This story is part of CNBC Make It’s Millennial Money series, which examines how people earn, spend and save their money.
Eric Chan has two passions in life: medicine and aviation.
“I’ve always known that I wanted to become a doctor,” the 29-year-old family medicine doctor tells CNBC Make It, “Since I was a kid watching ‘Grey’s Anatomy.’”
His fascination with planes started with a childhood trip to his parents’ native Hong Kong. He says seeing the aircraft that would bring his family overseas inspired a lifelong interest in aerospace technology and operations.
“I remember looking at my first airplane, and it was a Boeing 747, a huge, massive jumbo jet. And that was what really initially sparked my passion for aviation,” he says.
In between his undergraduate studies and medical school, Chan got a private pilot’s license by racking up around 75 hours in the cockpit and passing a practical exam. He took his parents on a flight around Houston to celebrate.
Chan finished up his three-year family medicine residency training in Anchorage, Alaska at the end of June and will soon train to become a flight surgeon in the U.S. Air Force. The job title is a bit of a misnomer, he says, as he won’t actually be performing surgeries in the air.
Chan completes his family medicine residency in June 2026.Janessa Anderson | CNBC Make It
“Flight medicine is kind of like a family medicine doctor, but specifically for pilots and air crew,” he says. “For the military, we take care of all the flight members of the squadron that we’re assigned to.”
Chan is a part of the Air Force’s Financial Assistance Program which offers an annual grant plus a monthly stipend for living expenses. In exchange for the assistance during his residency, Chan has a three-year service commitment once he completes his program. He hasn’t been able to spend much time flying during his post-grad training, but Chan is hoping to start again while he serves.
Combining his interests has come with financial benefit, too. Chan earns receives $78,600 per year in Air Force stipend pay on top of his $76,000 resident salary. His wife, a personal trainer, brought in about $5,000 in 2025, bringing their joint annual pay to about about $160,000.
He’s a consistent saver, aiming to set aside at least half his income and currently holds around $1.2 million across brokerage, savings and retirement accounts, according to documents reviewed by CNBC Make It. That includes nearly $146,000 in an investment account his mother started for him.
The Last Frontier
Chan grew up in Missouri City, Texas and attended Johns Hopkins University in Maryland for his undergraduate studies. He then returned to Texas for medical school and earned his M.D. from the University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio. Alaska was his top choice residency location.
“The program was basically everything that I was looking for,” he says. He wanted a program that offered diverse learning opportunities like inpatient and outpatient medicine, caring for pediatric and pregnant patients as well as practicing in a rural setting.
Plus, “I have always had an affinity for colder weather,” he says.
Chan has taken advantage of outdoor recreational opportunities like cross-country skiing while living in Alaska.Janessa Anderson | CNBC Make It
He’s also in good company with his aviation interests in Alaska, given the state has one of the highest concentrations of licensed pilots. But since he’s been busy with residency, at time working up to 70 hours a week, he’s only been able to spend a few hours flying over the last three years.
After residency, Chan heads into four months of Air Force training in Alabama, Ohio and Washington, and then to South Korea for his assignment. After his three-year service commitment, Chan says he and his wife may move back to Alaska to live full- or part-time. Family medicine doctors in rural parts of the state often work on a rotational basis, working for a month or two and then having a month off, he says.
“During that one month off, they can either travel to other places or they can live in other places outside of the rural location that they’re working at,” he says. “So that would be a wonderful opportunity for me to explore after the Air Force.”
How Chan spends his money
Chan has noticed a higher cost of living in Alaska than in his previous stops in Texas and elsewhere in the lower 48 states. But Chan has always considered himself frugal and strives to live below his means to save and invest as much of his earnings as he can. He and his wife keep grocery bills low, for instance, by buying in bulk at a nearby Costco. They make a shopping list ahead of time so they know what to expect cost-wise.
The couple mostly cooks at home, and they eat out sparingly to save money. Gas is also more expensive in Alaska than the lower 48 states, so Chan tries to limit his driving to essential trips to work and back.
In terms of discretionary spending, “We like to spend money on stuff that will be a good return for us both, even if it’s like a return for our pleasure or enjoyment,” he says. They’ll occasionally go out to dinner or a movie for a date night, but only once or twice a month.
Here’s how Eric and his wife spent their money in April 2026:
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- Homebuying costs: $1,442 for appraisal, credit check and inspection fees
- Housing and utilities: $1,300 for rent which includes utilities
- Discretionary: $1,007 on travel, clothes, leisure and wellness
- Food: $981 on groceries and dining out
- Savings and investments: $527 toward his 401(k)
- Taxes: $209 for tax filing software
- Gas: $168
- Insurance: $123 for health, vision and dental for him and his wife
- Subscriptions: $99 for a shared phone plan and Apple Music
Chan and his wife came close to buying a house in Kentucky, near both their families, in May, but the deal fell through. The idea was for the home to bring in rental income while the couple lived abroad and eventually serve as a “home base” when they returned. They’ve paused their search and are continuing to focus on saving and investing as Chan begins his military service.
Chan and his wife save money by mostly eating at home, but they go out to eat or the movies on occasion.Janessa Anderson | CNBC Make It
The housing-related expenses ate into Chan’s savings rate in April. While he aims to save around half of his income, Chan doesn’t contribute a set monthly amount to his accounts other than his 401(k) contribution. He typically saves whatever’s left over at the end of each month across savings, brokerage and retirement accounts, he says.
His parents paid for his undergraduate degree and med school, so Chan has no student loans. He’s managed to avoid other types of debt as well.
‘I think I found my niche’
Chan enjoyed his time in residency, but he’s excited to begin the next chapter of his career.
“The most exciting thing that I’m looking forward to is no more exams,” he says. “I recently completed my family medicine board exam in April, and I believe that will hopefully be my last standardized exam ever.”
He’ll enter the Air Force as a captain and expects his total compensation to land between $150,000 and $175,000 including his housing and other allowances. Theoretically, he could make more in a civilian setting. Family physicians starting out earn an average of over $261,000 a year, which rises to an average of nearly $300,000 a year among doctors with 20-plus years of practice, according to the American Academy of Family Physicians.
But the opportunity to pursue his passion in aviation medicine is worth it to him: “I would love to explore that [career] even if it means taking a pay cut for the time being,” he says.
“I think I found my niche, which is aviation medicine,” he says.
Chan is looking forward to being done with exams and working as a fully credentialed physician.Janessa Anderson | CNBC Make It
He plans to continue saving and investing as much as he can throughout his time in the Air Force and beyond with the longer-term goal of achieving financial independence — where his investment portfolio can provide enough income to live on — for himself and his wife.
“My ultimate goal would be not having to work full-time, being able to cut back on my work eventually and be able to just work on a part-time basis,” he says.
Ideally, his investments “would provide a huge safety net for me to be able to free up some of my time to spend with my family, as well as pursue other hobbies and interests.” Of course, that would include getting back to flying.
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