How is life as a doctor in Singapore?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Both are terrible options if you are already from a well to do family. Just do Law in Oxford and it’s a far superior option. Don’t need to waste time on specialisation and you can get your returns faster. Saying this as a dual MBBS/JD holder. I was in your shoes 15 years ago, and I could have chosen Law but I chose Medicine. Fast forward to today, I didn’t achieve anything remarkable in medicine except for being a long-time GP, which was the main reason why I decided to go back to Law school and become a lawyer. Now toiling in the firm as a junior lawyer in the 40s, while my peers who chose Law back then are the senior partners/my bosses..

It is astonishing how bad ur logical reasoning is despite being a lawyer. Almost feels as if u are trolling this thread. He clearly said he intends to become a specialist doctor and has both the resources and likely intelligence to do so. Sure a succesful lawyer will outearn a GP but a succesful lawyer and a succesful specialist doctor are pretty at par. You are right that he would earn the money later if studying medicine but since he’s well to do the few extra years of working to his goal won’t be that big a deal if he’s interested.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

sorry. what is HDMP?

HMDP*- Healthcare manpower development plan ie they send u for fellowships etc in return for a bond to work as a consultant

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Both are terrible options if you are already from a well to do family. Just do Law in Oxford and it’s a far superior option. Don’t need to waste time on specialisation and you can get your returns faster. Saying this as a dual MBBS/JD holder. I was in your shoes 15 years ago, and I could have chosen Law but I chose Medicine. Fast forward to today, I didn’t achieve anything remarkable in medicine except for being a long-time GP, which was the main reason why I decided to go back to Law school and become a lawyer. Now toiling in the firm as a junior lawyer in the 40s, while my peers who chose Law back then are the senior partners/my bosses..

Op here thanks for the input. The value of a law degree is diminishing in recent years due to over saturation and in the UK it’s not even necessary to have a law degree to secure a training contract from a prestigious law firm.

So maybe it makes sense to pursue a law career but a law degree itself dosent make the most sense. Additionally, I think money wise specialists make a similar amount with a slightly lower amount of stress than lawyers. Therefore since medicine is also a practical degree to take id be willing to take it even if it’s slightly worse due to my interests

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Op here thanks for the input. The value of a law degree is diminishing in recent years due to over saturation and in the UK it’s not even necessary to have a law degree to secure a training contract from a prestigious law firm.

So maybe it makes sense to pursue a law career but a law degree itself dosent make the most sense. Additionally, I think money wise specialists make a similar amount with a slightly lower amount of stress than lawyers. Therefore since medicine is also a practical degree to take id be willing to take it even if it’s slightly worse due to my interests

It’s not that easy to get a specialist training position either. Psychiatry and Family Medicine used to be throwaway training programmes during my time, both in the UK and Singapore, but they have became competitive now. The odds of you being a specialist is very low, unless you have to patience to keep applying every MOPEX cycle, especially so if you are applying to even more competitive specialities like ENT/Ortho etc

A law degree from Oxford is versatile. You can choose to practise as a lawyer in Singapore or in the UK. You can even choose to leverage your law degree to a management consulting/banking job in Singapore. ROI wise it is definitely higher considering a law degree only cost 200k while a med degree overseas can cost upwards of 600k

Originally Posted by Unregistered

It’s not that easy to get a specialist training position either. Psychiatry and Family Medicine used to be throwaway training programmes during my time, both in the UK and Singapore, but they have became competitive now. The odds of you being a specialist is very low, unless you have to patience to keep applying every MOPEX cycle, especially so if you are applying to even more competitive specialities like ENT/Ortho etc

A law degree from Oxford is versatile. You can choose to practise as a lawyer in Singapore or in the UK. You can even choose to leverage your law degree to a management consulting/banking job in Singapore. ROI wise it is definitely higher considering a law degree only cost 200k while a med degree overseas can cost upwards of 600k

Yea not that easy to become a specialist ofc but I am willing to wait 2-3 years as an MO to get the specialty that I want. I did the calculation and despite the wait the long term ROI is good. Ur point regarding MBB and banking taken but I could do the same with a Med degree.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Yea not that easy to become a specialist ofc but I am willing to wait 2-3 years as an MO to get the specialty that I want. I did the calculation and despite the wait the long term ROI is good. Ur point regarding MBB and banking taken but I could do the same with a Med degree.

Your ROI calculations are based on the assumption you can be a specialist in a relatively well paying field.

However, it fails miserably if you become a GP/FP or even a specialist in a low paying field (path, psych, Geriatrics etc).

For context, those of my peers who went to study Law in the UK already outearn me as a GP years ago. And they are not even the cream of the crop. They are simply partners in B4. But again they already make $450,000 a year, a sum which I believe most GPs cannot earn unless they are lucky.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Your ROI calculations are based on the assumption you can be a specialist in a relatively well paying field.

However, it fails miserably if you become a GP/FP or even a specialist in a low paying field (path, psych, Geriatrics etc).

For context, those of my peers who went to study Law in the UK already outearn me as a GP years ago. And they are not even the cream of the crop. They are simply partners in B4. But again they already make $450,000 a year, a sum which I believe most GPs cannot earn unless they are lucky.

Actually psychiatrists earn quite well in private + with increasing focus on mental health its def possible + I believe AI casn automate a vast amount of the reading and vetting that lawyers do

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Your ROI calculations are based on the assumption you can be a specialist in a relatively well paying field.

However, it fails miserably if you become a GP/FP or even a specialist in a low paying field (path, psych, Geriatrics etc).

For context, those of my peers who went to study Law in the UK already outearn me as a GP years ago. And they are not even the cream of the crop. They are simply partners in B4. But again they already make $450,000 a year, a sum which I believe most GPs cannot earn unless they are lucky.

im doc myself.
i know lawyers are smarter so cannot compare

doc is slow plough. lawyer is huat immediately

TLDR go lawyer forum. dont come to low ses doc forum

Originally Posted by Unregistered

im doc myself.
i know lawyers are smarter so cannot compare

doc is slow plough. lawyer is huat immediately

TLDR go lawyer forum. dont come to low ses doc forum

Tbh which specialist doc gonna use this forum. Only GP on here discouraging people

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Tbh which specialist doc gonna use this forum. Only GP on here discouraging people

I am a IM subspec and I don’t recommend juniors pursue medicine if they are only concerned about the potential income like the OP. It’s a tough course to study and financial rewards are not gonna sustain you through the 5 years of MBBS and horsemanship