I'm surprised there is not a a good deal of healthcare workers on the forum. Unless I am not seeing it, the majority seem to be tech related.
A traveling nurse, for instance, seems like the perfect ERE job. You keep the base necessities in a suitcase, travel place to place on per diem, make more money than a regular nurse through those contracts (and most RNs make above the median U.S. income), and be done in your 5-10 years for all-out FI. Not to mention this is not a job that is susceptible to A.I. and with how demographics are trending in most developed countries (too many old, not enough young), there will be a growing demand for this work in the 21st century. The cost of a nursing license and education can be done at the community college level as well.
Anyone else in this field can post more? One thought I have is that as tech winds down hiring entry-level workers (due to AI replacement and increased offshoring), this field could potentially be the next go-to for FI seekers. Maybe that is a prediction.
Healthcare Work
Re: Healthcare Work
I have often thought the same, although its not a job which has ever appealed to me. There was a forum member called Bingeworker who spent his entire career semi-retired as a part-time/contract nurse. Canadian I believe. There may be ancillary non-patient treating careers in medicine which would offer similar flexibility and benefits.
Re: Healthcare Work
It may have something to do that ERE is most appealing to INTJs, who also happen to more often be engineers rather than nurses.
Re: Healthcare Work
@classical_liberal went back to school in his early 30s to become a nurse and did that before retiring. @mooretrees and @Jin+Guice work in healthcare for hospitals. There is also @frugaldoc, who is an active duty doctor for the Navy. I'm sure there are others I'm missing.
For anyone looking for extra motivation, ERE city North's local hospital has had an ongoing signing bonus offer of $80k for the past few years.
For anyone looking for extra motivation, ERE city North's local hospital has had an ongoing signing bonus offer of $80k for the past few years.
-
white belt
- Posts: 1529
- Joined: Sat May 21, 2011 12:15 am
Re: Healthcare Work
DW is a surgeon still in residency so I feel like I have at least some knowledge of the field. Based on the low quality of nurses she encounters at her large research hospital and the various signing bonuses offered, there is still a shortage of nurses so I expect it to be in-demand for years to come. I also believe nursing to be one of the fields that will be less effected by A.I. because much of the work requires physical human interaction. Maybe someone is working on the robot that can wipe a patient's ass.
In DW's opinion, the shortage of nurses has also shifted the power dynamics in the hospital. It used to be well understood that there is a hierarchy within a hospital of doctors>nurses, however now there are a lot of nurses who feel like they know a lot and should be as respected as other medical professionals who spend many more years in training. Also, DW has experienced far more sexism from female nurses in her professional career than any other group. Nurse politics and culture can be cutthroat, so some nurses will steer clear of or quit rather than work in certain institutions.
The biggest risk to working in healthcare is the uncertainty tied to government funding and the US insurance industry as a whole. Specifically, insurance reimbursement rates are tied to what Medicare will pay for. This minutiae can change frequently with virtually no public input or transparency, and these changes impact the profitability of certain medical specialties and institutions, which will then impact the healthcare labor market. In other words, one might need to be careful about picking specialties and also understand the risk of the mess that is the US healthcare system. Certain specialties (e.g. elective procedures that aren't covered by insurance) are more insulated than others.
In DW's opinion, the shortage of nurses has also shifted the power dynamics in the hospital. It used to be well understood that there is a hierarchy within a hospital of doctors>nurses, however now there are a lot of nurses who feel like they know a lot and should be as respected as other medical professionals who spend many more years in training. Also, DW has experienced far more sexism from female nurses in her professional career than any other group. Nurse politics and culture can be cutthroat, so some nurses will steer clear of or quit rather than work in certain institutions.
The biggest risk to working in healthcare is the uncertainty tied to government funding and the US insurance industry as a whole. Specifically, insurance reimbursement rates are tied to what Medicare will pay for. This minutiae can change frequently with virtually no public input or transparency, and these changes impact the profitability of certain medical specialties and institutions, which will then impact the healthcare labor market. In other words, one might need to be careful about picking specialties and also understand the risk of the mess that is the US healthcare system. Certain specialties (e.g. elective procedures that aren't covered by insurance) are more insulated than others.
Re: Healthcare Work
Just the other day sat in a meeting with some other doctors who were talking about 1. their husbands working for a big oil company and them considering moving to the Middle East to make the big bucks (while living in an expat compound) 2. where to send their multiple kids for enriching summer camps and 3. what couples vacation they were considering for their autumn holiday.
So it seems like Big Spending is still all the rage for certain types of doctors. Perhaps hard if you are raised that way and then see your fellow doctors act that way to decide to do it all differently.
So it seems like Big Spending is still all the rage for certain types of doctors. Perhaps hard if you are raised that way and then see your fellow doctors act that way to decide to do it all differently.