People who have an extensive interest in how the body works and
want to embark upon a career that allows them to help others may
want to consider entering a medical profession. There are many
different types of doctors, which are also known as physicians.
Some doctors are part of a family practice and mostly deal with
ordinary check-ups and everyday complaints. Surgeons are in charge
of performing operations; emergency doctors need to face a variety
of crises each day, and their jobs are among the most stressful in
the medical profession.
Doctors can specialize in a wide variety of areas. Obstetricians
are responsible for monitoring the health of pregnant women and
delivering babies. Neurologists deal with issues of the brain;
oncologists treat patients who have cancer. Pediatricians
specialize in the care of children. There are dozens of different
fields that doctors can pursue, but all of them require extensive
schooling.
Becoming a doctor is a very lengthy and difficult process that
requires extreme commitment. It takes at least eleven years before
a person can be a full-fledged doctor. One must first spend four
years acquiring a bachelor’s degree in an area of math or
science.
Then it is necessary to attend medical school, which is a highly
competitive process. Those who are accepted typically spend a
couple of years primarily in classrooms before beginning to do some
on-the-job learning. During the fourth year of medical school,
students choose a specialty and then become residents, which is a
training period lasting at least three years, depending on one’s
concentration.
Medical students incur great expenses during their schooling,
but once they are doctors they can begin to repay those debts. The
salary for a doctor varies widely depending upon specialty; for
instance, those in family practice earn an average of $204,000 a
year, while neurologists make an average of $228,000 a year.
Six-figure incomes are to be expected for full-fledged doctors.
Being a doctor is a very demanding career, but for those who
have the stamina for it, the rewards are significant, from monetary
compensation to the great satisfaction of being able to help many
people who are in physical distress.