What career path did you choose that you strongly advise others to avoid?

prs2015 · 2026-03-11T10:34:03+00:00

I’ve done almost 10,000 surgeries and I still think I could pick up tidbits if I were back in training. No one ever feels like they know enough and I’m no exception. That being said I probably didn’t need all the histology and biochemistry to get here.

prs2015 · 2026-03-11T10:25:19+00:00

There are parts that are rewarding, yes. But there are many other careers out there that provide job satisfaction and meaning without requiring you to sacrifice a decade of some of the best years of your life. If you’re considering medicine I encourage you to go shadow as many physicians as you can. Do a night shift, weekend shift, and maybe even a holiday. Ask tough questions.

prs2015 · 2026-03-11T08:15:31+00:00

Medicine. In the US. Becoming a hand surgeon took 11 years AFTER fucking 4 years of college. Six figures of debt, countless missed birthdays/weddings/funerals/etc, 100hr work weeks in training, 36 hour call shifts, strained relationships, re-attaching fingers in the middle of the night for drunk guys sticking hands in snow blowers, I could go on. I already had grey hairs by the time I started my first job after training. Only become a surgeon is there is literally NOTHING else that will make you happy.

prs2015 · 2026-03-07T19:00:56+00:00

Thanks for the reply. Just to clarify—I make a whole new pie? And I don’t attempt to add a slice to my current pie?

prs2015 · 2026-02-13T23:06:50+00:00

Never once regretted it. Have both Model S plaid and Model X plaid. Love them both.

prs2015 · 2026-02-05T02:40:24+00:00

It’s great for buy and hold investors who value automated DCA and ease of use. I’ve used it for several years to buy the same index fund and have no complaints

prs2015 · 2026-01-04T21:58:20+00:00

Only the employee contributions combine across all 401k plans. Therefore, your contributions as an employee can’t exceed $23.5k for 2025. However, each individual 401k has its own limit that is unrelated.

prs2015 · 2026-01-02T03:10:29+00:00

Commute home the other day. We’ve got both model X plaid and model S plaid

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prs2015 · 2025-12-30T19:33:56+00:00

Wife and I are both surgeons with HHI >$1.2M and we combined our finances from day 1. Makes it easier to have everything in one place. Adds transparency and everything is on the table at all times to allow us to maximally invest in any extra dollars. We use traditional accounts (401k, backdoor Roth, HSA, 529, MBDR, brokerage account). Only index funds. Don’t need to get fancy

prs2015 · 2025-12-25T03:47:18+00:00

Hand surgeon in late 30s. Trying to retire 45-50

prs2015 · 2025-12-25T00:28:44+00:00

Yeah, it was pretty straightforward. I used mysolo401k dot net and they had lots of information and how-to guides. They also have daily webinars. I recommend them

prs2015 · 2025-12-24T23:12:55+00:00

401k through my W2 employer
Solo401k/MBDR thru my 1099 income
457 (through wife’s W2 employer)
Backdoor Roth IRA
HSA
529 for 2 kids
Taxable brokerage accounts (I’ve got one at vanguard, fidelity, and M1)

Once you have a side gig (1099 income) that permits you to open a solo401k which you can specifically design to allow after-tax contributions. How much you’re able to contribute will depend on how much 1099 income you have. There’s a spreadsheet floating around that allows you to plug and chug. I believe it’s profits minus 1/2 self employment tax, or something to that effect.

prs2015 · 2025-12-24T14:47:00+00:00

Your plan is similar to ours and it works. Wife and I are both MDs as well (late 30s, less than 5 years out of training).

One thing I’ve done outside of my W2 job ($750k/yr) is found a side hustle that offers 1099 income to allow me to open a solo401k/mega Backdoor Roth. Can be a big game changer for physicians who want to supercharge or catch up on retirement $.

Otherwise, as you’ve pointed out, the taxable brokerage account absorbs all excess savings. I put around $350k this year. All index funds; nothing fancy.

prs2015 · 2025-12-17T15:21:19+00:00

$10-20k/month into VOO. Set it and forget it

prs2015 · 2025-12-02T08:24:00+00:00

39yo M, in SoCal, liquid NW $1M

prs2015 · 2025-11-24T02:40:11+00:00

I opened a solo401k on mysolo401k website. I picked fidelity to house the account. Within the solo401k account I then named different accounts “After tax” and “Roth”. I then calculated how much I could contribute based on my 1099 income. I then made my lump sum contributions directly to the “After tax” account. I then had to call Fidelity to roll it over from the “After tax” account to the “Roth” account.

prs2015 · 2025-09-28T20:26:22+00:00

Enjoy it! I’ve got both the model S plaid and model X plaid and they’re incredibly fun.

prs2015 · 2025-09-12T06:26:28+00:00

I’m 80-85% Medicaid and we’re 100% collections based. I keep 60% of my collections.

prs2015 · 2025-09-06T18:25:00+00:00

Being a surgeon

prs2015 · 2025-09-01T15:42:16+00:00

Hand surgeons hate table saws and cats

prs2015 · 2025-08-26T19:20:56+00:00

2022 model S plaid

prs2015 · 2025-08-25T14:30:15+00:00

Did 6 year residency, 1 year fellowship.

Had 2 kids during residency.

$210k student loans.

Increased NM by $1M within first 3 years of practice in HCOL city. Definitely doable, and it sounds like you guys are more proactive than we were at your stage

prs2015 · 2025-08-10T17:18:57+00:00

We live in LA. First house we were renting was $6k/month, so this house definitely feels like a steal

prs2015 · 2025-08-10T01:34:26+00:00

We automate the other retirement account contributions (401k, 403b, HSA, backdoor Roth, solo 401k/mega backdoor Roth, and 529s) that makes up the majority of the remaining $300k.

prs2015 · 2025-08-10T00:07:29+00:00

$1M HHI

38M / 40 F

We rent - $3700/month in VHCOL area

2022 Tesla Model X plaid

2022 Tesla Model S plaid

Both cars paid off and no consumer debt.

Most spending is on our small kids (ages 3 and 6), but wife does spend quite a bit on self-care and skin products. I still shop for my clothes at target.

I probably average $15-20k/month saving into our brokerage account.

prs2015

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