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Former CEO of RadioShack now an ER doctor on frontlines of Covid-19 fight

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Re: Former CEO of RadioShack now an ER doctor on frontlines of Covid-19 fight

#161

Post by swyx »

sharkweek wrote: post #76
mc32 wrote: post #24

One of my all-time favorite satirical articles from the onion: https://www.theonion.com/even-ceo-cant-figure-out-how-radios... I wish either one of its ex-ceos was like that in real life. But an ER doctor is pretty cool as well.

Ha, that's also one of my favorite Onion articles (besides the one that says Toyota issuing a recall on all 1993 Camrys because it's really time for the owner to get a new car). Another great piece of RadioShack literature is Jon Bois' recap of working there for years. It's long but worth a read if you have 20 minutes. https://www.sbnation.com/2014/11/26/7281129/radioshack-eulog... I think if someone asked me to sort…

just sharing one of my favorite Onion articles here since we're on this topic: https://www.theonion.com/protagonist-scrolls-intensely-throu... if i tell you more i'll ruin it

Re: Former CEO of RadioShack now an ER doctor on frontlines of Covid-19 fight

#162

Post by swyx »

93po wrote: post #147
Waterluvian wrote: post #36

I think the most fascinating thing, to me, is that transitioning from CEO of RadioShack to med student in your 40s means you _must_ have a humble, down to Earth ego.

I met tons of rich kids doing residency in their mid 20s with massive egos and zero humility. I doubt a millionaire former CEO doing it as a hobby requires any humility.

you doubt that opting into a situation where your wealth is completely irrelevant when it comes to saving lives (and, before that, passing medical exams) requires any humility?

Re: Former CEO of RadioShack now an ER doctor on frontlines of Covid-19 fight

#163

Post by refurb »

Scoundreller wrote: post #56
caycep wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

only with specialists/subspecialists w/ procedures, or surgeons. And if not, prepare to spend a lot of overnights. Family med say $120k starting, Internal med $200k Each extra $25-50k is like another year of training at $50k.

Unsure what the US situation is, but there are a lot of benefits to earning $120k/year in a business/professional corporation vs. a salary. At least in Canada anyway.

My understanding is the tax code in Canada is pretty unique when it comes to doctors.

Re: Former CEO of RadioShack now an ER doctor on frontlines of Covid-19 fight

#164

Post by DrScump »

whoisjuan wrote: post #6

Holy Shit! Imagine being the CEO of a RadioShack, then saying "I want to become a Doctor" and actually doing it. That's amazing! Love this story.

Guitarist Jeff "Skunk" Baxter (most famous for his work with Steely Dan and the Doobie Brothers) became interested in data compression algorithms and missile defense applications and came to chair the Civilian Advisory Board for Ballistic Missile Defense.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Baxter#Defense_consulting...

Re: Former CEO of RadioShack now an ER doctor on frontlines of Covid-19 fight

#165

Post by sfj »

Mythological wrote: post #143
SkyPuncher wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My wife is a resident. The salaries look nice when they're windowed to a single year. Career earnings, it's good but not that great compared to tech - especially when you consider the hours and stress. * 4 years of med school - $0 income - $40k+ of tuition * 3+ years of residency, minimum (4+ for most fields, even more for surgery) - $60k/year ------ If my wife had gone straight into tech, we'd have been better off f…

> Career earnings, it's good but not that great compared to tech We are in a strange time when software engineer salaries can even be comparable to those of doctors. Rest assured that sooner or later tech workers will be middle-class schlubs like pretty much every other type of engineer.

I disagree, software scales much better than, say, designing a bridge.

Re: Former CEO of RadioShack now an ER doctor on frontlines of Covid-19 fight

#166

Post by cung »

quickthrowman wrote: post #104
owl57 wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Correlation or causation?

It’s classism, and it’s reality. Correlation and causation are irrelevant.

Doctors kids become doctors and doctors are well paid.

This is anecdotal, but my elementary school class was full of doctors kids and I can tell you that the doctor parents would almost disown their kid if they didn't get into medical school. Doctors seem to have a very strong opinion on the medical field being the only right option.

