Alternative Careers for Medical Professionals

There comes a point in many successful careers where high pay, prestige, and promotions just aren't enough. Doctors who have been experiencing extreme burnout since the pandemic and its disruptions to our medical system may be contemplating how to use their skills and resources to make a professional pivot and earn a greater Return on Life from their work.

Teaching is one obvious path a doctor might choose. Taking a sabbatical or volunteering could also rekindle your love of medicine.

But if you’re determined to make a change, it’s important to review both your professional options and your financial plan.

Here are four examples of the many alternative careers available to doctors.

1. Biotech or Pharmaceutical Industries

The intersection of medicine and technology is a growing space where doctors can apply their expertise and gain new marketable skills and knowledge. Your contributions to research, studies, and trials could lead to breakthrough treatments, including new drugs. Your communication and administrative skills could also be valuable at companies that need pros who can help their tech and medical teams speak each other's languages. You’ll also gain valuable insight into how technology is reshaping the medical field, which could help your own career advancement or lay the groundwork for another pivot down the road.

2. Venture Capital

Many VC firms and "angel investors" specialize in biotech, pharmaceuticals, and other health care-related industries. You could help these firms evaluate potential investment candidates from a medical perspective while your colleagues analyze the numbers. These investments can fund innovative new startups and cutting-edge technologies that could change how diseases are identified and how patients are treated. VC work can also be very profitable. In addition to a base salary, you could earn performance-based bonuses, carried interest ("carry") percentages of the VC's total return on investments (ROI), or a percentage of the firm's assets under management (AUM). Just remember that many of these perks are tied to the success of individual and company-wide investments. And no investment is ever guaranteed success, even at a VC firm. 

3. Healthcare Administration

If you enjoy working in a hospital environment but want to spend less time grinding through patient appointments, consider heading behind the scenes. Healthcare administrators typically manage teams, scheduling, budgets, maintenance, and compliance with laws and regulations. Because you know what doctors and nurses need to provide exceptional patient care, you’ll be able to build and manage an exceptional support system. And if you dream of one day starting your own firm, spending a few years in administration could help you to develop your leadership skills and business acumen.

4. Founder and CEO

Becoming your own boss can take some of the stress out of a job. You'll have the power to set your hours, focus on tasks that interest you, and potentially earn much more.

But starting a firm could also create brand new stresses to both your career and your finances. As a founder, you'll likely be investing some of your own capital into the new company. As a CEO, you might spend more time running the business than you do practicing medicine. You might find that managing a team of doctors, nurses, and administrators while also keeping the books balanced and treating the occasional patient are all more stressful and less rewarding than the career that was burning you out in the first place.

If you're thinking about putting your medical skills to new uses, make an appointment to work through our Life-Centered Planning Tools. We can help you assess the Return on Life you're receiving from work and analyze how plotting a career change could affect your financial planning and long-term goals through retirement.