I was taking a stroll earlier this week with a friend in the downtown area of my hometown, a small Midwest burg of about 7,000 residents. We came across a storefront with a sign outside that said “Chiropractor.” Peering inside, we saw a young man in his late 20s or early 30s, who was smartly dressed and bore a look of tired optimism. He was there alone. No patients, no staff. The place was dead, and I immediately felt like this was the norm. It was sad to see, and my heart went out to that guy as I knew it took guts to open up his own business. I’m a business owner and it pains me to see other business owners of obvious goodwill who are struggling.
My friend, who knows the town better than I do, filled me in on this fellow’s story and it was then that my stomach really sank. This young man had incurred massive debt to get his Chiropractor’s license. Massive debt. Crippling, lifelong debt. $275,000 of debt. $275,000! And what was the expected return on that investment? According to payscale.com, a Doctor of Chiropractor in my neck of the woods with 5 years experience would average around $43,821 per year. I’m not a mathematician, but those numbers don’t add up. 275k for 43k per year and that’s after 5 years in the business. That’s shocking. Now, maybe we saw this young man on an off day. Maybe he ends up being wildly successful – I hope so! But my goodness, the deck seemed stacked against him long before he even sat down at the table to play out his hand.
In my line of work (helping folks break into the business of independent insurance adjusting), the numbers are equally shocking. But it’s in the opposite direction. A good independent adjuster can make well into six figures in their first year (click here for more details on adjuster earnings). The investment? How about a few thousand dollars?!?! Heck – let’s say 5k just to be very liberal with our numbers. Still, that’s 5k for 100k versus 275k for 43k.
So why do people choose these careers that put them in near financial ruin right out of the gate and have a low ceiling for earnings? I hate seeing it because it doesn’t have to be that way.
Independent insurance adjusting is an out-of-the-box career, and you have to think outside the box to see it. It’s certainly not perfect and it’s not for everyone. But in terms of investment versus potential? The return is absolutely off the charts.
