Engg to med - Career switch at 34.

[pathtodoc]

About me - am 34 -BE ( India ) MS ( US ) in software engineering - working for a bank in nyc - married


my day - at work by 9 - hate it and waiting for the day to end and wait for friday to arrive to get paid. pay is fine .100k. But am bored
my nights - reddit and internet

intrest in medicine - have always been intrested in medicine since HS. I read a lot on webmd and will actually read the full prinout that comes along with prescription. I like to read about how medicines work and love to watch late night discovery health but cant watch a lot as my wife thinks it is creepy to watch such programs

have been wanting to switch carrers for a while but never pushed myself to search how to become a doctor and was also scared on lea ving a financially secure life ( but am not happy with current carrer path )

q1 - having a bs and ms - will i have to do a pre-med post bacc before my MCAT

q2 - please confirm my understanding of time frame to become a doc - 2 years premed full time + 4 years in med + 3-4 years in residency = 10 years ?is that correct

q3 =- cost 60k for premed + 200k for med ?

q4 golden question - given the facts stated above . do you think i should go for it or have another drink and let this thought out of my head as one my crazy ideas

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[Dullhead]

1. If you have a BS and covered the pre-reqs then, you don't necessarily need a postbacc. But if you have a foreign degree, which I assume you do, a postbacc would most likely be needed to cover at least the pre-reqs.
2. Correct for most specialties. However, some specialties such as general surgery, radiology, etc can be longer (5 years). If you want to subspecialize, fellowships can run 1-3 years. For e.g. cardiothoracic surgery can be 5 yrs residency + 3 yrs fellowship = 8 yrs total after 4 yrs of medschool.
3. Depends on your state of residence. In TX, definitely possible. In other states, may depend on your MCAT score. Good score and acceptance to a low-cost state U can make 200K possible. If you end up at a DO school or choose a private MD school, it can be as high as 90K/yr = 360K (interest not included). The 90K includes living expenses. If your wife works and can cover you both, then subtract approximately 30K.
4. Go for it if this is what you really want. Know what you're getting yourself into - financially, the time commitment (years), the time commitment (hours in residency), etc. Make sure your wife is on board for the ride.

 

[Postictal Raiden]

About me - am 34 - MS in software engineering - working for a bank in nyc - married

my day - at work by 9 - hate it and waiting for the day to end and wait for friday to arrive to get paid. pay is fine .100k. But am bored
my nights - reddit and internet

intrest in medicine - have always been intrested in medicine since HS. I read a lot on webmd and will actually read the full prinout that comes along with prescription. I like to read about how medicines work and love to watch late night discovery health but cant watch a lot as my wife thinks it is creepy to watch such programs

have been wanting to switch carrers for a while but never pushed myself to search how to become a doctor and was also scared on lea ving a financially secure life ( but am not happy with current carrer path )

q1 - having a bs and ms - will i have to do a pre-med post bacc before my MCAT

q2 - please confirm my understanding of time frame to become a doc - 2 years premed full time + 4 years in med + 3-4 years in residency = 10 years ?is that correct

q3 =- cost 60k for premed + 200k for med ?

q4 golden question - given the facts stated above . do you think i should go for it or have another drink and let this thought out of my head as one my crazy ideas

If your wife is on board with this, go with it. Life is too short and you don't want to spend it wondering "What if?".

On the other hand, you are in a perfect situation now. You have a respectable career with good pay and low stress, no debt (i'm assuming), and tons of free time to do whatever you want. It's very hard to walk away from that. The decision for pursuing a career in medicine in your situation, imo, is not financially sound. Given your current financial status, your age, and the cost of med school, you will most likely end up losing money.

With that said, if it is your passion to practice medicine, then by all mean go for it.

Best wishes.

 

[Goro]

Have you taken all the pre-reqs coursework that most medical schools require? Physics, Orgo etc?

q1 - having a bs and ms - will i have to do a pre-med post bacc before my MCAT

For a non-trad, that's about right.

q2 - please confirm my understanding of time frame to become a doc - 2 years premed full time + 4 years in med + 3-4 years in residency = 10 years ?is that correct


Can vary greatly. My school's SMP is in the $20K range; others go as high as $50K. I think $250K for med school would be a ballpark figure....a state school will be lower, at least.

q3 =- cost 60k for premed + 200k for med ?

Try volunteering in a clinic or hospital and then see if you really like being around sick and injured people for the next 30 years. This type of thing is mandatory. You need to show us that you know what you're getting into and display your humanism and altruism as well.

What does your heart tell you?? Medicine is a calling, like being a priest or a fireman. There are easier ways to get away from a job you hate.

q4 golden question - given the facts stated above . do you think i should go for it or have another drink and let this thought out of my head as one my crazy ideas

 

[pathtodoc]

@Dullhead - thanks for you input. I do have a foreign degree and will probably need a post bacc

@Ibn Alnafis - I agree it is not a good financial decision. But I dont see myself of doing this for the next 30 years.
About losing money , will the avg salary for a doc be around 120k after residency.

Can I do the post bacc ( + MCAT ) part time while working for the next 3 years and then if all goes well see how I perform and then get to medicine or does the post bacc need to be done full time for a better chance to get an admit .

 

[Postictal Raiden]

@Dullhead - thanks for you input. I do have a foreign degree and will probably need a post bacc

@Ibn Alnafis - I agree it is not a good financial decision. But I dont see myself of doing this for the next 30 years.
About losing money , will the avg salary for a doc be around 120k after residency.

