Is medical school worth it? Anyone considering earning an MD has likely wondered that at times. After all, there's a huge financial and personal cost associated with attending an intensive program like medical school. 

Unfortunately, there's no one right answer to the question, is med school worth it. Ultimately, you'll need to carefully consider your own financial situation and your personal career hopes and goals to make your choice. 

To make the right decision, be sure to ask yourself these five key questions. 

1. How much will medical school cost? 

Attending medical school is expensive, and the cost of your education needs to be considered when you're asking yourself, is becoming a doctor worth it? 

The Association of American Medical Colleges reported the median annual cost for state residents attending a public medical school at $39,150 for residents and $63,546 for non-residents in the 2020 to 2021 academic year. This includes tuition; fees; and health insurance. Private schools were even costlier, with median annual costs coming in at $64,053 for residents and $64,494 for non-residents. 

These costs are incurred on top of any expenses already spent earning an undergraduate degree. When combining undergrad and med school costs, it's not uncommon for doctors to have spent well over a quarter million dollars on their education.

It's a good idea to compare prices of medical schools you are considering attending to find out what your projected total future costs will be. If you know the total price tag, you can make a more informed choice as to whether the education is worth paying for. 

2.   How long will it take to start working as a doctor?

Obviously, the goal of attending medical school is to work within the medical profession. So when you're pondering whether becoming a doctor is worth it, you need to factor in the time it takes to actually begin working in your chosen field. 

Students are required to earn a bachelor's degree before being admitted to medical school, which generally means completing a four year pre-med program. Medical school itself typically lasts for an additional four years. And upon graduating, you still need to become a medical resident to learn in the field and develop a speciality which can take several more years. While the average salary for a medical resident in 2020 was $63,400, residency programs still delay the time before doctors can reach their full earning potential.  

Completing all of these steps will take well over a decade, with some students spending 16 or more years on the required training. There's a huge opportunity cost to putting in so much time, so ask yourself if it's worth delaying the start of your career -- as well as how many years you'll be able to practice before retirement. 

3. What are your job goals? 

There are certain jobs for which an MD is an absolute prerequisite. Obviously, you cannot be a heart surgeon, a psychiatrist, or work in a long list of other jobs without attending medical school.

If you have your heart set on working in a position that requires a medical degree, then there's only one answer to the question, is medical school worth it? Yes, because otherwise you can't pursue your dream.  

But if you aren't committed to a job requiring an MD, there are many other educational career paths you could potentially pursue depending on your areas of interest. From chiropractor to nurse to paramedic to social worker, there are all sorts of ways you might be able to help people without incurring the time and financial cost of medical school.

Take the time to think through all of your career options -- and the costs and benefits of the required training -- when you make your choice. 

4. What are your job prospects? 

Before deciding, is med school worth it, you need to consider what career opportunities earning your MD will open up for you.

If you attend an accredited medical school and receive a high-quality education, you should have no problem finding a resident position and hopefully passing your required state exams to become a doctor.  Most schools in the U.S. and abroad are accredited, but not every medical school meets each state's criteria so it's crucial you understand what attending each particular institution could mean for you. 

If you do not attend a school approved by an approved accrediting body, you may not be admitted to practice medicine in your state. For example, California's medical board explains that students must have attended a college accredited by specific organizations.

You should also look at the potential salaries you could earn in your chosen area of specialization. There's wide variations in income for doctors working in different medical specialties. If the type of medicine you are interested in doesn't pay very much, carefully consider whether it's worth incurring huge costs to end up earning a low salary throughout your career. 

5. How will you pay for medical school?

Finally, you have to look into how you will actually cover the costs of medical school. In most cases, students simply aren't able to cover tuition costs with savings or by working through med school since the program is so demanding. And many people do not have enough family support to fully fund their tuition costs either.

Typically, this means that you will need to borrow money to attend medical school. And you may exhaust eligibility for federal student loans early in the process, as there are annual and lifetime limits on how much you can borrow. That likely means you'll end up graduating with a mix of federal student loans and private student loans. 

You could be paying off these loans for many years to come, so make sure that you're okay with this major financial obligation before you decide, is becoming a doctor worth it. While you should hopefully receive a generous salary due to the high earning potential MDs have, you will most likely have to devote a lot of your money to paying off what you owe -- especially in your early years. 

If you decide that you're willing to take on the costs of attending medical school, be sure to research loan and scholarship options carefully. You'll want to keep borrowing costs as low as possible to make repaying your student loans easier.  

Juno can help. We group your information with other students and negotiate rates on your behalf with lenders so that you can borrow at the most affordable possible cost. 

Join Juno today to find out more about your options for affordable private student loans to help fund your degree.