Interesting post.
Well, I'm a doctor, practiced for nine years, and can't say that I much enjoyed much of it. I loved shooting the shit with patients and helping them, but that's only about 10% of the job. Basically I worked my ass off and had no life. I'm employed in the pharmaceutical industry now, and I trade on the side. Now I have more friends, hobbies, volunteer activities, time, and plenty of sleep every night. I have not seen a patient in nine years, and I know from my friends that much in medicine has changed since then.
But I feel compelled to respond to the few who have posted here with medical aspirations. Obviously I can't advise anyone else; each must find their own way. But I spent a lot of time trying to see why I did not like medicine. It is very intellectually interesting and the business of truly helping people is gratifying. The wife of another doctor finally helped me see the reason for my dissatisfaction. I had referred numerous patients to her husband, a general surgeon who was talented, personable, thoughtful, and overall, the kind of doc I would go to or send a family member to. She told me one time that her husband would probably never retire because he could not give up medicine. Why? "It's a noble addiction," she said.
Truer words were never spoken. I began to mull that over, going over in my mind all the docs I know. I saw that to a person, all the docs who love what they are doing are essentially addicted to being needed. And all those, like me, who are less than thrilled with their lives, do not have this personality characteristic.
I'm not saying it's a good or bad thing to be this way--it just is. To determine whether medicine is right for you, you must look deep into your soul and try to see who you really are (not who you think you should be or who anyone else thinks you should be) and ask yourself whether being needed is important enough to you to work 90-hour weeks, spend holidays in the hospital, stay up all night and work the entire next day, listen to guff from patients and hospital administrators, etc. Yes, you get to save people's lives, make an enormous difference, get thousands of nice cards and compliments from appreciative patients, and all that. But it has to be worth what you give up. For me, it wasn't, and so I'm much happier now. I still get to continue to learn about medicine and to help sick people, albeit indirectly, but without all the negative stuff.
As for the money part, yes, there are people who are in medicine for the money, who are trying to develop huge businesses, sell numerous services, etc. And that is all fine as long as they are also responsible and excellent physicians. But beyond a certain point, lots of money does not make people happy. I have seen studies about this, and they make sense to me. Beyond a certain point, once you can pay all your bills and buy the stuff you want, more money does not really add very much to one's life--I think the economists call it diminishing returns.
I welcome your questions and comments.