Medical Student STEPS to Effective Career Development | Careers in Medicine | Personality Type | Physician Career Stories Lecture Series | Physician Career Stories Video Library | Curriculum Vitae Tips and Samples | Career Pathway | Your Money or Your Life: Career and Lifestyle Planning | Other Career Resources (recommended by NEOUCOM students)
The Career Rainbow and Financial Decision Points The following information is designed to help you explore the relationship between career choice and lifestyle and will assist you in understanding the different financial decisions you must make as you progress through various roles in life. Why is this important to you? Because a physician’s professional and personal lives are so closely
intertwined, choosing a career also means choosing a lifestyle.
Understanding the various financial decisions one must make, and the
affects of those decisions on one’s personal and professional life, is
crucial to the career planning process. This information is designed to help you:
The Career Rainbow: A Career can be defined as a sequence and combination of roles a person plays throughout their lifetime. There are three dimensions of the Career Rainbow: Time – The length, span, or life cycle of a role is a function of your age, health, and performance and partly of the situation in which you function. Each role has a different span, and can end and resume based on different experiences in your life. Breadth or scope – This relates to the amount of potential life space the role occupies. You may play a number of roles at one time. Some roles are played in sequence (e.g., student, then worker) and sometimes simultaneously (worker, leisurite, parent). Role conflict and stress can occur, as well as a high degree of self -fulfillment if you can handle the demands of these multiple roles Depth – Refers to the degree of involvement you have in each of the roles played. The d epth of commitment varies across the span of the role and may be stronger at certain times and not at others depending on the level of affective commitment to the role. The d egree of participation/amount of time devoted to the role also varies.
Financial Decision PointsAll roles in the Career Rainbow have financial decision points. This material is designed to complement the AAMC's Financial Education and Wellness Program and each of these decisions must be evaluated based on your personal Financial Philosophy. These are questions for which only you can provide the answers. The goal of this information is to help you understand the questions. However, you are encouraged to explore these decisions with the help of NEOUCOM’s financial aid office and a professional financial planner. In many cases we have provided recommended readings or links to other web materials that may be useful in pondering these important questions. We also highly recommend CNN Money 101: An Interactive Course on Managing All of Your Finances. Financial Decision Points By Life Role:
You already have many roles in life however, your role as a medical student is more than likely dominating your thoughts and actions right now. It’s important to remember that many of the seemingly trivial decisions you make during medical school can have long-term effects on your future. Where will you live while in school? Will you have a roommate? Do you need a car? If so, will you buy a new or used car? How will you pay for it? For detailed information about buying new and used cars go to: The Motley Fool Car Buying Guide
How much assistance are your parents able or willing to give you while in school? How much do away electives cost? Away electives can be very costly once you pay application and travel costs. It’s important to do a cost-benefit analysis prior to committing to an away elective schedule. How much is the application fee? What will your transportation costs be? Will the site provide housing? If so, what is the cost to you? If not, where will you live? Is the ultimate cost of the experience worth the benefit you will gain? If so, how do these additional costs fit into your budget? What affect do your current financial decisions have on your future spouse, your children and your elderly parents? What affect do they have on your personal and professional goals (career choice, ability to complete a fellowship, how, when and where you practice)? The following web sites will be useful in helping you find answers to these questions: CNN Money 101 Chapter 1: Setting Priorities CNN Money 101 Chapter 2: Making a Budget Monetary Decisions for Medical Doctors Phases I Monetary Decisions for Medical Doctors Phases I
The Son/Daughter RoleYou will notice that the role of son or daughter on the Career Rainbow is wide on both ends and thin in the middle. This is because the role of son or daughter is dominant in childhood. This is a crucial period when thinking about your financial philosophy, because much of what you learned about money and finance came from your parents, whether through purposeful instruction or by example. What did your parents teach you about money? Financial competency number one will assist you in thinking about this question. As we mature our role of son or daughter becomes less dominant however, for many of us that role increases significantly as our parents’ age. Some of the financial decisions related to caring for elderly parents are as follows: Are you familiar with your parent’s financial situation? Have they saved enough for retirement? Where are their wills and other important paperwork (life insurance policies, etc)? Do they need financial assistance from you? Are you and they prepared for long-term care needs?
The Worker RoleHow much will residency interviews cost? Will you need to relocate? Will you work full time or part time? Will you be an Attending? Employee? Partner? Business owner? How important is a big salary if everything else fits?
Information about projected income for your specialty choice can be found on the Careers in Medicine specialty pages.
For more detailed information about the worker role see: Financial Competency Five: Understanding the Mechanics of Earning and Saving Money Monetary Decisions for Medical Doctors (MD²): Phase III; Section IV – Career and Practice Planning CNN Money 101: Lesson 18 – Taxes
The Spouse/Domestic Partner RoleMost of you will acquire a spouse or domestic partner at some point in your lives, whether prior to starting medical school or at some point thereafter. Sharing your life with another also means sharing financial decisions. These are some of the questions you and your partner need to consider: How much will you spend on the wedding? Our current American culture puts a great deal of emphasis on The Wedding as a major social event and dictates that this be a lavish and expensive affair. It is important that you and your future spouse take time to consider what kind of wedding you can reasonably afford and remember that the future of your marriage doesn’t depend on how lavishly you spend. What aspects of the wedding do you value most? Have you had a frank financial discussion before the wedding? Are your money management styles compatible? Do you have the same priorities/values? If not, how will you reconcile them? Who is responsible for finances? Will you have separate or joint bank accounts? Does one partner have more debt than the other?
The following books are suggested reading for those of you planning to marry: The Hard Questions: 100 Questions to Ask Before You Say ‘I Do’ by Susan Piver The Conscious Bride by Sheryl Paul Nissinen The Parent RoleCan you afford to have a stay-at-home spouse if you are a full time medical student? If you can afford it, how will it affect your debt level? If being a stay-at-home parent a priority in your life? What are you willing to sacrifice to make it happen? After graduation, will both partners work or will one stay home? If both work, how will you manage child-care expenses? Do you have a will? How will you pay for your children’s college education? What is your plan for teaching your children about finances?
See Chapter 12 of CNN Money 101: An Interactive Course on Managing All of Your Finances for more information on kids and money.
The Homemaker RoleIf relocating for residency, how much money do you need for start-up costs (security deposits, moving expenses, etc.)? Can you afford to own a home? What is the cost of living in the area? How long will you live there? What is the re-sale market in the area? Do you have the resources (time, energy) to maintain a home? At what point in your life does this become a priority? If you don’t have the time and energy, can you afford to have someone do it for you? For detailed information about buying a home go to: Chapter 8 of CNN Money 101: An Interactive Course on Managing All of Your Finances
The Leisurite RoleAs a student, can you afford the leisure activities in which you want to participate? If not, can you get the same experience for less money? Do you have expensive hobbies? What are you willing to sacrifice to keep them? What about retirement? When? Where? What kind of lifestyle?
CNN Money 101 Chapter 13: Planning for Retirement
The Citizen Role
Is Volunteer work important to you? If so, how will you fit it into your work life? How will you give back to your institution? |