Can I do the post bacc ( + MCAT ) part time while working for the next 3 years and then if all goes well see how I perform and then get to medicine or does the post bacc need to be done full time for a better chance to get an admit .

No one knows what the future holds, but today, the average physician makes north of 200k a year.

FYI, this is the average starting salaries across all fields https://www.aamc.org/services/first/first_factsheets/399572/compensation.html

 

[pathtodoc]

@Goro

I did my BE ( BS) in India , I do not think I can use any of my UG towards my pre-reqs.
Is SMP - Special Master prog ?

 

[Goro]

Yes.

Is SMP - Special Master prog ?

 

[Dullhead]

...
About losing money , will the avg salary for a doc be around 120k after residency.

Can I do the post bacc ( + MCAT ) part time while working for the next 3 years and then if all goes well see how I perform and then get to medicine or does the post bacc need to be done full time for a better chance to get an admit .

Losing money does not have to do with physician salary. It has to do with the fact that you will be losing out on 7+ yrs of your 100K/yr, and on top you'll have 200K+ in loans. If you end up in a moderately high paying specialty such as gas, then the difference won't hurt that much. The post bacc does not have to be full time, but doing it part time means you'll look for evening classes. Not all cities have such options. Some that come to mind are Drexel (Philly), College Park (Baltimore), and Northwestern (Chicago.) Or if you can work part time (3 days) it would be possible to take classes during the day 2 days a week. Don't know where you live and what the local universities offer.

Good luck desi. Your biggest obstacle will be convincing your wife and parents (in-law). You should consider tackling that first.

 

[deleted480308]

I say take the practice mcat... #3 is a free one https://www.aamc.org/students/applying/mcat/reserving/356530/confirmationemail.html . See how you do, if you are a genius and magically score in the 30's or something go ahead and schedule a real one and start shadowing a few doctors.

If you are a normal human, it will be low 20's at best since you haven't taken these sciences in so long but you have seen them. If that's what happens, then I'd suggest finding a local community college (I know people will try and tell you university but if you want lab classes on evenings and weekends you probably will need to go to a community college) and taking all the prereqs again. It will give you a chance to show you can get an A in the classes and help your MCAT. this might take a year or so but it will be waaaaayyy cheaper than quitting your job if you don't have cash to burn.

I left a decent (not as high as yours) paying job for med school last year in my 30's and I couldn't be happier. Do what makes you happy, just do the math first.

 

[WhippleWhileWeWork]

I also left a 6 figure job last year to start medical school, I'm still wondering if it was the right decision. I don't love preclinical so far, but that could just be because of the way things are at my school. I would spend ALOT of time shadowing, and I'd concentrate on shadowing the full spectrum from almost retired to just finished residency.

 

[pathtodoc]

@Dullhead - I live near nyc so hoping to find a college that has evening classes with labs to get my pre reqs knocked out. CUNY is ruled out from what I see online and columbia seems to have a part time post bacc formal course but need to look at other options. Wife is supportive for now .

Would I have to do a seperate 4 year BS or just the prereqs would be fine ?

@sb247 - I did not do the full test but did some sample questions from google . math and physics was fine, biology and chem was brutal . I need to get back and dust off the rust.

 

[Dullhead]

As SB has suggested, CC is an option, especially if you have no other choices. A 4 year BS would definitely qualify you to apply to any US school. Most schools will have "minimum of 90 credits at an accredited US institution" type of language on their websites, but IMO, that is "generic" info. I think it may possible to get away with 60, but not at all schools - it will likely be on a case by case basis - this is the path I'm on. The basic pre-reqs will give you 8 credits each so that's 32. Psych and Soc will be new requirements, so another 6 there. I would recommend also adding in 6 credits of English, and 1 course of Biochem, Genetics, Statistics etc. Should get you close to 60. I took 3 semesters of Spanish and that gave me an easy 9 units. Don't remember a lick of it now, unfortunately.

Sorry, don't know much about NYC options or Columbia. I'm sure there's a thread in the post bacc forum for Columbia.

 

[pathtodoc]

@Dullhead - bit confused on the credits - do I need to do the full BS again( .i.e none of my UG from India and MS from US can be used ) . That will be four years to finish !!!!!

I thought I could do the pre-reqs in CC or worst case do the post-bacc pre-med full time 2 years to get into med school

From what I read you are saying I will need more than that ( post-bacc pre-med course )

 

[Dullhead]

I'm saying a new BS is not needed, but is the safest option and will let you apply to every single school in the US. However, I think that some schools will consider things on a case by case basis, so 60 credits should be OK (this is just my opinion, so verify for yourself by calling schools). Yes, besides the science pre-reqs, I'm suggesting adding at least 2 semesters of English (all DO schools require this. MD as well, perhaps, but I don't have an MSAR right now), and Intro Psych and Sociology which will soon become pre-reqs. Biochem is already a pre-req at some schools. The other extras such as genetics, stats, A&P, etc are up to you.

All of this can fit into your 3-year part time plan but it'll be a bit hectic. You'll need to churn them out 3 classes a semester for 3 years. I had two semesters where I did this but one of the reasons it was possible is that some of the classes were online (English I/II, Intro Psych, Abnormal Psych). There's plenty of discussion on the whole online class thing, but I had no other options. I don't think my transcript specifically indicates that these were online classes so I'm hoping I'll be fine.