College Money

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One of the biggest questions that hopeful medical school applicants will think about is how long before they start making money as a doctor. There are two reasons for this. The first is the fact that medical school takes between four and 12 years depending on the field that the person goes into. Then, there is the large debt incurred by the student while they are going to medical school. Added together, this means that while doctors get paid very well, it can be awhile before they start making money as doctors.

Roughly 20 years ago, the average debt of a medical doctor after they had completed residency was $25,000. However, in 2009, the average debt is a staggering $154,067 and 11 percent of students have debt over $250,000.

What does this mean for someone wanting to become a doctor? Well, during residency, a doctor will typical earn $34,000 to $46,000 per year. A large portion of that is going to go to paying off student loans from medical school. Depending on training, it is possible for a doctor to make in excess of $100,000 per year early on, which allows them to pay off their debt earlier.

On average, it takes between four to five years to pay off the debts incurred during medical school, which is extremely good considering the amount that a student has to pay out while they are in medical school. The main reason for this is because of the high pay doctors get once they are out of residency and into the world of being a doctor.

So, how long before a doctor starts to make money? Well, if you take an average of eight years of schooling, a few years of residency, and then put in the few years it takes off to pay off the debt, a doctor is not making a lot of money until as much as 10 to 15 years following enrolling in medical school. Again, this depends greatly on the medical field they go into and how much debt they incurred going to school.

How Long After Medical School Before You Start Making Money?3.051