First-year Resident. Salary: $52,000

Book learning is over (kinda, sorta, not really), and now it's time to start the hands-on lessons. You're now licensed into the fraternity of doctors. Let the hazing begin.

Second-year Specialist Residency. Salary: $58,000

After three+ years of being a junior doctor, you decide to specialize in cardiology. Let's face it, you broke a lot of hearts in high school. Now you'll learn to fix them.

Third-year Cardiologist, private practice. Salary: $325,000

You own a private practice and have lots of wonderful patients. You're busy as a bee, but that office treadmill saves you drive time to the gym.

Twelfth-year Cardiologist, private practice. Salary: $392,000

Just shy of your 50th birthday and you've taken on another partner in your practice: HeartSmart, LLP. You've got a great group of professionals who work well together and share the patient load.

Cardiologist & Professor. Salary: $400,000

You've stopped taking new patients. What will you do with all that free time? Teach the next generation of cardiac specialists. Why? Because you've been there and done that, and you know nothing teaches as well as experience.