Medicine or Wall Street?

My wife is a second year resident. I think our careers complement each other very well... she should have steady (if not spectacular) income for life, while I can swing for the fences without too much concern.

In other words... since you probably can't have both careers, make sure you marry someone that completes you .

 

Good advice. Just curious, since you're not in the medical field, how did you meet your wife?

 

We started dating while she was an undergrad. Med school not too conducive to social life unfortunately...

 

Sadly, I agree.

Anyways, best of luck.

 

Go be a trader. Nobody who goes to med school looking to make money as a doctor succeeds.

 

95%+ of those who make it into med school will make $150k+ a year after residency, with some specialists making $500k-$1.5mm a year... not filthy rich money, but certainly better than most traders.

 

Well, a comparable (by education and experience) specialist on wall street would be taking home more. I think the mistake a lot of people make is that extra 100k or 500k a year is a great thing. You have to do what you love, else by the time you hit your 40s you are going to hate yourself.

I come from a family of two doctors and my life partner is in the medical specialty (she's a pediatric surgeon). I never wanted to be a doctor and, even though I am fascinated by her work, can't imagine myself doing it. Just like she would not think of running an options desk at a bank. At the moment I make significantly more money then she does, but if she ever gets promoted (fat chance, unfortunately, just like me making MD in the near future) and brings home the bacon I'd have no problem.

So, smart choice if you love it, bad choice if you don't. Same goes for trading.

 

Employment is to 'survive' in life.
Entrepreneurship is to 'succeed' in life.

 

You'll be a terrible doctor. On the other hand if you become a trader you'll be part of the problem there. Find something to do driven by passion rather than money, and someone to love. If you do that, in the end, you'll die happy. Once you lose your integrity you can't regain it.

 

If you have the time (and you should make the time considering your dilemma), read the following book of interviews.

http://www.amazon.com/How-Became-Qu...2579/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1316710914&sr=8-3

There are many Quants that came from very prestigious non-finance backgrounds, with questions and forks similar to your own. In the interviews, many discuss what altered their paths to land on wall street. It also has good discussions on what differentiates quants from typical 'traders.'