dagobear Posted June 17, 2013 Report Share Posted June 17, 2013 I've been doing some research into renumeration of physicians in Canada. I would consider living in British Columbia or continue to live in Ontario. Big city. Renumeration as a psychiatrist for example is on average 180 000. That's not a lot considering the debt load I will have (let's say 200 000, including debt from student loans from undergrad). Is this why people are focussing on a specialty with great renumeration? I honestly do not blame them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dazzle Posted June 17, 2013 Report Share Posted June 17, 2013 psychiatry is a specialty... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dagobear Posted June 17, 2013 Author Report Share Posted June 17, 2013 I meant to say "with" great renumeration. Edited. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lonney Posted June 17, 2013 Report Share Posted June 17, 2013 Ah okay making 4 times the average salary is not that great....gotcha Also the fact that you can incorporate yourself is a big ++ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diceroll2011 Posted June 17, 2013 Report Share Posted June 17, 2013 Psych is pretty much the bottom of the pay scale. Although the specialty has a reputation of a cozy lifestyle. 180K is still a high amount of money. I don't think it should deter you if that is your only downside to psychiatry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dagobear Posted June 17, 2013 Author Report Share Posted June 17, 2013 I plan to be on the academic side, so no incorporation for me. Research and all. Money is never a problem for people who have it. I'm doing everything on my own (no help from anyone but the government). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sleeping_sickness Posted June 17, 2013 Report Share Posted June 17, 2013 Hey! I've also seen the stats on how much psychiatrists make and I was curious, so I asked someone (a physician, albeit not a psychiatrist)! Apparently, psychiatrists do a lot of work in the private sector. The salary listed is for solely public sector work. That income could easily be supplemented and most psychiatrists end up earning roughly what someone in a "better remunerated" specialty might earn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dagobear Posted June 17, 2013 Author Report Share Posted June 17, 2013 I didn't think it was allowed for an individual to do public AND private sector work simultaneously. Especially if you are in an academic position within the university. I get the impression it's either: make money by going private or do research and pay off your loan forEVER and EVER Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aaronjw Posted June 17, 2013 Report Share Posted June 17, 2013 I didn't think it was allowed for an individual to do public AND private sector work simultaneously. Especially if you are in an academic position within the university. I get the impression it's either: make money by going private or do research and pay off your loan forEVER and EVER Oh please. Take your whining somewhere else. You act as if making only $180K/yr is some financial hardship. As a physician you're in a much better position to pay back your school loans than a non-medical student. If you're so worried about loans then don't go to medical school. Problem solved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dazzle Posted June 17, 2013 Report Share Posted June 17, 2013 Oh please. Take your whining somewhere else. You act as if making only $180K/yr is some financial hardship. As a physician you're in a much better position to pay back your school loans than a non-medical student. If you're so worried about loans then don't go to medical school. Problem solved. quite a dumb response. a person has the liberty to be worried with whatever they want to be worried with a medical student debt does not equal any other kind of student debt and sure he/she will be able to pay back his/her loan but may take multiple years Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A-Stark Posted June 17, 2013 Report Share Posted June 17, 2013 I plan to be on the academic side, so no incorporation for me. Research and all. Money is never a problem for people who have it. I'm doing everything on my own (no help from anyone but the government). Unless you're actually paid a salary an an employee, you can still incorporate. Most academic physicians end up on some salary-esque "alternate finance plan" which is just a non-fee-for-service billing model (though shadow billing may occur). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmorelan Posted June 17, 2013 Report Share Posted June 17, 2013 Psych is pretty much the bottom of the pay scale. Although the specialty has a reputation of a cozy lifestyle. 180K is still a high amount of money. I don't think it should deter you if that is your only downside to psychiatry. Extremely good lifestyle. Pretty cool field. The 9-5 approach is one of the reasons pay is relatively low. You can earn more by doing more. and yeah 180K is a huge income still. People aren't forced into that field - they chose to - so they are doing an area that interests them, with a lifestyle they love, for still a nice chuck of money The idea of doing something you aren't as passionate about for 40 years, particularly after a threshold of income, really doesn't make much sense to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danisings Posted June 17, 2013 Report Share Posted June 17, 2013 Renumeration as a psychiatrist for example is on average 180 000. That's not a lot considering the debt load I will have (let's say 200 000, including debt from student loans from undergrad). Call me crazy but a ratio of debt to earning potential that is almost 1:1 sounds pretty reasonable. If you want to live in a big city, I'm sure you could make it work while paying off your debt in <10 years. If you're worried about budgeting you might want to talk to the financial advisors at you school or seek counsel with a personal accountant. People have paid off more earning far less, just live with in your means and balance your speciality choice considering both your interest level and what you want your means to be (since that is of concern to you). