I never knew people could be THIS wealthy

[Mizelenius]

Mods, please forgive me if I am posting this in the wrong place!

I have a friend who is a doctor . . .she did a year's work as chief resident but no other experience beyond the usual (no other "formal" job). She just got offered a job that will pay between 500-600K per year . . .and she only has to work three (THREE) days a week and she gets to set her own hours. Obviously, insurance for doctors is high, so she'd have to pay that. She has no debt from medical school and no housing expense (parents own 2 homes so she could live in one for nothing). Even though it sounds like she grew up wealthy, she did not-- a terrible tragedy happened in her family, which is why they have money.

This is someone I know very well, someone whom I consider to be a "regular" person, but who could potentially be a millionaire working 3 days a week-- within about 4 years. I am in shock! It totally has me wondering why I never thought about money when I was making my career choices. (And, FTR, my friend did NOT go into this for the money . . .it was due to her terrible family tragedy.)

[mightymoo]

Well, she is very fortunate to have that opportunity that's for sure - just being able to come out of medical school with no debt is amazing.

Just out of curiosity, is she doing contract work for clinical trials? My brother does recruiting and placement in that area and he says they can make a really large amount of money - these companies conducting studies pay doctors to review the study data and conclusions of researchers, etc. He said they make something like $300-400 an HOUR.

[Jane]

Most new doctors end up making 100K (over or under, depending on specialty/area). Making that much would be quite unusual.

[mags]

Originally Posted by Apricot

Most new doctors end up making 100K (over or under, depending on specialty/area). Making that much would be quite unusual.

Ditto that. We have several doctors in the family and that has pretty much been the case.

[ju-cee]

What kind of MD is she??

Good for her though, after such a "tragedy" as you put it...I hope
she can enjoy herself and not carry any baggage along....I'm sure
she worked hard to get where she is now.....med school is NO
picnic....

[barose]

I know what you mean. I have a few friends like that. One just brought a 3 million dollar house (its pretty easy to find one in the Bay Area) and though her and her DH are attorneys, her father is a Billionaire (with a capital B ) so no prob there.

Another good friend is set to inherit about $70,000,000 when his stepfather passes (unfortunately will be soon)

Though I know getting caught up in what they have is a trap, I sometimes wonder what I did wrong in my life so that I will never be well off or have the freedom (time!) that they have. Though I have more than a lot of people, I still feel pretty trapped. Though I make OK money, I dont really have a
"career" and doubt I will break the 100K mark anytime soon unless I go into business for myself though people earning over 100K is pretty much the norm in my area.

[Emilie]

oh my.

[chanibell]

Yep, esp in the entertainment industry there is money to be had and in many cases money to be thrown away( practically)One of my dh clients makes $100,000 a day.

[oneKnight]

But why are people making $100K per day and the rest of us are only making $65/day??

[AprilDaisy]

We don't make that much....but I wanted to say something along those lines that I realized recently. It's all in how the nature of business goes.

My hubby is working overtime right now....and it's a nice amount for us ($1500 a week for about 2-3 weeks). He says to me, because we're doing this overtime to fix this thing at this plant, this company is loosing 2 million a day in product sales...

I understand what you mean by the "enormity" of such a thing.... I thought, "wow....money like that....". It really does blow your mind when you're watching how you spend your own money....

[Mizelenius]

Originally Posted by mightymoo

Just out of curiosity, is she doing contract work for clinical trials?

No . . .she and another doctor would be taking over a practice (general family medicine). She has known this doctor for a long time (as a patient), but I am still surprised.

It is shocking what people can make!

[kittywitty]

Originally Posted by oneKnight

But why are people making $100K per day and the rest of us are only making $65/day??

Amen!

[Snowdrift]

I make $30/day watching a baby. Apparently although I am worth more "no one can afford" to pay me more than $3.20/hour

[twogreencars]

Originally Posted by tie-dyed

I make $30/day watching a baby. Apparently although I am worth more "no one can afford" to pay me more than $3.20/hour

I know. This has always seemed wrong to me - that we pay the people who look after or teach our children such low wages...Just a question of society's priorities...which in my opinion are screwed up.

[barose]

Originally Posted by oneKnight

But why are people making $100K per day and the rest of us are only making $65/day??

They chose careers/paths/business that would allow them such. In a lot of cases, their parents were probably well educated and made a lot of money as well.

Last but not least:

Most of the people I know who are wealthy or just make a lot of money DO NOT work for other people; and probably only half of those people have college degrees.

[phatchristy]

I'd say it *does* happen...most of the time though doctors start off smaller, much smaller. A friend of the family is an opthamologist who specializes in surgery and makes just under a million a year. Though, his home life has been particularly difficult. Most of the other doctors I know are making more like 150-200 grand.

[mightymoo]

Originally Posted by barose

Most of the people I know who are wealthy or just make a lot of money DO NOT work for other people; and probably only half of those people have college degrees.

This is true for me too. With the exception of one, who is a corporate VP, all my parents friends who make a that kind of money are small business owners.

[Jane]

Offtopic, but I think that this is a humanity issue. Is the work of one human (a salary) worth $160 million a year and the work of another $16,000? I don't think humans are that different.
If you own a business, and make that money as the owner, that's differnt to me that a salary difference.

[scrapadoozer]

Originally Posted by Apricot

Offtopic, but I think that this is a humanity issue. Is the work of one human (a salary) worth $160 million a year and the work of another $16,000? I don't think humans are that different.

ITA! We certainly are not that different.

[wifty]

I agree. Doctors work hard, but alot of people work hard hours in order to have what they do....and they still have alot less then what a doctor gets paid.

My father was a minister and would do speakings at various churches. So, we were really poor and often only had food because of the donation of people from a church.

Now, hubby is a doctor resident and has already been offered a job when he is done with residency that would bring in more then 250,000. That is mind-boggling to me!

I think the more you have though, the more you can help others.....and that is what we intend to do.

Its hard though to justify why one person gets SO much more. We have teachers in the family, and they work hard, do very important work, and don't get paid what they deserve.

Or nursing assistants (which I used to do).....very important and paid minimum wage and worked hard.

Society should reevaluate I think. In America, everyone really should have enough - a house, a car, food, health care, etc.

Sorry for the rant.
With smiles,
Rebecca