How is life as a doctor in Singapore?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Don’t just go into aesthetics for the money. You need to have the passion. I used to think like you, chasing the money. Ended up repeating med school and graduating with an average grades. Landed up as a GP making around 220k a year.

Then I took a year long spiritual retreat to Tibet and engaged in the teachings of Buddhism. Realised that I should have pursued my real passion (law).

Was tough when I went back to do my JD in SMU because of the opportunity cost and everything. But I did well in my exams due to real passion. Had to restart work life all over again as a $7000/month associate slogging at A&G.

Was tough the last 8 years but I eventually made it to an international firm. Now I am making 400k a year doing what I love. Deal making and corporate negotiation.

too late for me. already finished residency.
but still looking to go into aesthetic medicine.
please could anyone share where to gain the COC?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Don’t just go into aesthetics for the money. You need to have the passion. I used to think like you, chasing the money. Ended up repeating med school and graduating with an average grades. Landed up as a GP making around 220k a year.

Then I took a year long spiritual retreat to Tibet and engaged in the teachings of Buddhism. Realised that I should have pursued my real passion (law).

Was tough when I went back to do my JD in SMU because of the opportunity cost and everything. But I did well in my exams due to real passion. Had to restart work life all over again as a $7000/month associate slogging at A&G.

Was tough the last 8 years but I eventually made it to an international firm. Now I am making 400k a year doing what I love. Deal making and corporate negotiation.

Do U also happen to have an associate who fake his Harvard credentials and have an incredibly milf secretary?

Question for the finance bro or anyone who has an opinion. I am someone who is academically strong (90rp etc etc) but i am not the 1 percent in terms of intelligence ie im not smart enough to win Olympiads. I hold a med school offer but could get into a top school for econs if needed

I am debating betweeen a career in finance or Medicine. If i pursue the former I likely wont be able to break into any quant firms or hedge funds. Regular BB IB loses out to Medicine in the Long Run so dosent seem to make as much sense to pursue that. If i pursue the latter i feel that I would be able to acquire a high value skill set. I am also relatively business and financially savvy so I would be able to start a clinic or invest money aggressively so my wealth would hopefully grow over time.

The question is Medicine vs Finance and I am concerned abour risk adjusted return rather than just starting pay

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Question for the finance bro or anyone who has an opinion. I am someone who is academically strong (90rp etc etc) but i am not the 1 percent in terms of intelligence ie im not smart enough to win Olympiads. I hold a med school offer but could get into a top school for econs if needed

I am debating betweeen a career in finance or Medicine. If i pursue the former I likely wont be able to break into any quant firms or hedge funds. Regular BB IB loses out to Medicine in the Long Run so dosent seem to make as much sense to pursue that. If i pursue the latter i feel that I would be able to acquire a high value skill set. I am also relatively business and financially savvy so I would be able to start a clinic or invest money aggressively so my wealth would hopefully grow over time.

The question is Medicine vs Finance and I am concerned abour risk adjusted return rather than just starting pay

Finance is too risky, anyone can go into it with any degree. Takes more connections rather than true skill.

Why not consider Law? It has intellectual rigour as well and it has faster career trajectory compared to med.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Question for the finance bro or anyone who has an opinion. I am someone who is academically strong (90rp etc etc) but i am not the 1 percent in terms of intelligence ie im not smart enough to win Olympiads. I hold a med school offer but could get into a top school for econs if needed

I am debating betweeen a career in finance or Medicine. If i pursue the former I likely wont be able to break into any quant firms or hedge funds. Regular BB IB loses out to Medicine in the Long Run so dosent seem to make as much sense to pursue that. If i pursue the latter i feel that I would be able to acquire a high value skill set. I am also relatively business and financially savvy so I would be able to start a clinic or invest money aggressively so my wealth would hopefully grow over time.

The question is Medicine vs Finance and I am concerned abour risk adjusted return rather than just starting pay

Question is can you be a specialist that’s what you need to ask yourself. And also do you have the patient to slog through residency before you see the big bucks.

Otherwise to be honest a GP earns less than investment bankers. Even B4 lawyers make more than GP.

A salaried law partner in B4 with 12 years of experience can reliably make 400k a year while a GP peaks at 250k-300k a year.

There’s no way to further increase your salary as a GP unless you open chain of clinics which is not guaranteed. Millions is possible if you make equity in B4. High 6 figures possible if you move become head of legal in-house role. Simply put, the options are more palatable in Law rather than medicine assuming you end up as a GP/FP. Which sadly majority of med students (80%) end up as.

Just look at majority of posters lol.. all are disgruntled GP/FPs. This is already a warning to you to avoid med if you don’t want to be a GP/FP

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Finance is too risky, anyone can go into it with any degree. Takes more connections rather than true skill.

Why not consider Law? It has intellectual rigour as well and it has faster career trajectory compared to med.

Strongly believe a lot of the work corporate lawyers do will be automated and streamlined by AI, leading to lower comps at junior levels and lower hiring

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Question is can you be a specialist that’s what you need to ask yourself. And also do you have the patient to slog through residency before you see the big bucks.

Otherwise to be honest a GP earns less than investment bankers. Even B4 lawyers make more than GP.

A salaried law partner in B4 with 12 years of experience can reliably make 400k a year while a GP peaks at 250k-300k a year.

There’s no way to further increase your salary as a GP unless you open chain of clinics which is not guaranteed. Millions is possible if you make equity in B4. High 6 figures possible if you move become head of legal in-house role. Simply put, the options are more palatable in Law rather than medicine assuming you end up as a GP/FP. Which sadly majority of med students (80%) end up as.

