How much do Doctors and Lawyers get paid?

[Clemenza]

Law is all over the place. I'm a lawyer and make a pretty decent salary, but most of it depends on where you work, what type of law you are doing and how you did in school. I've got friends that are spread out all over the spectrum from 40k a year to 6 figures. The most successful lawyers I know don't work in a firm and were successful in starting their own practice. They make the kind of money that lets them laugh at "big firm" lawyers. A good friend is a straight ambulance chaser and makes over a million a year by running his own show.

I'd say most of the people I know are above the median salary for this area but are not super rich by any means.

 

[Cappuccino]

Canadian doctors make on average $307,000 per year. Not bad for social health. No wonder my taxes are ludicrously high. Jobs are guaranteed too. Doctors are always in demand as long as you're willing to move to the middle of nowhere.

Of course the hours you work is insane, med school costs a fortune, and it takes forever to get certified. That's why practising medicine is a calling.

Of course the only qualification for being a lawyers is being a greasy scumbag. Hours are shorter too.

Ill be £50k in debt. Im studyng Dentistry.

Its all.about results and top 10 unis. If you get a shit result you get nowhere (Medicine) imo. Why? All deh Asians are coming to the UK to studying the best degree i.e. Medicine. The scary part is that they most likely to achieve the best grades (1st) than rest of us.

Im telling you Asians have a special gene that we normal people dont have. (no racist intended)

 

[billbobaggins87]

coming from working in the medical field i would never want to be a doctor. Debt/pay/lifestyle don't match up. The time it takes to get through school matched with the debt put an enormous investment of your life towards the career.(school years+debt and the time it takes to pay off) also once you've accomplished all of this, the lifestyle is committed to work.

 

[spacejamz]

Also there is going to be a HUGE influx of doctors in the next 20 years

Really??

https://www.aamc.org/newsroom/repor...sing_the_physician_shortage_under_reform.html

A physician shortage was already expected before ACA was signed into law in March 2010, and now that gap could worsen. According to projections released last fall by the AAMC Center for Workforce Studies, there will be a shortage of about 63,000 doctors by 2015, with greater shortages on the horizon—91,500 and 130,600 for 2020 and 2025, respectively.

 

[dr150]

OP,
You're going to be geared for LIFE DISAPPOINT if you base your career on money alone.

It'll be difficult to be truly successful as the passion won't be there, even with the big paycheck. Your colleagues that are more passionate will distance you.

Find a passion. That is the key to happiness and success.

That said, if you worship at the altar of money and have a huge brain, then medicine is the most recession proof degree.

 

[zinfamous]

Lawyers get paid in hookers, Doctors get paid in blow.

One might argue that the comparison is relatively equal.

 

[madoka]

Ill be £50k in debt. Im studyng Dentistry.

Its all.about results and top 10 unis. If you get a shit result you get nowhere (Medicine) imo. Why? All deh Asians are coming to the UK to studying the best degree i.e. Medicine. The scary part is that they most likely to achieve the best grades (1st) than rest of us.

Im telling you Asians have a special gene that we normal people dont have. (no racist intended)

Would that be the "hard work gene" or the "knows-how-to-write-properly gene"?

 

[HardcoreRobot]

you are a moron if you arent going to let compensation influence your occupation & education decisions

 

[john88]

depends on how good they are but generally they earn a lot as compared to others

 

[mizzou]

"Doctor" is such a broad profession.

Family style indie doctor's not as much as big box specialists. Well well over 100k. Lawyers usually pull in 60-100 on average I would say. Some state attorneys start at like 45 but can top out over 100

 

[Slew Foot]

A good lawyer will see their salary increase throughout their career. EVERY doctor will see their salary decrease over time.

 

[alien42]

I want to become either a doctor or lawyer. I am not going have my choice influenced by money

am i the only seeing the irony here? it is quite clear that you have already decided your profession based on money.

 

[preCRT]

I think tighter control is on the number of residency spots available. I think there are more graduates each year than there are residency spots. I may be wrong. There are international residents that may be displacing some US candidates. Regardless, there are med school graduates that don't get placed into residency.

Med school grads who didn't match applied to programs in which they had no chance.

And there are residency programs so awful they can only attract grads of foreign med schools.

 

[Patranus]

Also there is going to be a HUGE influx of doctors in the next 20 years

In America? Nope. Thanks to Obamacare.

 

[Mark R]

In the UK, A hospital Dr (non-specialist) will make around £36-70k (depending on hours and experience). When you hit specialist level (depending on specialism) you will make anywhere between £75-£100k (depending on seniority, and overtime).

Fixed that for you.

 

[Sho'Nuff]

I want to become... a ... lawyer.

No you don't. Trust me.

