The medical profession is held in awe and respect across the globe. It is a noble profession as Medical Professionals try to heal sickness, diseases, treat physical and mental trauma.
Acquiring Medical Professional degree is result of years of hard work in academics, many years of training and spending huge sums of money. Usually a Bachelor’s degree in medicine takes about 5 years. But in today’s world that might not be enough to have a successful career and many opt for a Master degree like an M.D. which usually takes another 3 years. And then specializations in various fields. Some might want to do specialized courses which again take time and are expensive. Some might pursue studies abroad which means higher investment. Medical Professionals also need to keep updating their skills and educating themselves. So compared to other professions, a Medical Professional invests a lot in his career and starts earning properly a little late in life.

Medical Professional economic cycle

He might start earning properly after the age of 28-30 years which is late compared to other professions. A Medical Professional can either begin his career by assisting another Medical Professional or working in a hospital. This means he begins on a regular salary late and hence his social life and events also gets delayed. A late marriage, a late kid and long erratic working hours do influence his financial life. He does not have much time to concentrate on planning his finances. Earnings peak between 40-50 years.
Medical Professionals have the advantage of continuing their practice for as long as possible. But this depends a lot on their reputation and health. Business does go slow for some Medical Professionals or starts cooling down once they finish some years in the business. Younger Medical Professional get more popular, they are more in tune with current trends in medicine and lifestyle. Some of them have more specialized degrees. A Medical Professional therefore cannot be lax imagining that he has a very long career ahead of him. He should have a retirement age in mind and plan according to that. If he can continue even after that age, he should consider it a bonus or can decide terms and conditions of his work which is a great advantage to have.

Medical Professionals love Real Estate

Many Medical Professionals in india invest in real estate for housing and setting up a practice. They are commonly overweight in real estate which might not be a good idea. They have to understand real estate is one of the asset classes – so there will be periods of outperformance and underperformance.

Job Vs. Practice

Medical Professionals have to decide whether they want to set up their own practice or work in a hospital or do both. Some also want to start their own hospital which means they are getting into a business, which are difficult ball game.
They need to understand pros and cons of each option and decide which works best for them. If one feels, he is not financially savvy but good in medical skills, he can set up a small private clinic and/or be a consultant Medical Professional in a hospitals. Setting up practice is not easy. There are numerous Medical Professionals and each is competing for the same market.
If you are a Medical Professional setting up a new practice, you should devote time to the starting the practice and it should start before you finish your previous employment, if any, so that you have steady source of income. You can partner with finance expert to understand the financing aspect of business.

When Husband & Wife both are Practicing Medical Professionals

Many times both husband and wife are medical practioners. They are self-employed professional who earn well but would not have done financial planning. This could be because they do not keep a check on how much they earn and personal and professional expenses get mixed up. They do not understand Investment Planning, tax planning etc. and end up making wrong investments choices or evading tax by hiding income. Many are so busy with erratic hours that they do not have the time or inclination to spend time on managing finances. Such Medical Professionals need to take following steps ;
1. Separate out personal and Professional Expenses
2. Create a Budget
3. Create an emergency Fund
4. Get Insurance cover for self and Family so that personal goals and professional expenses paid off in case of unfortunate event.
5. Make Financial goals like child education, retirement and work towards achieving them by investing properly and reviewing periodically.
6. They should take the help of a financial Planner if they are not comfortable doing this on their own.

Medical Professionals Financial Knowledge

Medical Professional are very intelligent. Some of them therefore think they can make great financial decisions too. But many of them make mistakes leading to financial losses. For example many Medical Professionals do not buy enough insurance at the right time to cover them and family. They realise later in life that their finances are not well managed. Buying insurance when you are older is expensive. Some professional do buy life insurance but ignore disability insurance.