We can have more sustainable careers if we can reach financial independence and treat medicine more like a hobby than a job. Given the stressors and time pressures that come with my job, I’m not sure I could ever make it a hobby, but if there’s a way, I will try.
It appears, then, that what separates a job from a hobby isn’t necessarily how regularly it’s performed, but rather it’s the notion of doing it for pleasure, on your own time. As for payment, certain hobbies do produce an income.
The finances behind being a doctor are quickly reaching an unsustainable position. Rising student loan debts can put new graduates behind by more than 200k right off the bat, and it’s a fact that reimbursements are decreasing.
Couple that with limited autonomy in medicine and micromanagement from administrators and it seems that, in some ways, doctors have become a slave to the system. Put simply, it’s become a job, and any pleasure one used to derive from the notion of helping people is quickly moved to the back burner.
The way to achieve this is by not having to rely on it financially. Financial independence from medicine is possible for doctors – just look at doctors like the White Coat Investor or Physician on Fire. Each says they practice medicine because they enjoy it and they’re not ready to give it up fully yet.
But how does that happen? Well, it all begins with smart financial decisions made early in your career, like saving aggressively and investing wisely. I’ve seen doctors make clever investments in the stock market or real estate (or both) and achieve this “medicine as hobby” status.