Obamacare goes into effect, side effects already appearing

[DeuceWallaces]

I bet. are you taking a leave of absence? or are you in an abd situation.

I see it all the time in my field, people get involved in a good job in industry or govt with their masters and end up not finishing the phd.

No, I just finished my masters. I turned down 2 Ph.d. positions for this opportunity. My branch of the Smithsonian has lots of ties with the University of Maryland and George Mason, so in 6 months or so I'll start shopping some projects we have going here that I'm a part of to potential advisors and try to work out a scenario where I keep my job while chipping away at school under an assistantship.

I worked for 3 years after my undergrad before coming back for my masters so I don't think I'll have a problem going back again. Scoring a good job also gives you more power to pick where you want to go and determine the nature of your appointment. At least that's what I've found so far.

[boozehound]

These one-line potshots that make you sound like you know something about the subject, but leave you just ever so much wiggle room in case you're actually wrong, are your typical post in every thread.

How come you can never post anything substantive and thoughtful?

Because you are neither of those things. You're not intelligent, you're not knowledgeable, and you're not even cool or interesting. All you post is bitter one-liners that you think will give people the impression that you, too, know something about the topic.


I'm sick of your girly face with diaper rash and loser personality. and even though you sometimes make me laugh like when you get caught lying to everyone about having a girlfriend, i still think overall you're just too much of a headache. I'm dubbing you the boards #1 loser.

wait, how does your wind baggy long personal insult contain anymore information that his concise rhetorical question (which is clearly right)?

Oh wait it doesnt. Maybe the boards #1 loser spot should be reserved for a partyschool dropout in his mid-20s with no career, no ambition and an unhealthy dependence on daddy for all of his monetary needs? Sounds like a much bigger loser than a successful plant physiologist who works for the Smithsonian.

[boozehound]

No, I just finished my masters. I turned down 2 Ph.d. positions for this opportunity. My branch of the Smithsonian has lots of ties with the University of Maryland and George Mason, so in 6 months or so I'll start shopping some projects we have going here that I'm a part of to potential advisors and try to work out a scenario where I keep my job while chipping away at school under an assistantship.

I worked for 3 years after my undergrad before coming back for my masters so I don't think I'll have a problem going back again. Scoring a good job also gives you more power to pick where you want to go and determine the nature of your appointment. At least that's what I've found so far.

my bad. I thought you had taken a position at UNC or some such.

[DeuceWallaces]

my bad. I thought you had taken a position at UNC or some such.

I almost did, but a little too far (16 hours) from home for my girl. I think the gig I took will give me more power to do what I want in the future.

[Younggrease]

My take on this: It doesn't surprise me that insurance companies will use this issue to jack up premiums. And they will get away with it because they have had and will continue to have congress in their back pocket. If you are self-insured like me this really really sucks.

Secondly, why is "wealthy" defined as $250,000/year? I make around that much and my tax burden is pretty significant. If I made $5mil I'd be paying the same % and more money over all, but it wouldn't be as significant a hit because of the extra income I'd have. There are a lot more people making $250,000 than there are making $5mil so the people in the lower end of the "wealthy" category will bear the brunt of the tax burden. I wish there could be another classification such as "mega wealthy."

I agree with this 250,000k is far from wealthy in some parts of the country. With student loans or living in a city such as Manhatten that just makes you average.

[Hawker]

I would also add that Ph.D students in the natural sciences are in graduate school for 6-7 years plus 4 more of undergrad and none of us are making doctor's wages.

Yes, but how much risk are you taking on? Doctors take on a lot of risk and can be sued for stupid reasons. That's what they get paid the salary they do.

And aren't grad school and med school are two different types of schooling? Ones for research and continuing education and the other is essentially a job training?

I would hope that most natural science majors don't go into a Ph. D thinking they're going to make Doctor's wages.

[DeuceWallaces]

Yes, but how much risk are you taking on? Doctors take on a lot of risk and can be sued for stupid reasons. That's what they get paid the salary they do.

And aren't grad school and med school are two different types of schooling? Ones for research and continuing education and the other is essentially a job training?

I would hope that most natural science majors don't go into a Ph. D thinking they're going to make Doctor's wages.

I think you're wrong on all accounts.

[Hawker]

I think you're wrong on all accounts.

Typical.

[fbnyc]

See I think that's what I'm getting at. The risk is much higher in becoming and being a physician and one mess up all that hard work could be gone. People's lives are at stake not just in the ER but a simple wrong diagnosis could really affect the life of an individual.

Once somebody actually tries to get in and get through med school and residency then they'll understand but if they're not in the field then I don't really expect anyone to understand and it's fine. The shit ain't like Nip Tuck or Grey's Anatomy or freakin' Doogie Howser.

I'm not trying to downplay another profession because I don't know much about them (other than being in business). But what I do know is that med school was hard to get into, hard to get through, and working 80-100 hours a week while patients lives are at stake can be taxing but you just have to do what you gotta do. $8.50 an hour is what I currently get to sift through a patient's feces, clean around their anus to be able to form an exam and trying to fight off the psych patients when you're trying to just take their vitals.

The road getting there is very hard but if it was easy then everyone would be doing it. I chose the path for a steady income and job, an interest in medicine and to challenge myself. If you feel that you work hard and deserve better benefits, pay, more time off then ask your employer. If they don't agree then find other jobs w/ benefits or pay that will make you happy. To me that's just the way it works...with hard work and playing the system you can accomplish your goals.