1. Medical Professionals (Doctors and Surgeons) Medical professionals consistently top the list of careers with the highest student loan debt. Reason for debt: Lengthy education (4 years of undergraduate studies, 4 years of medical school, plus residency and possibly fellowship).
Overall, doctors generally have higher long-term earnings potential compared to lawyers, particularly in specialized fields. However, both careers require substantial education and carry debt burdens, and individual outcomes can vary widely based on personal choices, market conditions, and geographic location.
Between medical school and undergraduate study, physicians must pay for 8 years of postsecondary education before they can work as doctors. Medical school graduates owe an average of $243,483 in total educational debt, premedical debt included.
The average law school graduate debt is $160,000, while the starting annual salary is much less.
The reality is that most lawyers earn significantly less than half a million dollars each year. According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median annual pay for lawyers in 2022 was $135,740, with only the top 1% surpassing the $500,000 mark.
California has the highest average salary for lawyers, only being surpassed by the District of Columbia, where lawyers command an average annual salary of $226,510.
Adults with lower and modest incomes are more likely to have medical debt. This analysis shows that about 1 in 10 adults with incomes below 400% of the federal poverty level (FPL) report having medical debt. In 2021, the federal poverty line was $12,880 for a person living on their own and $26,500 for a family of four.
Depending on various factors, paying off medical school loans might take 10 to 30 years. According to a study from Weatherby Healthcare, 25% of doctors expect to take six to 10 years to pay off their student loan debt, while 34% expect to take at least 10 years to pay off their student loans.
In general, a doctor. This does not mean every doctor is more prestigious than every lawyer. One reason would be that there are significantly fewer doctors than there are lawyers. I hasten to add that the help a person could get from a practitioner of either profession is priceless.
The highest-paid lawyers typically specialize in fields such as corporate law, intellectual property, tax law, medical malpractice, and entertainment law. These areas command higher salaries due to the complexity, demand, and financial stakes involved.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics gives median salaries for both doctors and lawyers, so it's clear that the doctors' number is higher. But median salaries are the midpoint in a list of salaries for one occupation, meaning that half of the list makes more and half makes less.
Dentists' debt-to-income ratios worse than other health workers. Though school debt consistently exceeded income for healthcare occupations -- except for physicians -- between 2017 and 2022, dentists had the highest debt-to-income ratios. The study was published in the American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education.
Average medical student debt: the data
On average, students graduate from medical school with about $227,000 in student loan debt, including both graduate school and undergraduate pre-medical programs, the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) reports.
Many states offer student loan forgiveness to healthcare professionals willing to make a two- to four-year commitment to serve a community with a healthcare professional shortage. Doing so could eliminate a portion of your student debt while helping your state fulfill a critical need.
If a patient has an outstanding balance with your practice, you have the right to attempt to collect that debt, regardless of how long it has been or whether you have already written off the debt. The write-off is an internal issue in your practice; it's not an agreement with patients to erase a debt.
Medical debt can also lead people to avoid medical care, develop physical and mental health problems, and face adverse financial consequences like lawsuits, wage and bank account garnishment, home liens, and bankruptcy.
He doesn't always lose money. But when he does, he loses more than $6 billion. He is ... the most indebted man in the world. Jérôme Kerviel is learning one of life's harsher lessons: It stinks to be $6.3 billion in debt.
African Americans incur substantial medical debt compared with Whites, and more than 40% of this is mediated by health status, income, and insurance disparities.
Finances are a worry for 67% all young lawyers and 68% of young lawyers with student debt, according to a Sept. 9 ABA press release summarizing the survey findings. But the impact increases with higher debt loads.
While not a specific requirement, lawyers often work long hours and can sometimes work in high-stress environments. While some lawyers can manage part-time or 40-hour workweeks, many work nights and weekends to fulfill all their responsibilities and commitments.
In the previous century, from 1900 to 2000, the number of lawyers rose 793% — from 114,460 to just over 1 million, an average growth of nearly 8% a year. By contrast, the number of lawyers nationwide has grown roughly 1% a year since 2000 — from 1,022,462 in 2000 to 1,322,649 in 2024, an increase of 29%.