Every week I run into a few articles that I feel are especially valuable, so each Monday I plan to share some of the best with you, my readers. I hope you find them helpful.
This week’s favorite topics include job satisfaction complainers, what to do if you are complaining about your job, when is a doctor too old, and why it’s sooooo hard to save that first million.
Happy reading!
Every profession has its down sides. Sometimes we get into a pity party about how bad those bad things are. But are they really so bad compared to what other professions go through? Police officers get shot at. Fire fighters run into burning buildings. Dairy farmers can’t seem to get the cows to take a day off. Would you actually be complaining about how bad your job as a doctor is, if you were speaking to a factory worker? The White Coat Investor published a piece from Side Hustle Scrubs titled Stop Whining About Job Satisfaction. It does put things into a more realistic light. We really don’t have it that bad in medicine.
To add to the last article, Side Hustle Scrubs published a companion piece on his own site titled, 10 Things More Productive Than Whining About Job Satisfaction (and the doctors who did them). He provides examples of what to do about our complaints. If you don’t like your job, then improve it, don’t just gripe about it. This article lists how doctors have made changes in their lives. No more excuses. Make your life better today!
So what if you really do hate your job? Well, Wealthy Doc has a story for you in his article How to Become Financially Free from a Job You Hate. You do have options: Change your current job so you no longer hate it, swap to a different job, or become financially independent so you don’t need a job. Check out what Wealthy Doc decided to do.
On the other hand, some doctors never quit. We have all encountered an elderly doctor and wondered if they could still do the job. Many still can, but what if they can’t? What then? How does one decide when the skills for medicine or surgery have declined too much for safe practice? Tough question. Dr. Herbert Dardik, an 80 year old surgeon in New Jersey, recalls noticing the old pilot as he got onto the airplane. He thought “I hope this guy’s still OK.” Then he realized, that is what people are thinking of him. Check out his thoughts on aging doctors in the New York Times piece by Paula Span called “When is the Surgeon Too Old to Operate?”
Ever wonder why more people aren’t millionaires? I mentioned it in my recent article called “What Does it Take to Become Wealthy? Hint, it’s not Money.” This week the Debt Free Doctor explains The #1 Reason Why The First Million Is The Hardest. I experienced this phenomena myself. It took me 37 years to accumulate the first million, but only four years for the second and two years for the third. It takes time to build up momentum, but watch out after that ball gets rolling.
I hope you enjoy these articles as well as I did. I look forward to updating you again next week with a few more articles I found especially interesting.
Awesome list.
Thanks for including me.
I really loved the Side Hustle Scrubs article about job satisfaction. We have a great profession.
I agree that medicine is a great profession. We can strive to do less of the parts we don’t like and do more of the parts we do like. There is room for alterations.
Thanks for featuring my articles. It sparked a good conversation (and a little hate mail).
More importantly, thanks for being one of the role models physicians can turn to for inspiration on how to change their career for the better. Complaining is easy. Change is tough. It helps to have other physicians you can turn to who have already created a roadmap to job satisfaction.
The hate mail is interesting. Seems when you tell someone that they can change their situation, they get mad, as you are implying that the bad situation is their own fault. No one ever wants to admit it is their fault. They feel better if they can blame someone else. Many of the things we don’t like about our job as a physician can be improved upon. We are not locked into everything about the job. Step up, put on your big boy/girl pants, and make some changes.