Consulting to medicine

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apollo92

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Did anyone on here leave a consulting/other corporate job to go to medical school? I graduated from a top school last spring and started at a consulting firm in September. I'm loving it so far, but I'm having nagging doubts about not trying to become a doctor. I realize that this decision makes very little financial sense - giving up my already high salary for 7-10 years of negative income is a hard decision - but I'm worried I'll always regret it if I don't at least think it through thoroughly. I always saw myself becoming a doctor throughout high school and the start of college, but I put it aside for practical reasons - other careers involve far less sacrifice and training and also lead to great lifestyles. The fact that I can’t stop thinking about becoming a doctor even when I’m in a very desirable job that I really enjoy makes me worried that I’m making the wrong choice - and makes it clear to me that I don't just want to be a doctor for the prestige/money. If I only wanted those things it would be a no-brainer to stay in consulting and go to business school. I just think medicine could be what I'm meant to do - I've always desired a meaningful career in which I feel like I'm making an impact, and I've always had a scientific bent.

Does anyone have any advice about finding clinical experience/doctors to shadow? I really want to make an informed decision about medical school and whether it’s right for me. Given my current work hours I can’t commit to anything on the weekdays, so I'd need to find something on the weekends.

Any advice about thinking this through would be great - I'm still very new to the process!

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This thread is totally up my alley! I worked in a well known, niche consulting field and I left a lucrative career (well I'm back in the game now while I apply) to pursue medicine. I left my first job after 3 years while I enjoyed the constant travel and fun side of it and realized I was not completely satisfied. I knew I had to pursue medicine so I went ahead and enrolled in post bacc classes (diy) and took the mcat. I had a lot of the pre reqs done so it only took a year for me. I would say it sounds like you need to go for it and realize that if you're in consulting now, you can bounce back into it pretty much whenever. At least that's what I did this past year. Sure it's frustrating to know that as a resident j will be making like 3-4 times less than what I'm making now, but that's the whole point it's not about the money. I put myself in a good spot to pay for all my school, MCAT, and application fees for a whole year, which is why I worked a third year. Now I'm back in the work force like nothing happened. I had pretty bad grades so there was a lot of pressure to perform. I'm happy to say that I've been accepted at two schools so far and hope to hear other good news later on down the road. Feel free to PM me for more info! Good luck!
 
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Does anyone have any advice about finding clinical experience/doctors to shadow?
Work your personal network, hard. Hopefully with your Ivy background and current job situation you have some personal contacts who are doctors or who have doctors in their families. This is by far the best way to get shadowing opportunities, especially in a big city and especially with the schedule constraints you have. That said, I was in a similar position and I ended up taking vacation days so that I could shadow during the work week. It was really the only way for me to get significant shadowing experience.

Start doing some kind of clinical volunteering now. Hospital volunteering is fine, but can be hard to get, so look into Planned Parenthood, nursing homes, hospice, etc as well. ~4 hours/week is more than enough.

Get used to living below your means. Don't fall into the trap of keeping up with your coworkers. Put away the maximum every year in your 401k, your IRA, and your 529 savings account -- you can use that money for *your* education, not just for your hypothetical children. If you play your cards right, you will be able to make a dent in your post-bac and/or med school tuition with the money you earn now.

Finally, given your location and depending on the size of your firm, there's a good chance that you can get yourself assigned to biotech clients. Doesn't make a huge difference, but it would certainly be easier to talk about that in med school interviews than if you spend the next two years on finance projects.
 
You guys are awesome. I've finally finished the physician journey and I'm trying to get INTO consulting!

What's your secret?
Luck. Got to get your foot in the door somehow. As someone clinical you might need another degree to shed light on your potential for consulting. I'd say it would be pretty hard to just jump right in, but that's just in my industry. Have you started looking?
 
This thread applies to me as well! I'm currently working as a consultant at a large well-known firm and am planning on starting my full-time postbacc this summer. Needless to say, it's completely terrifying!

ConsultantMD, I would love to chat with you about your experiences and suggestions since I'm just starting out on this journey.
 
Thanks for all the replies! Glad to hear there are others who have made the switch or who are considering it.

blackcat, I know what you mean about it being terrifying... I'd love to hear about your decision to do the post-bacc program. I wouldn't be starting mine until at least summer 2016, so I'll have time to consider my options. ConsultantMD, I'll send you a message! At this point, I just really want to make sure I know what I'm getting myself into.
 
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