Thanks for your response, klm. Medicine just seems to be the career with the the sturdiest job security as well as a favorable salary. I could go into business, but then what? I would probably work as an accountant making $45k/year, and unless I wanted to take some huge risk opening up a business, I would stay in some low-paying, dead-end career like that. The business muckity-mucks that I've talked to that have made it rich (without having been born into the "Good Ole Boy Network") hit success because they happened to have a chance meeting/introduction to someone who mattered. In other words, they were simply at the right place at the right time. That's too flimsy of a hope for me to place my goals on.
You mentioned something about negotiating as a part-time AA for 3 or 4 days/week to get a more facilitative schedule. How much do part-time AAs usually make?
Could I earn a "normal" salary if I negotiated to work part-time for, say, three days/week, and to take call for all 5 days during the week (perhaps taking call every other week)?