Knowing I will be in debt, how long would it take to get out of debt after medical school?
I was to pursue in being a Pediatrician, maybe a surgeon, but I want to take in consideration of the time and money I am going to spend. #doctor #pre-med #doctorate-degree
3 answers
phillip’s Answer
Hello Phillip the time and money depends on how long and how much student loan you will need. If you can take as much class as you can through your local community college. Not sure what part of Dallas you are in, I know there are several great community colleges near you like Collin county and Dallas County. If you are going to be a surgeon, you should not have to worry about money. You can get scholarship and student loan to cover you while you are in school. After you graduate, you can start paying them off slowly. Most of the interest on your loan will be a tax write off. Good luck.
Richard’s Answer
Another unfortunate consequence of debt is limiting the student's choices after graduation. If a student has a passion for pediatrics, but crippling debt, they may be forced to apply to residencies with higher future earning potential.
A typical experience would be to complete residency and become an employee of a group. You aren't able to pay down your debt much because you are saving to become a partner. You buy into the group and then start making partnership money. That's when you are able to really tackle that debt.
So the answer depends on 1) how much debt 2) what specialty and 3) how long it takes to become partner.
But typically you are looking at 10-15 years to pay back your student debt.
On a side note, watch this video which compares a UPS driver to a physician. It makes a lot of assumptions about debt and saving/investment, but concludes that the average primary care physician doesn't become financially better off than a driver until age 53.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2503XQU1feE
Rachel’s Answer
https://www.whitecoatinvestor.com/what-to-do-if-you-have-monster-debt/