This comes from a student about to enter chiropractic college…
I am currently enrolled in a chiropractic program at the University of Bridgeport, which I will be starting in August. Now as that day is approaching, I am becoming more and more nervous and am hoping that I am making the right decision. I am surprised at how many people have negative things to say to me about being a chiropractor, all of which have never seen a chiropractor. So if you have any inspiring words about that, I would much appreciate it. I am also concerned about salary. Do you think that the salary a chiropractor makes is enough to pay back the student loans I will have collected?
No one is going to be able to inspire you, but you. Get that in your head! I can tell you I had two people tell me just before I was entering school that I would fail. One said I would fail because I did not have the intelligence to do anything (except work for him). The other said his brother or friend or something was a chiropractor and they were going down the drain. He offered me a job and suggested I drop from the program before I even started. I’d say I heard similar stories about 100 times before I started school, then it quadrupled until about the time I was graduating.
I did not listen, probably too stupid! And now I have this so-called “miserable” life, was in the office 4 hours today, after a sun-filled day on the beach. I’ll “work” almost 27 hours this week, by the time I am done tomorrow evening (three hour lunch). Was off 5 days last week staying in a penthouse suite at a swanky hotel, that was almost too much to take!
If you need help getting talked out of it, look around the internet. I’m certain you can find some saintly savior who will bring you to salvation and save you from the perils I and so many other chiropractors are living with today. Don’t worry, the saviors will tell you all about the boogie man and secret plots chiropractic schools are in on to rid you of all your loan money, leaving you penniless, and selling your body on the street to pay for your corn chips. They may even complain about my spelling / grammer and say I shouldn’t have any right to be a chiropractor because I made it unfair for them. I, and the rest of my cult, caused their misery!
What I think about salary is not important. What is YOUR plan? Do you have a 7 year financial plan for success? If not, get started now. I address salaries in more detail here chiropractor salaries but you have to get your head wrapped around the idea that NO ONE can cause your failure but YOU. Are there failures? You bet there are, just like there is in every single competitive business market on the planet. It would be no fun if nobody lost.
Can I make enough to pay back loans? I’d be careful with that kind of thinking. Trust me, I used to think like that myself. READ the salary article again. Set some goals, long term goals. Where do you want to be in 6 months, 6 years, 16 years, 60 years? Read the articles here… chiropractic news archives
You could read an article a day and you would not be done before you graduated. Don’t just read the articles here! Research, visit chiropractic offices, challenge those that try bringing you down with their misery and nay saying. They are very VERY important to your success as you will always know where to find the mind drainers when you need a reminder of what non-action and blame will get you.
Read through this again and don’t take anything I say as the Word. You have your own ideas of what you want. Most important of all…. THINK!
5 Comments
As a practicing chiropractor my advise to you is run as fast as you can for the EXIT. It’s not that I do not love chiropractic, but in the 19 years as a chiropractor, I have noticed that the profession is going to hell-in-a-handbag. The majority of my collegues are making less now than they did in their first years of practice. I don’t know about you but after years of working at a job, one can only hope to make more each year not less.
As for the orginizations that are protecting us. I have not seen anything from them that would even remotely resemble a positive move forward for the profession.
If you need a good hobby, stay in school. If you are looking to make some real coin, get into the insurance industry or finance industry. Chiropractic in my opinion is about to become extinct.
Wow— well thanks for that really encouraging news Dr. John.
I am in the same situation as the 1st student. I am at a crossroads of applying for Med school/Chirpractic or i guess both. I feel that i would actaully be a excellent chiropractor- skills and interests.
But my MOTHER says that later on in life i will regret not becoming an actual Medical Surgeon. Yes obviously she is manipulating me and convincing me to live her unfulfilled dreams…but i do say most of the time she is right and she says that “she sees” skills and capabilities that apparently i dont. SHe is also quite conflicting veiws regarding surgery. It has been instilled in my brain to do everything besides surgery personally– but wants me to be a surgeon? I feel like the body is a self-regulating entity and everything just needs to be in balance (obviously you still need doctors in the world for extrenuating situations) but overall health and prevention are the keys to reliliance and long life? true?
So do it anyways and defy my mother? She only wants me to be successful in life (accomplishable with chiropractics) and independant (yes ‘men’ issues)
So i guess i dont have any questions except– do you think that i should take the dive for chiropractics (and possible alternative medicine) ?
Dr. John is full of s*it! I have been in practice for 9 years, and my practice has done exponentially better every year (except my 3rd year…long story). I would suggest, talking to some docs at any seminar, anywhere in the world. You will find, most of them pleased with their profession. I practice in an isolated medium sized town in Arizona. There are 12 practices in my town (60,000 people) of which, 2 are mine. I have a partner, and an associate. My partner and I each take home $15k each month, and my associate takes home about $4-6k and our total collections are around $50k per month. Not that money is the most important (even though it is in the end) we have a lot of fun, our patients love coming in, and I enjoy what I do. I wear shorts and a Hawaiian shirt everyday to work. I take off when I want, and still make the same amount. If you do it right, chiropractic is a great profession!
I am thinking about chiropractic also. How is it that andrea thinks it’s a drag, but dr. Arizona is living the life. Dr. Arizona, what did you do differently.
I think that it is fantastic that you have a goal and are following through with it. When I told people I was into Reiki as an alternative form of medicine people laughed at me and scratched their heads. Some still laugh at me. Unfortunetly, we live in a somewhat closed society in terms of careers and going against the grain!
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