What Career besides medicine/dentistry would you recommend to your children?

[Good Life]

I love medicine. I love what I do and have no regrets. I also love that universally (in the US) we make >200k and make a great living.

I want my kids to make their own decisions in life and do what they love (to a point), but I am always open to giving them advice.

What would you tell your children (or other young people) if they asked you the following?

1. If you weren't in medicine/dentistry, what career would you choose if you had to decide now?

2. What other profession besides medicine/dentistry has the majority of people making >200k with solid job security?

[CordMcNally]

1. This will be different for each individual based on what their talents and interests are.

2. Very few industries outside of medicine offer this kind of salary floor with good job security.

[White.Beard.Doc]

Good Life wrote:

What other profession besides medicine/dentistry has the majority of people making >200k with solid job security?

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There isn't any other industry with salaries and job security like medicine.  I am an old fart at this point, but my job security remains excellent and the pay is also great.

[q-school]

Actuary

[CordMcNally]

q-school wrote:

Actuary

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I don't think that meets the criteria of a majority of them making over $200k.

[octopus85]

Engineering. The pay doesn't go that high, but the $/effort ratio seems much better (spouse is an engineer).

[Peds]

CordMcNally wrote:

q-school wrote:

Actuary

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I don’t think that meets the criteria of a majority of them making over $200k.

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neither does a lot of pediatrics ha...

[JBME]

I was going to say engineering as well.

Less seriously, a whole life insurance agent! I hear they have very healthy salaries

[Anne]

q-school wrote:

Actuary

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My junior high math teacher would always tell me I should become an actuary.  I remember looking it up and thinking he was super weird.  Now it seems kind of fun.

[q-school]

Actuary on fire said they made more than you think and the surveys said at year 10 they start crossing 200k. Considering the educational requirements that’s pretty good

[Good Life]

JBME wrote:

I was going to say engineering as well.

Less seriously, a whole life insurance agent! I hear they have very healthy salaries

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What type of engineering provides the best mix of income and job security/availability?  Electrical? Mechanical? The world of engineering is pretty foreign to me.

[ENT Doc]

As I've said before, NFL Kicker.

Even mediocre kickers can have good careers, earn $2-3M/yr.  Rarely get injured, can actually focus on getting a reasonable degree, graduating, and doing something with it if things don't work out.  Just need to develop a short memory and live frugally.

[wideopenspaces]

I don't think you have to make 200k to live a good or nice life. Lots of reasonable options out there.

[MPMD]

1. I would probably have gone to law school.

2. I think if you can get into a top 20 law school and you are honest with yourself about your ability to thrive there (e.g. you can) then obviously getting into the $200k club is going to be relatively easy. Big urban firms recruit heavily. It's brutally hard work at places that will pay you that much for a few years but the upside is insanely beyond medicine. I'm in the phase of life where my friends who went to law school are starting to either make partner or swim around in those waters. It's kind of like doing a 10 year residency at triple the salary and then all of a sudden the payoff is truly nuts. My one buddy who just made partner... man I don't begrudge him that money. I think he's probably averaged billing like 55 hours a week since he finished law school, and you don't bill 55 hours by working 55 you do it by working 75. He used to get up at 4am so he could work for 2.5h before his kids got up so he could help make breakfast and see them before they went to school.

[Kamban]

There are lot of professions where people earn >200K. Engineering. Actuary. Law. Business analyst. Etc.

But it remains a fact that almost all the physicians in this country will earn $200K by year 3 of attending, if not by Day 1 ( except a few rare academic pediatricians) but that is almost unheard of outside of medicine and dentistry. And except for the rare case of gross negligence or fraud the concept of involuntary unemployed physicians / dentists is unheard of. And age discrimination is also unheard of, as even 60+ year old physicians get weekly mail touting job opportunities.

Engineering has good starting pay of $100K but you hit ceiling real fast. And if you get laid off in your 50's, good luck finding another job. All other jobs come with job insecurities or low pay or that only a minuscule top 1% earning good money. Which includes NFL kickers.