Originally Answered: Should I be a lawyer or a doctor? If that is the choice, a doctor. It is a long hard road, but your skills are pretty portable. People will respect you. As an attorney we as a country are turning out too many vs. too few physicians. Some lawyers can’t find jobs and will sue for anything….
There are certainly a number of jobs that are tougher than being a lawyer (it's still a well-paying office job at the end of the day), but there's no profession where so many highly-educated people are incompatible with the job they're asked to perform, and it's this mismatch that breeds unhappiness. , Physician. Visual artist. Hybrid athlete.
Specifically, the average doctor makes $208,000 per year, while the average lawyer makes $118,160. These average numbers take doctors and lawyers who are in the peak of their careers — meaning that those just starting out do not take this amount.
Other factors, including specialties, make a difference, too, with some types of doctors earning hundreds of thousands of dollars more than others, and the same is true for different types of lawyers. But one thing is certain; when you have to go to one or the other, they both take a lot out of y_our_ paycheck.
According to the BLS, medical doctors which include both medical doctors (MDs) and doctors of osteopathic medicine (DOs) earned an annual median salary of $208,000 per year in 2016. Lawyers, according to the BLS, had an annual median salary of $118,160 in 2016, a significant difference between them of $89,840.
However, on average, the data shows that doctors make more than lawyers. To the surprise of some, the reality is that the discrepancy is not even close. Specifically, the average doctor makes $208,000 per year, while the average lawyer makes $118,160.
A recent analysis (via KevinMD) of average IQs of individuals in certain professions revealed that doctors have a mean IQ of almost 10 points higher than lawyers.
The answer depends on what you want to do with the degree. A law degree is better if you want to practice law; a medical degree is better if you want to practice medicine.
Everyone has a different set of skills due to their unique personality, hobbies, and education. While choosing a suitable career, you need to match your hard and soft skills with the ones expected from you in that particular field.
Effective communications skills. It will be important for you to communicate well with your patients about their treatment plans, health, diagnosis, and medication.
Scrutinizing the topic. You must go deep into the causes and the conclusion of a situation and inspect it at lightning speed.
This is what you must know to prevent yourself from falling into financial issues. On average, a public medical school costs $207,866 and for a private medical school, it can go up to $278,455 for four years. This also comprises the cost of books and other expenses.
In general, a doctor has to work for a longer duration than a lawyer. This is because emergencies in the medical field are not uncommon and the doctor has to be available at all times in case of an emergency. Also, their normal work time is mostly decided by the hospital administration.
According to the BLS, medical doctors which include both medical doctors (MDs) and doctors of osteopathic medicine (DOs) earned an annual median salary of $208,000 per year in 2016. Lawyers, according to the BLS, had an annual median salary of $118,160 in 2016, a significant difference between them of $89,840.
When you look at the highest and lowest earners, though, different comparisons emerge. The lowest paid physicians typically practice family medicine and in 2015 they earned a median salary of $230,456, according to the Medical Group Management Association.
The more prestigious a law firm is, the more they pay their lawyers. In 2016, New-York-City-based law firm Cravath, Swaine and Moore made headlines by raising its first-year lawyers' salaries by $20,000 to $180,000. That's comparable to, or more than what many family practice physicians and pediatricians earn in various parts of the U.S.
At the same time that Cravath, Swaine and Moore announced the new first-year salary, they announced salary bumps throughout the firm. An eight-year associate received a base salary of $315,000 plus a year-end bonus which is on a par with many physicians.
Others might not be scientifically minded at all, but they enjoy the law, and so law school is an easy choice. But for some individuals, they might have an affinity for both. They might reasonably have the ability to be a good doctor or a good lawyer.
There is something about medical or law school that attracts many individuals to contemplate one career or the other. Obviously, the decision is relatively easy for many individuals. Some are scientifically or medically minded such that medical school is the easy choice. Others might not be scientifically minded at all, but they enjoy the law, ...
They might not have looked at the data on average salaries before making this decision. Student loan debt is also another significant issue for law school graduates.
That being said, someone who does well in the sciences will probably make a good doctor because the same traits will make you successful at either - a good memory, ability to focus, attention to detail, an analytical way of approaching problems. The road to becoming a doctor or lawyer is very long.
But that can be done with practice. It is, however ,a huge part of being a lawyer. So if you don't like it and will be miserable doing it, then don't be a lawyer.
In general, the average doctor is going to greatly out-earn the average attorney. However, if you manage to get a sweet gig was a chief legal officer for a major company, you will greatly out earn a highly-paid doctor. Or if you are on a legal team that wins a high profile product liability lawsuit.