Why are there so many self-employed lawyers and doctors?

[elton]

if they wanted to start their own business.........
they didn't need to invest thousands of dollars and 8-10 years time into college.........

they could have just opened up their own retail store and start selling stuff and providing services.

It's the same concept, just different services.

What is the logic in wasting all that time and money on school if their goal was to be their own boss?

[denzell]

if they wanted to start their own business.........
they didn't need to invest thousands of dollars and 8-10 years time into college.........

they could have just opened up their own retail store and start selling stuff and providing services.

It's the same concept, just different services.

What is the logic in wasting all that time and money on school if their goal was to be their own boss?

people have different interests.

[jerrick]

doctors hate commerce. they actually like school!

[melville]

Because it's awesome. I can work my own hours, which is great because I get lots of energy late at night. I also make a lot more than I did when I was with a firm because I am the one who gets the profits. My student loans are paid off.

[jolie95]

No.

[patwin87]

If Obama and progressives get their way, they will be paid as much as a retail store clerk. And self-employed=business.

[ricard83]

Seriously? You don't understand why a physician would prefer to be self-employed than employed by a hospital?

A physician's practice is a BUSINESS. It's not enough to just go to school and study hard.

You direct how you practice, you decide your billing, you decide your own hours, you choose what pharmaceuticals and equipment you want to use, you don't have to worry as much about hospital politics if you are not a direct employee, YOU DIRECT HOW YOU WANT TO PRACTICE!

[ayize]

aside from helping people, medicine is very profitable as a business too because of insurance companies.

if you have patients coming into your clinic requesting tests, the bills sent to insurance companies translate into a lot of money. i've read a CT scan for example in the US can be billed for 20,000 dollars ( i might be wrong). other tests usually are billed in the thousands of dollars. And some doctors might perform a dozen of these tests in a day.

retail stores can easily fail or be barely profitable.

then again, not all doctors are rich.

[colum]

Because many want to be their own bosses. However with health reform, there will be more team and institutional practice which will enhance medicine and transmission of knowledge

Hope this herlps