do whatever they want . Even in medicine that can mean restricting your practise area to particular cases, and working a lot less than normal. With FIRE it is the financial independence part that is the most important over the retire early

Some of the people I know who went that route work around 50% of normal. Long weekends every week and 15-20 weeks of vacation a year without significant money concerns. You pay the price of not having as big of a bank account and not as many fancy things, but you do have time. Lots and lots of time. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, who_knows said:

rmorelan, totally understand. What I am trying to say is that cramming your training does not worth achieving FIRE one year earlier.

I get that but my point is for some it I guess it might. Particularly I suppose if you know exactly what field of medicine you want to do and know you won't have too much issue getting it. There is a real financial cost if you think of it that way for doing that extra year (hundreds of thousands of dollars in some fields). 

I too thought going 4 years was better for me, and that decision is not one I think was incorrect even with hindsight. yet I am pretty hesitate to say that is the right solution for everyone - I do know other doctors for which the extra year would have been a complete waste of time. Some also find medical school a painful process - there is a ton of time spend on things that ultimately are completely useless for many people.   Some people just want it done with. 

There is also the assumption - which could be right or wrong - that a 3 year program is "cramming" anything at all. Ha, that term has a negative ring to it. Those 3 year programs certainly wouldn't put it that way. 

Edited by rmorelan
Link to comment
Share on other sites

20 hours ago, offmychestplease said:

If you got into UofC at the earliest possible age after third year UG (21) finished at 24, did a 5 year residency and then one year fellowship like you said you would be done at 30 at the very earliest, not 28?

your old posts show you got in after 4th year UG (22), then finished at 25, and after 5 year residency and fellowship you would be 31, not 28

Sorry I should be more specific - MD was done at 23, specialty 28

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, offmychestplease said:

so you finished your 4 year undergrad in 2 years?

That time range is not that rare to the point of disbelief.

I know a few residents who will be finishing 5 year specialties between 28-30 years of age or even younger. For some it was because they did Cegep, for others they did a 4-year medical school overseas fresh out of high school, and for others they were just relentlessly quick within our own system (e.g. skipped a year of HS, got in after 3 years undergrad, 3 year medical school, etc.). That last one is the rarest of all but medicine tends to draw uber achievers.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, 1D7 said:

That time range is not that rare to the point of disbelief.

I know a few residents who will be finishing 5 year specialties between 28-30 years of age or even younger. For some it was because they did Cegep, for others they did a 4-year medical school overseas fresh out of high school, and for others they were just relentlessly quick within our own system (e.g. skipped a year of HS, got in after 3 years undergrad, 3 year medical school, etc.). That last one is the rarest of all but medicine tends to draw uber achievers.

I'm aware, I just looked up his past post which shows he got into UofC (3 years) after his 4th year UG in AB...then he did a 5 year residency, then 1 year fellowship = 4 + 3 + 5 + 1 = 13 years after high school = 31 years old not "28"

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, offmychestplease said:

so you finished your 4 year undergrad in 2 years?

it's possible - I did 2 different UG degrees in 4 years at Waterloo. It takes a lot of planning, and I used my summers as well. It is harder to do them in separate 2 year blocks just because courses don't line up always. 

Edited by rmorelan
Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, offmychestplease said:

I'm aware, I just looked up his past post which shows he got into UofC (3 years) after his 4th year UG in AB...then he did a 5 year residency, then 1 year fellowship = 4 + 3 + 5 + 1 = 13 years after high school = 31 years old not "28"

Well as @ChemPetE said, they were done their MD at 23 and so makes sense to be finished residency at 28... certainly not impossible. I finished my 4-year undergrad at 21 and will be completing my MD at 24, and residency at 29... and I took the standard time to complete high school so someone could be done at 28 if they had an accelerated primary education.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You finished your UG at 21...turning 22 in that calendar year, will finish MD at 24, turning 25 that year, residency at 29 turning 30. This does not include possible fellowships/graduate degrees after either. 

I don’t know why this has got so derailed lol it really doesn’t matter I was just curious how the numbers added up.. I guess some people don’t consider the age they are turning that calendar year 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Lol at people trying to look at my old posts

-skipped a grade in elementary, so where my birthday lies I finished up high school at 16

-4 year undergrad - 20

-3 years med - 23

- 5 year specialty - 28

I definitely was on the younger side of my med class, but I certainly wasn’t the youngest. There were at least 2 or 3 people younger. idk what else to tell you lol
 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 7/6/2021 at 1:35 PM, ChemPetE said:

Lol at people trying to look at my old posts

-skipped a grade in elementary, so where my birthday lies I finished up high school at 16

-4 year undergrad - 20

-3 years med - 23

- 5 year specialty - 28

I definitely was on the younger side of my med class, but I certainly wasn’t the youngest. There were at least 2 or 3 people younger. idk what else to tell you lol
 

 

Why did you skip a grade in elementary?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...