Doctors: A Money Making Career?
"Are you going to become a doctor to earn money? If you do, then it is the right time to quit now" That was what my lecturer in Medical school always said to us. We are not getting into this job for good money. We want to serve the community, to help the ill, to make world a better place. We were trained to have this kind of mentality. Until we grew up and become a doctor ourselves to realise that the bitterness of that statement is really hurtful to ourselves, our family and perhaps our future. Is it true that this career is not a money making career? Partly true. A resident doctor in US would earn USD 50000 to USD 60000 a year. That's equivalent to RM177280 - RM212736 in Malaysian currency. However in Malaysia, a medical officer will only be paid RM40000-RM50000 a year. The discrepancy is so larger. We can't compare with them, they said. Our country is in a big money problem today. Being a doctor in Malaysia will get you a decent RM5K clean income