Just look at majority of posters lol.. all are disgruntled GP/FPs. This is already a warning to you to avoid med if you don’t want to be a GP/FP

True but in aesthetics, 350-400k TC is easily doable at the mid career level

Originally Posted by Unregistered

True but in aesthetics, 350-400k TC is easily doable at the mid career level

Aesthetics is minimally 500k
If u start ur own chain is 1mil

Aesthetics beats law partner

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Aesthetics is minimally 500k
If u start ur own chain is 1mil

Aesthetics beats law partner

beats sg big 4 non equity but interantional can compete with specialist but then again how many become international law firm partners even

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Question for the finance bro or anyone who has an opinion. I am someone who is academically strong (90rp etc etc) but i am not the 1 percent in terms of intelligence ie im not smart enough to win Olympiads. I hold a med school offer but could get into a top school for econs if needed

I am debating betweeen a career in finance or Medicine. If i pursue the former I likely wont be able to break into any quant firms or hedge funds. Regular BB IB loses out to Medicine in the Long Run so dosent seem to make as much sense to pursue that. If i pursue the latter i feel that I would be able to acquire a high value skill set. I am also relatively business and financially savvy so I would be able to start a clinic or invest money aggressively so my wealth would hopefully grow over time.

The question is Medicine vs Finance and I am concerned abour risk adjusted return rather than just starting pay

Banking bro here

Just some of my quick thoughts. Can / will supplement later.a

If you choose to become a doctor in SG, an average one is unlikely to beat bankers that can survive (but I would say bankers that can survive are probably rarer than being a surgeon in SG). VP (6-7 yoe+) at a BB can clear 500k at an average year and potentially more. But most of them join as grad analyst maybe half of them make VP or equivalent.

You can easily beat the number by getting into derm or equivalent (hard af I guess) or being a doctor in HK (not likely an option for most SG bros). Then it is about aesthetics or GP entrepreneurship which I cannot comment much as I don't think it is that easy.

Finance is about the long game though. If you are a junior who cannot stand the hours or got fired, your options are limited. Get a junior position at a tech company (M&A, investor relations, capital markets, strategy, etc.) and make 6-8k as someone with 2-4 yoe. Or move down to lower tier banks like SMBC, ING, or whatever. And simply once you move down, either you are lucky af to move back up in a bull market or you are stuck moving between lower tier shops. Low tier investment banks still pay decent money but low tier buysides don't. They have many bodies from big 4 or whatever jobs who are desperate for "deals" or "M&A" experience with a dream of moving upward from a 8k private equity job at a small fund to larger funds or investment banks.

The issue with finance vs doctor is there is limited spots for doctors. GP is a safety net for everyone and rest is upside from there. Finance - you have thousands of BBA students who want good money, engineering students who suddenly love finance for the money, those who went Oxbridge LSE Ivies who can only do this (what else can they do?), and even those who cannot make it went to back office or big 4 or inhouse M&A or small PE funds and everyday thinking of moving up from there. Thousands of replacements are manufactured every year and because only a handful of employers can pay, basically everyone is replaceable and you won't have sense of security there.

Separately, on a personal basis, finance is not really about how sharp you are. There are really smart people but I can tell you if one thing is most important for this industry, it must not be intelligence as more like IQ110 is the requirement and that's it.

It is about social skills. I don't have much but I am lucky. But for most people, you have to either be genuinely nice, hardworking and likeable by everyone or master of acting / sociopath to throw other people under the bus making yourself look good. Mind you everyone is replaceable that's why this is the most important. From day 1, you can be a student applying summer internship and for 6 headcounts we receive 2000 resumes, interview 100-150 for first round. Everyone did 2-3 internships in boutique investment banks or funds, with decent GPA and loads of ECs. Going to a good school is important but it is more like a requirement than an advantage - There are more than a thousand of Singaporeans + Southeast Asians in US top 20 schools + Oxbridge LSE Imperial. How many BB IBD S&T PE HF spots in SG? Maybe 100 across all these? Adding NUS NTU SMU and take out people who are so entitled not preparing for interviews, you have a win rate of 1/4 I would say. Great, 1/4 chance you will be a high finance bro. Do MBBS, you are 1 in 1 a doctor. And no one guarantees you can stand the pressure in finance. You can work at a MM HF with toxic boss that makes you want to quit, work at a PE fund that does only 1 deal in your 3 years etc.

For 1 opening at something like KKR Singapore, you have dozens of people are qualified and working / worked at somewhere like another top tier fund's London / NY office wanting to come back, bankers from MS/JPM etc. in SG/NY/London offices, kids who have solid experience from local shops like Southern, Navis, etc. Everyone is very replaceable so to survive, be likeable and continue to hustle for your whole life to build your name.

The effort it takes may as well get you into IM then cards or GI and scope scope scope for free money.

However, for a Singaporean, I would say if you believe you are destined to be the top 1% of the 1% (i.e. top 1% of doctors / bankers / lawyers), definitely do finance. You will print unlimited money there. Be a PM with crazy track record in a pod at 35, just signing bonus alone is 5-10m SGD. Work at a mega fund in PE, get top rating every year, promote to MD/Partner before 40 and makes 2-5m SGD a year, potentially start your fund and raise 500-600m then charge 2/20 fee on that. Join TikTok as CEO and make bank, etc. Sky is the limit there but I can tell you every working at a BB IBD/S&T, such example appears maybe 1 in a few years across the street. The reason you see so many such people is 1) sampling bias as they will appear on news much more often and 2) the old gen had it way easier because the finance sector was a wild west 20 years ago when analyst buying lambo to celebrate their promotion and associate makes 500k 4-5 years out of school. These were more than 20 years ago so don't come in with such expectation.