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Back story: I left my former career at the age of 28 (low 6 figure salary) to begin my post-bacc journey and eventual medical school acceptance 2 years later. I matriculated last August at my state MD school of choice. All was good and right in the world.
I withdrew this spring. I was in good academic standing, generally above average on exams getting P to HP. When I started researching this marathon there were those who said;
1. If you can see yourself doing anything other than medicine, do that instead.
2. You have to want this more than you want anything else.
3. You will have to sacrifice almost everything and put life on hold.
4. You will amass huge amounts of debt with an uncertain financial and work environment future ahead of you.
I put everything on hold for 8 months and did the med school thing, nearing the end of my short sprint I was miserable, frustrated, lonesome for friends and family, and the question that never left my mind was "Is this worth it?". I have a wonderful supporting and loving spouse who was bearing the weight of everything being on her during this and a new baby one who needed to be taken care of. The answer became quite obvious one weekend and it was time to walk away and return to normal life.
I'm returning to my former career and oddly, couldn't be more happy about it.
Medical school isn't for everyone. The "naysayers" were right. I wasn't willing to give up my relationship with my spouse, child, family, and friends for this.
For a job.
Some might say you can do medical school without losing those things, maybe for them, for me that was the trajectory we were on.
Disclaimer: I did my homework, I researched, I "understood", I got it. Things changed, priorities changed, perspective changed. I am sorry that I took a spot, I shouldn't have gone but I would have never come to this conclusion had I not.
If you think you could do your current job/career but are miserable in your specific spot, I'd caution against making this leap. Maybe just try some different jobs in your field, or spend the time you'd spend studying for pre reqs on improving your skill set or knowledge base for the next better job. That's what I'll be doing now that I'm so good at studying and passing exams.
I withdrew this spring. I was in good academic standing, generally above average on exams getting P to HP. When I started researching this marathon there were those who said;
1. If you can see yourself doing anything other than medicine, do that instead.
2. You have to want this more than you want anything else.
3. You will have to sacrifice almost everything and put life on hold.
4. You will amass huge amounts of debt with an uncertain financial and work environment future ahead of you.
I put everything on hold for 8 months and did the med school thing, nearing the end of my short sprint I was miserable, frustrated, lonesome for friends and family, and the question that never left my mind was "Is this worth it?". I have a wonderful supporting and loving spouse who was bearing the weight of everything being on her during this and a new baby one who needed to be taken care of. The answer became quite obvious one weekend and it was time to walk away and return to normal life.
I'm returning to my former career and oddly, couldn't be more happy about it.
Medical school isn't for everyone. The "naysayers" were right. I wasn't willing to give up my relationship with my spouse, child, family, and friends for this.
For a job.
Some might say you can do medical school without losing those things, maybe for them, for me that was the trajectory we were on.
Disclaimer: I did my homework, I researched, I "understood", I got it. Things changed, priorities changed, perspective changed. I am sorry that I took a spot, I shouldn't have gone but I would have never come to this conclusion had I not.
If you think you could do your current job/career but are miserable in your specific spot, I'd caution against making this leap. Maybe just try some different jobs in your field, or spend the time you'd spend studying for pre reqs on improving your skill set or knowledge base for the next better job. That's what I'll be doing now that I'm so good at studying and passing exams.
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