I would still do this if I won 20 million dollars. But maybe just part-time.

The ones doing jobs I wanted to do (journalism, music, film) are struggling.

Hopefully you can follow in the path of people like Sanjay Gupta or Atul Gawande and do both without struggling (not mocking you, I really mean it) This is really what I wanted to do. My parents foolishly raised me to not worry about how much money I was going to make (and I certainly didn’t grow up with extra cash floating around) but I’m grateful every day that I get to do the job I like and will eventually make a good living doing it. I just wanted to throw that out there because a lot of people have voiced support for choosing a career with financial stability in mind. But I do understand why people make career decisions with financial security in mind–I think you can be a good doctor and even enjoy your job without feeling like it was your vocation.

Personally i would invest half of the money in low risk mutual funds and then take the other half over to my friend Asadulah who works in securities…

shiksa, we’re big disappointments! My Mum tried very hard to guide me away from medicine. But having said that, I don’t want my kids to be doctors.

The last dozen comments or so are very interesting. I also get frustrated when people think that a desi becoming a doctor is just a lack of imagination on their part, you phrased it very well desishiksa. I know you didn’t mean offence Cinnamon Rani and none was taken, but it’s an opinion I hear a lot. Another is the assumption that if you are brown and you do medicine, you were pushed into it by your parents.

I’d rather not go into details here, but sometimes there are other reasons for choosing a stable career. Had I been a millionaire, sure I would’ve been a director instead. But hopefully I can give my children that option when the time comes. Most of my friends and family are not doctors. The ones doing jobs I don’t like (finance etc) are having a great time and raking it in. The ones doing jobs I wanted to do (journalism, music, film) are struggling.

And, once again, we can refer back to GGM:

“Dad, I really want to be a doctor” “No no beta, nobody wants to do that anymore, you want to be a popstar!”

I quit my corporate job to turn filmmaker and have massively downshifted my life so i can afford rent and beer. But I am 28 and spent 3 years thinking about it before I decided to make the plunge. Had I done it when I was 20, it would have been tempting to quit. Besides, success is subjective. A lot of people I know entered film to be writer/directors (everyone wants to be a director) but over time end up doing some production work and that’s all they ever do. They eventually end up making decent wages though. Watch out for my film – Vishkanya coming soon to an adult video store near you!

But, to the rest of you, it’s a great way to not feel like the only Indian in the education system =)

Poverty is relative, of course. One can have lots of money, and still be poor in other ways. A low teacher’s salary is frustrating not because I live a life of poverty, but because I don’t think I’m appropriately compensated for the amount of work (emotional and otherwise) that I do.

That being said, I chose my profession despite the $ issue because it makes me happy. Lucky for me I’m helping (hopefully!) some people out and I (usually) don’t have to see any blood.

That’s a cop-out I mean, by extension, if your kid loves art and you’re trying to force them into another field, wouldn’t the fact that they’re spending over 50% of their life in a field/job they don’t enjoy be “not cool” also? Plus – correct me if I’m wrong – but most of the folks I know living “artistic lifestyles” are also holding down alternate jobs, or they are involved in some non-starving-artist capacity.

I too, hope that there will soon be more desis is non-traditional professions and that those in medicine will become more political (including me). But at least we come from a culture that expects women to go to medical school, not “finishing school”…it could be worse!

My husband wants me to share this joke…

Desishiksa, once again sorry if I offended you and I have nothing but respect for a profession that serves only to better the lives of others.