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oenak138 Posted June 17, 2013 Report Share Posted June 17, 2013 As someone with a wife and daughter who is leaving a 165K annual income to start an undergrad and pursue medicine, I do not understand this thread. You can make all the money in the world, but it will not exponentially increase your quality of life and happiness. Their is only one right reason to pursue medicine.....love for the profession. The higher-than-average income is just a bonus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dagobear Posted June 17, 2013 Author Report Share Posted June 17, 2013 ^ Sounds like you're not in a position to be -200K, congratulations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chicagoschool Posted June 17, 2013 Report Share Posted June 17, 2013 I'm doing everything on my own (no help from anyone but the government). I sincerely hope this was a toungue-in-cheek line... (bolding mine) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tberry3 Posted June 17, 2013 Report Share Posted June 17, 2013 ^ Sounds like you're not in a position to be -200K, congratulations. If you think being in that much debt is a unique situation, you're mistaken. I'll be in the same position and I know plenty of other people who will be as well. As has been said above - a 1:1 earnings to debt ratio isn't bad at all. You could easily pay that off within 10 years while living a well above-average lifestyle, I would think. That being said - as someone who grew up in a low-middle income family, $180k sounds like an absurd sum of money to me. I have no idea what I would even do with that much, let alone more. Different perspectives, I guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmorelan Posted June 17, 2013 Report Share Posted June 17, 2013 I sincerely hope this was a toungue-in-cheek line... (bolding mine) ha None of us can do it all by ourselves even if we wanted to - the tuition we pay is only about 25% of the true cost each year for a medical student. Tag on any government loans/grants, bursaries....... Have I mentioned how much I like the Canadian system lately? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leon Posted June 17, 2013 Report Share Posted June 17, 2013 ha None of us can do it all by ourselves even if we wanted to - the tuition we pay is only about 25% of the true cost each year for a medical student. Tag on any government loans/grants, bursaries....... Have I mentioned how much I like the Canadian system lately? Yea, it's truly amazing- the level of support one gets for their education in Canada is just....... Before I migrated here I was trying to calculate the costs associated with doing your undergrad + MD as an international student in Canada. The figures were.......astronomical. Most people don't realize that their tuition is heavily heavily subsidized. All of us here are very privileged to have what we have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danisings Posted June 17, 2013 Report Share Posted June 17, 2013 All of us here are very privileged to have what we have. Word. "To those whom much is given, much is expected." JFK/he was paraphrasing the bible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aaronjw Posted June 17, 2013 Report Share Posted June 17, 2013 Word. "To those whom much is given, much is expected." JFK/he was paraphrasing the bible. Unfortunately a lot think it's their right and not a privilege. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tberry3 Posted June 17, 2013 Report Share Posted June 17, 2013 Yea, it's truly amazing- the level of support one gets for their education in Canada is just....... Before I migrated here I was trying to calculate the costs associated with doing your undergrad + MD as an international student in Canada. The figures were.......astronomical. Most people don't realize that their tuition is heavily heavily subsidized. All of us here are very privileged to have what we have. Reminds me of a time during undergrad when someone from Ivey Business School came to advertise their MBA program. Tuition is $80,000 for a one-year program. I asked the rep why it was worth so much more than basically any other degree, and he answered honestly: "It's not, but it's unregulated, so we can charge whatever we want as long as people are willing to pay." Really gave me a different perspective on my tuition at the time. I always thought it was too much, but without government regulations and subsidies it's pretty crazy to think of how much worse it could have been. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dagobear Posted June 17, 2013 Author Report Share Posted June 17, 2013 then there are my friends in the UK who used to pay a grand total of 1500pounds for all 6 years although their tuition is now much higher too... i hear sweden it's free Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leon Posted June 17, 2013 Report Share Posted June 17, 2013 Amusing how one wants a medical education free of charge so they can make $200K+ for the rest of their lives. Different countries work on very different models. If you're going to bring up countries that manage to offer free education- there are far more countries that work very much the other way. I paid over $10K for my high school education- and that is a terribly high sum of money for the country I'm from. If I hadn't gained residency in Canada, I would have paid around $135,000 for my Bachelors degree ($21K tuition per year + living on apples and water), and then $200,000 for MD tuition ALONE + 75K living for 4 years. So yea. Both extremes exist and I think Canada sits towards the better end of the scale. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aaronjw Posted June 17, 2013 Report Share Posted June 17, 2013 then there are my friends in the UK who used to pay a grand total of 1500pounds for all 6 years although their tuition is now much higher too... i hear sweden it's free Bon voyage! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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