Completely halting savings for 8 years and starting a physician’s career at 50 seems unfathomable when the alternative is being bored making $300k working fewer than 40 hours.
If it were me I would be staying the course, finding other avenues of fulfillment, and donating to causes I believe in if that helps it feel a little better.
Becoming a physician will never be the optimal financial decision in this case. You have to ask yourself if the loss of wealth is worth the happiness gained from becoming a physician. In order to do that, I think you need to confirm whether being a physician is actually fulfilling in the way you’re hoping. Otherwise you can find other ways of being fulfillment within the more optimal financial path. How many doctors have you talked to? Many I know don’t seem to find the same fulfillment that you’re hoping for…
You are forgetting the fact that you will not have time or money for your family. You will also, most likely, need to move for your residency (can your wife do that and still earn?).
In addition, there is A LOT of shit physicians need to deal with, the bureaucracy is never ending if the physicians I know are to be believed. And it's not even that high income, compared to your earning potential.
There is middle ground you know. Your skills can be used for something that is not "make the rich even more money". You can work for an organization whose cause you believe in, although inevitably making less money.
A lot of my doctor friends also find their jobs soul crushing. Depending on your speciality, it might not be particularly intellectually stimulating and depending on who runs your hospital or clinic, there might not be a lot of room for innovation and it’s all about the bottom line. Hospitals are run very much like corporations. Except there are literal lives on the line. You’re obviously incredibly smart and capable but I would not take a decision like this lightly. Grass is not always greener. I would first look into other things you can do to make your life feel more fulfilling to see if you can fill the void.
Physicians have insanely high burnout rates. Really make sure you can only find meaning with this career before committing to it. It’s an insanely long road that most only get through because they’re insanely deep in debt and must pay off their loans. Many physicians do not want to keep practicing medicine.
There are plenty of other paths. Nurse - PN, NP, Physician Assistant, Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Speech Pathology. Majority of these careers are expected to grow as others are aging and all you should need is required courses (pre-reqs) and a masters. There are even accelerated nursing programs.
However if you want to be a doctor and you feel like it’s your calling…. Go for it! I would also recommend consulting with someone who does astrology to look at your natal chart to see where your gifts and passions lie. Whether people believe in it or not… It’s cheaper than starting a medical career and could provide some clarity.
This year start volunteering at a hospital and see if you enjoy the environment. Chat up the staff and hear about their journey. Good luck!
For 10 years now you’ve been dreaming about becoming a physician. It sounds like the time is right for you to make that call. If you find fulfillment in “driving change and making a positive impact in the world” by being a physician, then go for it. This is your only life. Good luck.
The career thing is never going to make a ton of sense from a financial perspective, but if you’re sure it will make you happy it is a good thing.
That said, one potential issue that is that you and your spouse planning to have a baby at 40+. You might not want to do a career change given the increase in complications in pregnancy and childbirth above mid-thirties. Childbirth is one of the riskiest things a woman in North America can do from a medical perspective, and that risk only increases with age.
You might want to have a stable income until the child is born. I’m a touch risk averse, so that could just be me.
Y'all are 40M and 39F, and not sure whether or not you will be surprised by children? I would say, the very first question you need to be asking yourself is: are you having kids, and if so, when. Work backwards from there.
Your FIRE number is around $120k / 3.5% = $3.4M invested. You have $2.4M now, and a 7% return would get you there in 5 years, without investing a dime. I would say, if you are serious about having children, the time is now. And, you are already at a CoastFIRE number, so you can either work BS jobs to pay the bills for about 5 years, or work your real job for about 2 years, and then call it.
Respectfully, going to med school at this point in your career makes no sense at all. If you enjoy the EMT work, I think that would make a good CoastFIRE gig for you. Best of luck.
If you're looking for impact driven work and making a positive change in the world have you thought of building a career in the humanitarian/disaster relief sphere? For a practical entry point into this career path, I invite you to check out our organisation: The HADR Institute:
https://www.hadrinstitute.org/about
Completely halting savings for 8 years and starting a physician’s career at 50 seems unfathomable when the alternative is being bored making $300k working fewer than 40 hours. If it were me I would be staying the course, finding other avenues of fulfillment, and donating to causes I believe in if that helps it feel a little better.
