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Physicians, residents and other clinicians
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Accepting questions
Intake
4 short steps

Education only. Please keep patient and health information out of anything you send us.

Career stages

Money questions, stop by stop

Six stops on a medical career, from the first loan to the last shift. Each one lists what tends to matter there, the articles written for it and a way to ask an advisor who works with physicians and clinicians.

  1. MS1–MS4

    Medical school

    Borrowing starts. Investing usually has not.

    Most of the debt is taken on here. Unsubsidized federal loans build interest while you are in school, so the balance on graduation day is usually more than what you borrowed.

    Write down each loan, its type and its rate. Whether a loan is a federal Direct loan decides which repayment and forgiveness options you have later.

    See a loan balance grow during training

  2. PGY-1 onward

    Residency

    A small salary, a large balance, and a choice about forgiveness.

    Income-driven repayment sets the payment from income, not balance, so a resident's payment can be lower than the interest. The balance can grow even when every payment is on time.

    If you may work for a nonprofit or public employer, residency payments can count toward Public Service Loan Forgiveness. Refinancing into a private loan gives that up for good.

    Moonlighting paid on a 1099 has no tax taken out. Set part of it aside for tax.

  3. Subspecialty years

    Fellowship

    More training years, and a good time to look at disability cover.

    Fellowship years at a qualifying employer generally keep counting toward the same 120 PSLF payments. Track the count across residency and fellowship together.

    Individual disability policies are underwritten on your health when you apply. Many physicians buy an own-occupation policy in training, with an option to raise cover as income rises.

  4. Attending, year one

    First attending contract

    The biggest pay rise of a career, and a contract to read line by line.

    Base salary is the easy number. The wRVU threshold, the bonus rate, signing-bonus repayment terms, the non-compete and who pays for tail coverage often matter more.

    The jump from resident to attending pay is large. Deciding the order of big purchases before the first paycheck matters more than any single purchase.

    Compare two offers by wRVU

  5. The long middle

    Mid-career

    Catching up on the years spent in training.

    A physician who starts saving at 35 has ten fewer years of compounding than a peer who started at 25. The plotter shows what that gap costs and what closes it.

    Hospital employers often offer a 403(b), a 401(a) and sometimes a 457(b). With a backdoor Roth IRA, that is more tax-advantaged room than many physicians use.

    Run the late-start plotter

  6. Changing jobs, cutting back, retiring

    Transition

    Exits have costs of their own.

    Leaving a job covered by claims-made malpractice insurance can bring a tail coverage bill in the tens of thousands of dollars. Check who pays before you give notice.

    Practice owners choose among SEP IRA, solo 401(k), 401(k) with profit sharing and cash-balance plans. Partner ages and practice size decide which fits.

    Plan a tail coverage reserve

Find an advisor

Get matched with an advisor who specializes in physicians and clinicians

  1. Intake

    Four short steps. Ranges are fine for money questions.

  2. Review

    We read the intake and contact you to confirm what you need.

  3. Referral

    To a licensed advisor who works with physicians and clinicians.

Step 1 of 4

Please do not send patient or health information, yours or anyone else's. No question here needs it, and a referral does not depend on it.

Step 1 of 4: Where you are and what you need

Where you are and what you need

So we look for someone who works with people like you.

This website is an educational publisher. It does not give personalized advice, recommend securities or manage money. Asking to be matched does not create an advisory relationship: any relationship is between you and the advisor, who will give you their own disclosures before you decide anything. Licensed financial advisors join our network to receive introductions and may pay us for them, through a monthly membership and a fee for each request. The fee does not depend on whether you hire an advisor and is not higher or lower for any particular advisor. Because advisors may pay us, we have a financial interest in the introductions we make. We match you by what you need, and being matched is not a recommendation or rating of any advisor. Nothing here is investment advice.