So in that sense it's more of a correlation with money, and a causation through inheritance.

Re: Former CEO of RadioShack now an ER doctor on frontlines of Covid-19 fight

#167

Post by jacobush »

wolco wrote: post #155
adsljfl3 wrote: post #132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's interesting because you know we are weeding out talent that comes from low socio economic backgrounds and who need cash flow to support their families. At end of the day, we shouldn't be weeding out our doctors to only be folks who don't need to support their families for the next 10 years.

There is a limit put in place on supply (seats at medical schools) already. Weeding out is part of that system already. The question is should cost be part of that.. we decided somewhat yes which is fair if you decide to limit supply in the first place.

To limit supply is mostly to control price, like how OPEC controls oil. Current doctors have a vested interest in remaining a scarce commodity and lobby accordingly on the boards it matters.

Re: Former CEO of RadioShack now an ER doctor on frontlines of Covid-19 fight

#168

Post by digikazi »

cung wrote: post #166
quickthrowman wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s classism, and it’s reality. Correlation and causation are irrelevant.

Doctors kids become doctors and doctors are well paid. This is anecdotal, but my elementary school class was full of doctors kids and I can tell you that the doctor parents would almost disown their kid if they didn't get into medical school. Doctors seem to have a very strong opinion on the medical field being the only right option. So in that sense it's more of a correlation with money, and a causation through inhe…

That is true, up to a certain extent. I'd say that at university, about half of the medical students I met had one or sometimes two parents who were doctors. The rest seemed to come from comfortable middle-class backgrounds.

In my case.... my dad is a doctor and it was sort of expected I become one myself. Its not my thing though, or it wasn't at the time so now (like a lot of people on this forum) I work in engineering. In a way I do regret it now, because I wish I did something "useful" to society.

My younger sister however, did go to med school and is about to finish. She was very driven from a young age - I don't remember her saying she wants to become anything else but a doc. When her and my dad talk, I feel a little left out and only occasionally I have the feeling they look at me and shake their heads.

Re: Former CEO of RadioShack now an ER doctor on frontlines of Covid-19 fight

#169

Post by redis_mlc »

Retric wrote: post #124
filoleg wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Correct, but I don't know a single doctor in the US who actually paid it upfront instead of taking out all those loans and then easily paying them back with their newfound doctor salary later.

Many people fail to become doctors and or lose their license for various reasons. So, it’s a huge gamble in the US that can easily cause massive financial issues.

What's interesting is that student pilots face those same issues now.

To go from ab initio to an airline pilot role, the cost is in the area of $200,000 - $250,000 now and there's a lot of ways to end up not getting picked for an airline job.

Entry salary is up from $18,000 to $40,000 or so now, but that's not much improvment considering the cost of training.

Part of the issue is the 1,500 hour experience rule, which is government-imposed. (There's an option for 1,200 hours, but then your major has to be airline-focused., preventing them from wisely diversifying their career options.)

US airlines are in a bind because their policy is to not subsidize initial training, but cannot fly without pilots.

And students are getting sticker-shock, and thinking about other careers with better ROI and certainty.

Re: Former CEO of RadioShack now an ER doctor on frontlines of Covid-19 fight

#170

Post by dntbnmpls »

Judgmentality wrote: post #77
K0SM0S wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I reckon that in France, you can become a doctor without capital— although studies are long and absolutely not designed to help the student work a job part time, so there's an underlying social factor at play; gov help doesn't target 18-25s for some reason (most benefits start at 25). It's not perfect, but it's certainly better than having to spend mid-five figures. That the student learns law, medicine, math, physic…

> It's not perfect, but it's certainly better than having to spend mid-five figures. It costs a lot more than that to become a doctor in the US. Typical student loan debt for doctors is well into 6 digits. https://www.bestmedicaldegrees.com/is-medical-school-worth-i...

It would cost even more trying to do it midlife. You have the cost of feeding/housing your family and other responsibilities. It's not an easy decision for anyone but the lucky wealthy.
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