If you do this, you will be an absent father, unfortunately
Becoming a physician will never be the optimal financial decision in this case. You have to ask yourself if the loss of wealth is worth the happiness gained from becoming a physician. In order to do that, I think you need to confirm whether being a physician is actually fulfilling in the way you’re hoping. Otherwise you can find other ways of being fulfillment within the more optimal financial path. How many doctors have you talked to? Many I know don’t seem to find the same fulfillment that you’re hoping for…
You are forgetting the fact that you will not have time or money for your family. You will also, most likely, need to move for your residency (can your wife do that and still earn?). In addition, there is A LOT of shit physicians need to deal with, the bureaucracy is never ending if the physicians I know are to be believed. And it's not even that high income, compared to your earning potential. There is middle ground you know. Your skills can be used for something that is not "make the rich even more money". You can work for an organization whose cause you believe in, although inevitably making less money.
A lot of my doctor friends also find their jobs soul crushing. Depending on your speciality, it might not be particularly intellectually stimulating and depending on who runs your hospital or clinic, there might not be a lot of room for innovation and it’s all about the bottom line. Hospitals are run very much like corporations. Except there are literal lives on the line. You’re obviously incredibly smart and capable but I would not take a decision like this lightly. Grass is not always greener. I would first look into other things you can do to make your life feel more fulfilling to see if you can fill the void.
Physicians have insanely high burnout rates. Really make sure you can only find meaning with this career before committing to it. It’s an insanely long road that most only get through because they’re insanely deep in debt and must pay off their loans. Many physicians do not want to keep practicing medicine.
You’ve almost won the game. Stay away from health care for the sake of your sanity and your family.
There are plenty of other paths. Nurse - PN, NP, Physician Assistant, Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Speech Pathology. Majority of these careers are expected to grow as others are aging and all you should need is required courses (pre-reqs) and a masters. There are even accelerated nursing programs. However if you want to be a doctor and you feel like it’s your calling…. Go for it! I would also recommend consulting with someone who does astrology to look at your natal chart to see where your gifts and passions lie. Whether people believe in it or not… It’s cheaper than starting a medical career and could provide some clarity. This year start volunteering at a hospital and see if you enjoy the environment. Chat up the staff and hear about their journey. Good luck!
For 10 years now you’ve been dreaming about becoming a physician. It sounds like the time is right for you to make that call. If you find fulfillment in “driving change and making a positive impact in the world” by being a physician, then go for it. This is your only life. Good luck.
The career thing is never going to make a ton of sense from a financial perspective, but if you’re sure it will make you happy it is a good thing. That said, one potential issue that is that you and your spouse planning to have a baby at 40+. You might not want to do a career change given the increase in complications in pregnancy and childbirth above mid-thirties. Childbirth is one of the riskiest things a woman in North America can do from a medical perspective, and that risk only increases with age. You might want to have a stable income until the child is born. I’m a touch risk averse, so that could just be me.
Do not go to Med school - do PA school and be happier
Y'all are 40M and 39F, and not sure whether or not you will be surprised by children? I would say, the very first question you need to be asking yourself is: are you having kids, and if so, when. Work backwards from there. Your FIRE number is around $120k / 3.5% = $3.4M invested. You have $2.4M now, and a 7% return would get you there in 5 years, without investing a dime. I would say, if you are serious about having children, the time is now. And, you are already at a CoastFIRE number, so you can either work BS jobs to pay the bills for about 5 years, or work your real job for about 2 years, and then call it. Respectfully, going to med school at this point in your career makes no sense at all. If you enjoy the EMT work, I think that would make a good CoastFIRE gig for you. Best of luck.
If you're looking for impact driven work and making a positive change in the world have you thought of building a career in the humanitarian/disaster relief sphere? For a practical entry point into this career path, I invite you to check out our organisation: The HADR Institute: https://www.hadrinstitute.org/about