What are the pros and cons of being a doctor?

• Doctors tend to make very high salaries. Just how high your salary is as a doctor depends on what you specialize in, how long you have practiced, and what position you hold, but there is no denying that, in general, doctors make extremely high salaries compared to most other professions.

  This is due to the extensive schooling and training they have had to complete to become doctors. Doctors' salaries will also vary depending on their geographic location, their particular medical employer, academic accomplishments they have made, and their specific licensure.

• Getting to help people and making a considerable impact in their lives. This pro to being a doctor means that most doctors experience a wealth of personal satisfaction, fulfillment, and purpose during their careers in the medical field.

  Many doctors save people's lives, and there is arguably no greater impact you can have on a person's life than to save it from demise. Doctors spend many hours diagnosing and treating diseases, illnesses, and injuries.

  When they see that one of their patients is convalescing, they are usually filled with happiness and a boost of encouragement to keep performing and improving their jobs.

  Many patients and their families also express profound gratitude to doctors when they save a patient's life, successfully treat a life-threatening injury or disease, or even help them get better from a rare illness. A doctor's work can be quite challenging, but their moments of success usually make it all worthwhile.

• There are so many different forms of medicine you can practice as a doctor. There is such a diverse list of specializations in being a doctor; a medical student shouldn't have any trouble finding the right fit.

  There are doctors in family medicine, pediatrics, internal medicine, cardiology, surgery, oncology, infectious disease, dermatology, psychiatry, neurology, and many more fields.

  This abundance represents an expensive amount of knowledge a doctor can pursue. Most will only specialize in one particular field, but many continue to learn different areas of medicine throughout their careers.

• Diverse medical environments. Doctors can work in many different medical environments, such as hospitals, private practices, medical clinics, mental health hospitals, inpatient and outpatient clinics, urgent care centers, and many other medical facilities.

  Doctors may also work for specific organizations, schools, or government institutions where they might practice medicine, teach, or perform medical research.

• Career growth. Most doctors have great opportunities for career growth. They can work their way up a hospital's hierarchy or obtain certifications and licensures to expand their medical careers.

  Doctors are almost always in high demand and are needed in just about every community, meaning a doctor can feel free to relocate if they wish. And a skilled doctor with many years of experience is able to negotiate higher-paying salaries and get medical jobs that have better flexibility.

Cons:

• Expensive education. Medical school is very costly. Many doctors, who are not on scholarship or do not have the financial backing, must take out extremely large student loans to complete medical school.

  These new doctors typically graduate medical school and are in varying degrees of deep financial debt. It is important to plan financially well before going to medical school because you'll likely owe a lot of money afterwards.

• Medical school and training is long. Becoming a doctor takes a very long time. For many, it takes over ten years to gain the necessary educational qualifications. Doctors must complete a doctorate degree and medical residency before they can get a license to work as independent physicians.

  Doctors working in specialized fields also often must obtain additional certifications or licenses to practice. Regardless of the field of medicine you want to practice in, you can expect to spend over a decade of time working towards becoming a licensed doctor.

• Pressure and stress of being a doctor. Doctors can work in extremely stressful environments, like emergency rooms or hospitals in general. Many doctors work in time-sensitive situations where they must make tough decisions on how to handle a person's illness, injury, or medical emergency.

  Here they will be confronted by sometimes horrific medical emergencies, such as gunshot wounds, heart attacks, and other scenarios where a person's life is hanging in the balance. And the sad truth is nearly every doctor in these environments will see many people die.

  They might even make a miscalculation in trying to prevent someone's death and feel like they caused the patient to die. This emotional toll can be quite taxing for many doctors, and they can experience burnout often in some cases.

  Many doctors seek outside help from psychiatrists and counselors to help them deal with the stresses of their work.

• Doctors work a lot of hours. Doctors work a variety of different hours; this depends on several factors, including what type of medicine they practice, if they run a private practice or work in a hospital, and if they are on call.

  On average most physicians work between 50 and 60 hours per week. This is the average; however, about a quarter of doctors have work weeks that consist of 61 to 80 hours.

  Physicians may put in individual shifts of as few as 6 hours and as much as 20 hours. While most doctors range in the 40 to 60-hour work week, it is not uncommon for a doctor to work 100+ hours in a week. These long work weeks are mostly done by hospital doctors during doctor shortages or other emergency scenarios.

• Difficult patients. Many doctors deal with recurring and new patients almost on a daily basis. This means they are likely to encounter challenging patients and challenging family members of patients. Sometimes these individuals can be quite ungrateful for the doctor's help and even cross with them.

  A doctor must remain professional in all of these types of situations, no matter how unfair or absurd a patient or family member reacts. While many patients do express gratitude, most doctors will have encounters with difficult patients and family members throughout their careers.

• Exposure to illnesses and diseases. Most doctors experience this con by default. Being in a medical environment typically means you are going to be around sick individuals. Many doctors often contract the illnesses of their patients, sometimes even when using personal protective equipment (PPE).

  Sometimes illnesses also infect large portions of a hospital's population, including patients and medical professionals, meaning a doctor must always be ready to take the necessary steps to protect themselves, their patients, and other medical personnel.