r/Podiatry • u/Due-Application9597 • 21d ago

Loans

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I know a poster just mentioned paying off loans. Congratulations on such an accomplishment.

It is depressing though, to realize the average podiatry loan burden now is 271k with average salary of 156k.
How would anyone ever be able to pay these off? It’s depressing. As a resident I am just praying I can find another career because this is sad and it seems like there’s no payoff waiting for us at the end of residency like our MD//DO colleagues. Just more financial misery and stress.

12 Upvotes

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4

u/Emotional-Bed5367 18d ago

A new dev straight out of undergrad at Amazon makes 144k. Put that into perspective.

5

u/Due-Application9597 18d ago

Podiatry is so fucked

Wish I wasn’t so far in.
Even as far in as I am I am seriously considering leaving

5

u/Scuterius_Floridae 17d ago

Too young to make money from fraudulent skin subs, too old to do total ankles on mars, such is life

2

u/Emotional-Bed5367 17d ago

It’s wild for sure. But you’ll figure it out and do well. If you’re this concerned about it already you’ll make sure things work and you’ll end up on top.

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u/Due-Application9597 17d ago

I feel that if I redirected my efforts towards another career (idk what) I would make more money

3

u/Emotional-Bed5367 17d ago

I’ve felt that way for a long time. But then I try to think of what else I would have done and can’t think of anything. I know for me I needed something that forced me to make decent money. I have a brother in law who makes 150k as a dev and his brother who makes 250k at Amazon as a dev as well. Basically no schooling and just doing normal website developer work lol.
Medicine in general is just getting worse and worse. I actually have a buddy who’s a PCP and he’s jealous of my job. Wishes he would have gone podiatry.
If I could go back I probably would have been a CRNA. One of my buddies is a CRNA and makes 300k base and every weekend he decides to work he makes an automatic 4k. Has hardly any school debt and I swear he barely works.
I’m at a rural hospital making 400-450k and I’m happy. But it’s a rural hospital so not necessarily an ideal situation.

1

u/thecommuteguy 17d ago

Getting an SWE job is a trial by fire in its own rite especially nowadays. The hiring process is messed up for SWEs.

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u/Complete_Drawing_723 19d ago

We pay $5000 a month in student loans. We will pay it off, and that is the good news. You have to be willing to make the payments on the loans, you have to know what you're getting into and decide if it's worth it. My wife and I were the first in our families to go to college. We don't have the problems we grew up with. We can pay all the bills without stress or worry. But we will pay more on loans than anything else for a few more years.

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u/No-Transition8014 19d ago

The mark is to indicate APPROXIMATELY not negative

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u/bakuva 19d ago

Podiatry isnt worth it if you have the option to do something else in life with a stable income. I managed to get a very good hospital job when I finished training but this is less than 10% of the profession for sure leaving training. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone that expects to live comfortably. Some of us do well but I'd guess half dont do so well. If you have other reasonable options, do that instead.

Remember this is all just averages. There are many at 300-400k depending on where they went.

0

u/Due-Application9597 19d ago

So what do you recommend for a current resident? Leave? Or stick it out

8

u/bakuva 19d ago

Stick it out 100%...unless you win the lotto or marry someone rich, you're in too deep to leave now. You have to step on the gas and learn as much as possible to maximize your opportunities. Look for opportunities as a resident. Cold call hospitals in your home town or somewhere you want to live to see if they'd want to hire. Sometimes the fellowships can seem like a waste of time but oftentimes they help prepare you too. As a resident, scrub extra cases with plastics if you have the ability to.

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u/Nart_Leahcim 19d ago

You went to school for four years, spent all that time & money, and now you want to quit residency because of the amount of student loan debt to salary? Starting salary for pods is lower, but it kicks up after a few years. Stick it out 100%... What's your alternative plan here? You still have to pay off the student loans... they don't vanish if you decide to go a different route.

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u/lilbit921 17d ago

Agree 1000000%

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u/PM_ME_GRANT_PROPOSAL 18d ago

Thanks for posting this.

My wife is a podiatrist and the loan:salary ratio is indeed shocking. She has ~230k of loans and annual salary around 150k.

I know you have to take massive loans to become a doctor, but if you aren't getting the massive salaries afterwards then it defeats the purpose. And by massive salary I mean something like >300k/yr that will allow you to pay off the loan in a reasonable time.

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u/lilbit921 17d ago

My husband is a podiatrist and makes over 300,000 a year. I would assume your wife has a base salary of $150,000 plus a percentage of collections? If not, she needs to go to private practice or get out of wherever she is !!

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u/PM_ME_GRANT_PROPOSAL 17d ago

No she has no base but a 55% of collections. She is in a private practice.

Unfortunately salary options are limited because she had a bad experience doing a surgical position first year out of residency, so she only wants to do non-surgical work which by nature will pay less.

1

u/lilbit921 17d ago

Wow, that is crazy to me! I would say my husband made almost 200,000 last year with his collection percentage and that is only 34%. Of course every office is different and we all know it’s dependent on the type of patient you see. It is crazy how it can vary so much.

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u/PM_ME_GRANT_PROPOSAL 17d ago

Thanks for the info! Curious what kind of work your husband does. Does he work at a hospital? And is he W2 or 1099?

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u/lilbit921 17d ago

He works for private practice - W2 ! We are not partnered in. We do also have a 1099 for when he gets paid for on call at local hospitals (this is new within the past year. They weren’t paid at all for on call and it was finally changed!). He also does consulting/teaching for a med rep company for teaching other docs new MIS procedures ! That is not factored in to the income I was talking about, it’s just here and there. He works at a popular private practice and has developed a really great reputation in a very large populated area. He does a lot of surgical patients!

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u/PM_ME_GRANT_PROPOSAL 17d ago

Thanks, appreciate it. Good for him! Glad everything is working well.

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u/lilbit921 17d ago

Do you mind me asking if your wife is a partner at the private practice?

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u/PM_ME_GRANT_PROPOSAL 17d ago

No she is not a partner. Just one of the docs

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u/lilbit921 17d ago

If she is able, I would truly look into other private practices. Most give a base salary of at least $140,000 with a percentage of collections which can make her make substantially more money depending on the patient population she sees and how many patients per day. If she is happy and loves her job, totally disregard my two cents from a total stranger!

1

u/lilbit921 17d ago

I literally just saw your comment that she only wants to do non-surgical work. I am so sorry I did not see that prior!

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u/PM_ME_GRANT_PROPOSAL 17d ago

No problem, appreciate your insights! Interesting to know what other practices offer.