Job Benefits

There are some definite benefits to being a doctor that I have noticed in the less than one year I have been working in this field -- other than the “main” benefit of helping people. Here is a short list I compiled.

Fewer Clothes
Dressing half the time in shirt and tie and the other half the time in scrubs makes my shopping bills and cleaning bills much lighter. Luckily, men are not expected to have as much variety in their shirts and ties as they are for their casual and going-out clothes; just observe any guy and within a week you will start seeing his attire cycle. As such, I rarely need to go shopping or do laundry. (Don’t worry, you will always see me clean and presentable).

Weekdays Off
Granted having no/few weekend days off is miserable, since having a set and regular week is a great way to make it through said week. However, if forced, having weekdays off is not so bad since places are usually much less crowded during the day. A little less hassle in grocery stories, shopping malls, and restaurants is a small, yet helpful, perk.

Job Security
Not by any means a new observation, but I am starting to appreciate this better. Now that I am (more than) several years out of college, I have unfortunately watched more than one friend get laid off or leave because of dissatisfaction and then unable to find a new job. Luckily I doubt I will ever be in this position. Barring any sort of unethical, unprofessional, or incompetent behavior on my part, it is safe to say physicians of almost any specialty will always be greeted by open positions in nearly any part of the country. So while I struggle with an inflexible schedule and low, low pay now compared to my friends, I like to think that in the end this will all pay off.

Cheaper Bills
One benefit of living in the hospital and having no personal or social life is that there is much less time to spend at home or in a social scene to spend money. As a result I have fewer food bills (since the hospital provides lunch), fewer electricity bills (spending one out of four nights away from home), and less time and money to spend in bars (well...).

Credibility
Speaking of money, being a doctor gives you immediate and great credibility with financial institutions. I had to interact with several lately, each of which asked for my profession. Upon stating “physician” whatever algorithm their systems used boosted up my reliability. I just received a huge increase in credit limit and nice low interest rates. I realize one’s profession doesn’t make or break financial transactions, but it definitely appears to help. (The above is also true -- to a point -- if you substitute “financial institution” with “the ladies”. But not really.)