Do you experience this?

It still really, really annoys me that I have to "educate" people on this, though! I think I might just start telling people who say they or their spouse is, say, an engineer, or a teacher, or a plumber, "Gee! You guys must be rich!" That might start getting the point across.



Jennifer

(I also tell people that when you look at how much he makes compared to his hours he makes less than a waiter! That little analogy also helps drive the point home. That particular real estate agent just wasn't hearing it, though. )

Well, I guess I cheat on that waiter analogy. Since he's an AF officer he gets paid more than the average resident. But, for those of you who have the normal resident salary to live off of the analogy actually is pretty accurate!



Jennifer

Jennifer -

*Good* point regarding how it would come across to tell others that they will be rich! It sounds positively absurd! Can you *imagine* telling someone you just met who says oh, my husband is an engineer - "oh wow, you must be so rich!" ?!? Why do people feel the freedom to say this re: doctors?

[DCJenn]

I have actually had the following said to me:



1) You drive a Saturn? I thought you were a doctor's wife?



2) "I told my husband that your husband was a doctor and he wanted to know why you're working" (ummm- really, as much as I'd like to be a stay at home mom someday, the cats and the puppy really don't need it!)



3) Well, you certainly don't act like a doctor's wife. (I'd love to know what that means!)



4) "Oh, I know where you live, you live in those big Victorian houses." No- only one house and yes, it's in the historic district, it's 900 sqaure feet, and it's in the historic district.



Sure, it's nice that he doesn't have the debt load because of the military but really, our combined income is no different than the combined income I had with my exhusband- when I was making half as much as I do now. and he was a Fire Fighter!!



Jenn

[Phoebe]

I had to educate my own mother on this very subject this morning. You would think she would know better being a nurse in a doctor's office and through the repeated conversations we have had about this. She had the gaul to say that we would be rich soon. I had to laugh because we all know it doesn't work like that. How do you define rich? My husband's subspecialty doesn't pay as well as some specialties I don't think we will qualify as rich unless you say we are living off love.



What is this about people wondering why you are working if you are married to a physician? My eye doctor told me when I spoke of getting my PhD that women can make as much money in 30 minutes as they can in 30 years so why bother with the doctorate. I don't understand this mentality!



Jennifer

jennifer -

i too am soooo annoyed by that aspect of his career. i *hate* telling people what he does for a living because i already know what most of them will say: stupid, @*(&!*& remarks like "oh, you won't have to worry about cooking for long. . .you'll be able to hire a maid and a cook someday!"

ok, sure, sister - what are you smoking?!? i anticipate a life of cooking just like everyone else. as many have said on this board, even when he is way out of residency, with 3-4 kids and bills, we will be just like other ordinary families! what do you say to ridiculous comments like this?