<----------- Lawyer.

And the answer to your question is "not enough."

 

[Sho'Nuff]

Lawyers get paid in hookersalcohol, Doctors get paid in blow.

One might argue that the comparison is relatively equal.

FTFY

 

[Staples]

Im telling you Asians have a special gene that we normal people dont have. (no racist intended)

I am not so sure of that. I live in silicon valley and this place is flooded with native born Asians and Indians. Go into any of the high tech companies here and their offices are filled with Asians. I have wondered about this forever but it occurs to me that there are millions of very smart people from those countries who can't find jobs over there (or ones that pay worth a damn) so they come over here. Doesn't help that most these high tech companies recruit them and lobby congress to lift the number of foreign workers that can come over to the US.

 

[Imp]

Totally anecdotal evidence, but I've heard of some doctors who specialized in whatever and couldn't find a job over a year after finishing up all requirements.

I have been thinking of going to law school, but upon actually researching the field, it's not looking so good. Work doesn't sound too interesting either -- not what you see on TV or what you see on TV is accompanied by 50 hours of research per hour of court time. I'm put off by the application process and tuition. Cheapest law school her is around $10k/year (bottom tier), I think, for 3 years. Only problem is those are all out of town, so tack on moving expenses, 3 years of lost salary, and coming out to make maybe $60k (lower than what I could be making soon), no thanks? Grade-A schools in my country are about $20k/year tuition. Shit.

 

[nephilim2k]

Fixed that for you.

Not sure how it was fixed...I come from a family of Dr's in 1 form or another.

I have a mother that specialised in Migraines and Neurology - pulls in over £150k a year (Works at UCL institute of Neurology)
I have a father that was a military surgeon (amputations and the like) - pulled in £90k a year in the military, when he left this jumped up to around £110k before retiring (Worked in Queen Marys hospital in Roehampton)
I have an uncle that is a paediatrician - pulls in around £105k (Works at Lister Hospital in Stevenage)
I have a brother that just finished his medical training (well in April) and found a job at a surgery near to us - pulls in £60k, and he works in a GP surgery in Luton.

They all work/worked 50-60 hour weeks give or take. This is not speculation, but fact.

My middle brother and I are the least qualified in our house, yet we both have offers of PhD study at prestigious universities should we choose too. A family of Drs, I have grown up not going to a GP, and my family being reasonably well off, I have also seen the payslips from various family members when asking about what they earn. Unless they forged them, they are making/made those figures listed above.

 

[Eug]

Totally anecdotal evidence, but I've heard of some doctors who specialized in whatever and couldn't find a job over a year after finishing up all requirements.

In Canada (where you're from), this happens not infrequently, but a lot of times it's due to the fact that they don't want to work in certain places. There are often a lot of specialist jobs in the Maritimes for example, but they are chronically understaffed. For some fields one problem was because they paid less, but even when they raised the pay past national averages (which is worth a lot more in the Maritimes, because living costs are much lower), they still had problems. Same goes for positions up north.

Meanwhile, those who want to stay in places like Vancouver and Toronto often don't get jobs.

 

[Mark R]

Not sure how it was fixed...I come from a family of Dr's in 1 form or another.

So do I, and I am a specialist physician myself, so I know the payscales.

Doctor's pay in the UK has been slashed massively, trainees (residents) have had approximately a 40% pay cut, due to massive reduction in hours.

Specialists pay depends on hours worked. However, for a 40 hour week (which is now standard for new hires. In London, many employers are trying to hire on 32-36 hours contracts), a specialist is paid £75k, rising to £100k after 10 years.

Some specialists on pre 2005 contracts may be paid for 50-70 hours, and this way they could get £150k, due to seniority. New hires aren't going to get anywhere near that level. Yes, it really is like that. My senior mentor does the same job as me, works the same hours as me, but I have a 40 hour contract and he has a 60 hour contract!

 

[Clemenza]

No you don't. Trust me.

<----------- Lawyer.

And the answer to your question is "not enough."

This. If I had it to do over again, I never would have went to law school.

 

[Eug]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/9...re-not-paid-six-figure-sums-figures-show.html

How doctors salaries compare to other public sector workers

GPs - £103,000 a year for partners and £81,158 for GPs
Hospital consultants - £74,504 to £100,446 a year
Trainee doctors - £23,533 a year rising to £65,392 a year.
Tube driver - £45,000 to £46,000 a year.
Teachers - Up to £41,500 a year
Police constable - £21,000 to £36,500 a year
Average primary school headteacher (local authority controlled) - £51,800
Averaeg secondary school headteacher (local authority controlled) - £60,900

 

[vshah]

makes me happy that my wife has a full ride + stipend to med school & grad school thanks to MD/PhD.