Anonymous wrote:For general services. I am a physician and make $124/hour. After 4 years of college, 4 years of medical school, $250K post-graduate educational debt, 5 years of post medical school training working 90 hours a week for $50-$70k/year (latter only at the end), and 10 years of additional clinical experience. I am a W2 employee and cannot deduct expenses.

This country is headed for a very very serious physician shortage.

Union carpenters in NYC make almost double that amount.

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Anonymous wrote:Why is no one factoring OP’s debt into the equation.

Why didn't OP factor that in before going for a profession that would cost half a million before you ever earned a dollar?

Hence the statement that this country is facing a brain drain away from medicine.

I thought doctors went in to medicine to help people. Nice to know they’re just as greedy as everyone else.

There’s a difference between greed and avoiding being a self-destructive masochist. The other helping professions don’t have a $250-400K debt after college, or a 3-7 year 5-figure salary for 90-120 hrs/week work schedule training path.

So it’s this carpenter’s fault you chose to go into a huge amount of debt to get your education. How do you know he also didn’t want to go to medical school but couldn’t afford it and chose a trade instead?

Yeah, OP is trying to posture his complaint as he (and doctors writ large) don't make enough. That is debatable, to say the least.

But the title of this post and the OP demonstrate that he is equally cranky that his carpenter makes too much. That a blue collar worker, even a craftsman, has no business making so much, particularly when doctors (in his mind) are criminally underpaid. The salary compression makes him just as upset as his own compensation does.

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Anonymous wrote:Why is no one factoring OP’s debt into the equation.

Why didn't OP factor that in before going for a profession that would cost half a million before you ever earned a dollar?

Hence the statement that this country is facing a brain drain away from medicine.

I thought doctors went in to medicine to help people. Nice to know they’re just as greedy as everyone else.

There’s a difference between greed and avoiding being a self-destructive masochist. The other helping professions don’t have a $250-400K debt after college, or a 3-7 year 5-figure salary for 90-120 hrs/week work schedule training path.

So it’s this carpenter’s fault you chose to go into a huge amount of debt to get your education. How do you know he also didn’t want to go to medical school but couldn’t afford it and chose a trade instead?

Outrageous. The nerve of this carpenter wanting a living wage in the DMV area.

Did you tell him you're a doc? Like several times? He'll probably be so impressed and grateful that he won't even charge you.

Wait until OP learns how much drug brokers and manufacturers make.

Good for your carpenter! I think he deserves it if he does a good job!

Should have became a CPA. As independent contractor CPA, have been billing $200-250 an hour for yrs and this can be considered on the lower side.

Maybe you should get carpentry insurance.

For anyone who thinks a good carpenter doesn't deserve the salary he/she makes, I invite you to read Tracy Kidder's excellent book, House.

https://www.amazon.com/House-Tracy-Kidder-ebook/dp/B005G09LRM/?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_w=ruArf&content-id=amzn1.sym.0fb2cce1-1ca4-439a-844b-8ad0b1fb77f7&pf_rd_p=0fb2cce1-1ca4-439a-844b-8ad0b1fb77f7&pf_rd_r=135-2029633-1944467&pd_rd_wg=SLvaQ&pd_rd_r=aeb3828d-4160-4d48-a64b-0f029fcd062b&ref_=aufs_ap_sc_dsk

Anonymous wrote:Why on earth does your carpenter make so much, and how did you arrive at that figure?




This country is headed for trouble in a lot of ways, particularly in healthcare as the haves and have nots get further and further apart.

Your plumber probably makes double that. Mine does.

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Anonymous wrote:How often do you have a patient bite off a finger?

In a given year, 5% of carpenters will lose a finger.

How many carpenters perform invasive procedures on HIV+ patients?

Many many doctors become sick from their work and many died from COVID they caught from patients you know.

I personally have been treated in the ER for pneumonia, MRSA infection, corneal ulcer, and other issues contracted from health care work.

Honestly, it sounds like you need to quit.

The world of medicine has changed rapidly in the last 15 years since I graduated with a degree in chemistry. You've been subsidized with NPs, PAs, nurses, and remote medicine.

The carpenter’s job, arguably, has gained value in the same time as people have moved away from cheap IKEA furniture and cheap materials/work to higher quality craftsmanship and products. In this time, the American idea that everyone needs a 4 year college degree has siphoned off young adults from going into trades.

It’s simple supply and demand.

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Anonymous wrote:Why is no one factoring OP’s debt into the equation.

Why didn't OP factor that in before going for a profession that would cost half a million before you ever earned a dollar?

Hence the statement that this country is facing a brain drain away from medicine.

I thought doctors went in to medicine to help people. Nice to know they’re just as greedy as everyone else.

Tell me you don't know any doctors without telling me you don't know any doctors.

I left off the /s. I worked in a hospital for 12 years. 😉

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Anonymous wrote:Why is no one factoring OP’s debt into the equation.

Why didn't OP factor that in before going for a profession that would cost half a million before you ever earned a dollar?

Hence the statement that this country is facing a brain drain away from medicine.

I thought doctors went in to medicine to help people. Nice to know they’re just as greedy as everyone else.

There’s a difference between greed and avoiding being a self-destructive masochist. The other helping professions don’t have a $250-400K debt after college, or a 3-7 year 5-figure salary for 90-120 hrs/week work schedule training path.

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why is no one factoring OP’s debt into the equation.

Why didn't OP factor that in before going for a profession that would cost half a million before you ever earned a dollar?

Hence the statement that this country is facing a brain drain away from medicine.

I thought doctors went in to medicine to help people. Nice to know they’re just as greedy as everyone else.

Tell me you don't know any doctors without telling me you don't know any doctors.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You know who else was a carpenter?

Jesus. Jesus was a carpenter.

He was a Jewish carpenter.

Now that is a professional class that is truly in danger of extinction, at least in the US.