This story is part of CNBC Make It’s Millennial Money series, which examines how people earn, spend and save money.
Eric Chan has two passions in life: medicine and aviation.
“I’ve always wanted to be a doctor,” the 29-year-old family medicine physician told CNBC Make It. “I’ve been watching ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ since I was a kid.”
His interest in airplanes began during his childhood with a trip to his parents’ hometown of Hong Kong. He said seeing the planes that took his family overseas sparked a lifelong interest in aerospace technology and its operations.
“I remember the first time I saw an airplane and it was a huge, giant jumbo jet called a Boeing 747. That’s what first sparked my passion for aviation,” he says.
Between undergraduate and medical school, Chan spent about 75 hours in the cockpit, passing the practical exam and earning his private pilot’s license. He took a flight around Houston to celebrate his parents.
Dr. Chan completed his three-year family medicine residency at Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage, Alaska at the end of June and will soon begin training to become a flight surgeon in the U.S. Air Force. He says the position is a bit of a misnomer, since he doesn’t actually perform surgery in the air.
Chan will complete his family medicine residency in June 2026.
Janessa Anderson | CNBC Make It
“Aviation medicine is like family medicine, but specifically for pilots and flight crew,” he says. “In the military, we take care of every Airman in the squadron they are assigned to.”
Chan participates in the Air Force’s financial assistance program, which provides an annual stipend and a monthly stipend for living expenses. In exchange for assistance during his stay, Mr. Chan has a three-year service obligation after completing the program. Although he didn’t have much time to fly while training after graduation, Chan hopes to get back into flying while on active duty.
Combining his interests also provided financial benefits. Mr. Chan receives an annual Air Force allowance of $78,600 in addition to his resident salary of $76,000. His wife, a personal trainer, brought in about $5,000 in 2025, bringing their joint annual salary to about $160,000.
He is a consistent saver, aiming to save at least half of his income, and currently has about $1.2 million in brokerage, savings and retirement accounts, according to documents reviewed by CNBC Make It. That includes about $146,000 in an investment account his mother opened for him.
the final frontier
Chan grew up in Missouri City, Texas, and attended Johns Hopkins University in Maryland for his undergraduate studies. He then returned to Texas to enter medical school and earned his MD at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio. Alaska was his first choice of residence.
“This program was basically everything I was looking for,” he says. He wanted a program that offered a variety of learning opportunities, including inpatient and outpatient medicine, pediatric and pregnant patient care, and rural placements.
Plus, “I’ve always had an affinity for cold weather,” he says.
While living in Alaska, Chan has taken advantage of outdoor recreational opportunities such as cross-country skiing.
Eric Chan
He is also active in aviation business in Alaska, as it has one of the highest concentrations of qualified pilots. But because he was so busy with his stay, sometimes working up to 70 hours a week, he was only able to spend a few hours on the plane over the past three years.
After his stay, Chan will begin four months of Air Force training in Alabama, Ohio, and Washington, before heading to South Korea for a tour of duty. After completing his three years of service, Chan said he and his wife may return to Alaska and live there full-time or part-time. He said doctors at family practices in rural areas of the state work in shifts, working for a month or two and then taking a month off.
“During that month of vacation, they can travel elsewhere or live somewhere other than the rural area where they work,” he says. “It will be a great opportunity for me to explore what happens after the Air Force.”
How Chan spends his money
Chan found the cost of living in Alaska to be higher than in Texas and other places in the lower 48 states where he had lived. However, Chan has always considered himself to be frugal and tries to live below his means in order to save and invest as much of his income as possible. He and his wife keep their grocery costs low by buying in bulk at a nearby Costco. They make their shopping list in advance and know what to expect cost-wise.
The couple mostly cooks for themselves and eat out sparingly to save money. Gas is also more expensive in Alaska than in the lower 48 states, so Chan tries to limit his driving to essential work and return trips.
When it comes to discretionary spending, “we want to spend money on things that give us a good return, even if it’s something like a return on pleasure or enjoyment,” he says. Sometimes we go out on a date for dinner or a movie, but only once or twice a month.
Here’s how Eric and his wife spent their money in April 2026.
The Chans had tried to buy a house in nearby Kentucky in May, but negotiations failed. The idea was that the house would provide rental income while the couple lived abroad, and eventually serve as their “home base” upon their return. They have paused their search and are continuing to focus on saving and investing as Mr. Chan enters military service.
Chan and his wife mainly eat at home to save money, but occasionally go out to eat or go to the movies.
Janessa Anderson | CNBC Make It
In April, housing-related expenses weighed on Chan’s savings rate. Chan aims to save about half of her income, but other than her 401(k) contributions, she doesn’t contribute a fixed amount to her account each month. He says he usually saves the money he has left over at the end of each month by dividing it into savings accounts, brokerage accounts, and retirement accounts.
Chan has no student loans because his parents paid for his undergraduate and medical school tuition. He was also able to avoid other types of debt.
“I feel like I’ve found my niche.”
Chan enjoyed his time there and is excited to begin the next chapter of his career.
“The most exciting thing I’m looking forward to is getting rid of exams,” he says. “I recently completed my family medicine board exam in April. Hopefully this will be my last standardized exam.”
He will join the Air Force as a captain, and his total compensation, including housing and other benefits, is expected to be between $150,000 and $175,000. In theory, he could earn more in a civilian environment. According to the American Academy of Family Physicians, starting family physicians earn an average annual salary of more than $261,000, while those who have been in the practice for more than 20 years earn an average annual salary of nearly $300,000.
But the opportunity to pursue his passion for aviation medicine is worth it to him. “I would like to explore that (career) even if it means taking a pay cut for the time being,” he says.
“I think I found my niche in aviation medicine,” he says.
Mr. Chan is looking forward to completing his exams and working as a fully qualified doctor.
Janessa Anderson | CNBC Make It
He plans to continue saving and investing as much as he can during and after his time in the Air Force, and his long-term goal is to achieve financial independence for himself and his wife (able to earn enough to live off of their investment portfolio).
“My ultimate goal is to not have to work full time and eventually be able to work less and work part time,” he says.
Ideally, his investment would “provide me with a huge safety net to free up some of my time to spend with my family or pursue other hobbies and interests.” Of course, that would include a return to flying.
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