Need advice badly!!

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Dr.Zeee

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Hey all! This is my first ever post on this forum and I'm not completely sure if this is where I should be posting this, but I need some serious advice from current med students. I am in a serious dilemma and asking my parents and a couple of doctors for advice hasn't helped me make a decision.

I am a 21 year old living in SoCal. I attended a community college where I was doing well too (3.7 GPA and honors) but because of my indecisiveness on what I want to do in life, I took a break and started working. I live with my parents and My dad's also does the same work that i do (he's in a better position though) and together we make about $225,000 a year. My life right now is really comfortable, I'm doing really well where I work, and I have luxuries ( i drive an R8) I never did while I was going to school. Now for some reason medicine always calls me back! I'm not truly truly happy because I know I'm not going to be a doctor if I stay in the field I'm in now. But then I also don't know if I would love becoming a doctor or I just love the idea of it. I hear how people would never recommend anyone to go to med school or how crazy the loans are. I was an EMT for about 3 months and I've shadowed an orthopedic surgeon as well and, for now, it all looked amazing!! If I leave this job, most of my luxuries will go with it since my dad can't do it all by himself. That means I'll be back on a budget, no cars, no fancy home, etc.. While my parents are totally okay with it, I'm not sure if I'm ready to go back to a somewhat miser lifestyle (my dad makes about $175,000 by himself)

Without further rambling, my main questions are:

- will my sacrifice be worth it
- is finishing med school more rewarding than the materialistic things
-how do you know if becoming a doctor is something you should do
-do you feel you've wasted your twenties studying all day and are stuck with a huge loan as well

For me, money isn't what makes me want to go to med school obviously. I just love the fact that you're working every day improving the quality of people's lives, the knowledge that you have about the entire body, and to a certain extent, the prestige that goes along with it, but those questions above are always lingering in my head that make me decide against it

Sorry for the long rant but I really hope you guys can help me and give me some insight.

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I highly recommend shadowing a LOT more with at least 5 different specialties.

Any job will get repetitive and old. I can't say that you have terrible reasons for wanting to go into medicine, but I can say that you sound naive (which you alluded to). If you're not sure, get sure. Don't waste anyone's time (your own) by interviewing with one foot out of the door. Tens of thousands of top college graduates across the country fight tooth and nail for these spots. You don't just cast your hat in.

If, after more exposure, you find that you're determined to pursue this path, then please do! I would just hate for you to waste your time, sweat, blood, money, or splooj.
 
Hey all! This is my first ever post on this forum and I'm not completely sure if this is where I should be posting this, but I need some serious advice from current med students. I am in a serious dilemma and asking my parents and a couple of doctors for advice hasn't helped me make a decision.

I am a 21 year old living in SoCal. I attended a community college where I was doing well too (3.7 GPA and honors) but because of my indecisiveness on what I want to do in life, I took a break and started working. I live with my parents and My dad's also does the same work that i do (he's in a better position though) and together we make about $225,000 a year. My life right now is really comfortable, I'm doing really well where I work, and I have luxuries ( i drive an R8) I never did while I was going to school. Now for some reason medicine always calls me back! I'm not truly truly happy because I know I'm not going to be a doctor if I stay in the field I'm in now. But then I also don't know if I would love becoming a doctor or I just love the idea of it. I hear how people would never recommend anyone to go to med school or how crazy the loans are. I was an EMT for about 3 months and I've shadowed an orthopedic surgeon as well and, for now, it all looked amazing!! If I leave this job, most of my luxuries will go with it since my dad can't do it all by himself. That means I'll be back on a budget, no cars, no fancy home, etc.. While my parents are totally okay with it, I'm not sure if I'm ready to go back to a somewhat miser lifestyle (my dad makes about $175,000 by himself)

Without further rambling, my main questions are:

- will my sacrifice be worth it
- is finishing med school more rewarding than the materialistic things
-how do you know if becoming a doctor is something you should do
-do you feel you've wasted your twenties studying all day and are stuck with a huge loan as well

For me, money isn't what makes me want to go to med school obviously. I just love the fact that you're working every day improving the quality of people's lives, the knowledge that you have about the entire body, and to a certain extent, the prestige that goes along with it, but those questions above are always lingering in my head that make me decide against it

Sorry for the long rant but I really hope you guys can help me and give me some insight.

Sounds like you'd be giving a job that pays 50k. That's not unreasonable. It also sounds like if you stay with this job you could make a lot more money down the road. Maybe.

So, financially it sounds reasonable to go to medical school unless you were somehow guaranteed to earn 175k in the near future with this job. Most jobs don't have that job security.

Finances aside, you have to decide if you're willing to sacrifice the next 15 years of your life to become a physician. That's the tough decision that you can't make by crunching numbers. Mostly because there's no way for you to know what it means until you've gone through half that time or more (at which point it's too late to turn back).

Personally, I think medicine -- surgery in particular-- is the coolest job out there and it's well worth the sacrifice. Others in medicine are often less happy with the final outcome. It's a cery personal decision that you and only you can make. You have to be ok with the idea that at the end, you might be disappointed that your sacrifice was too great and that it wasn't the right thing for you. There's really no way to tell up front (you can reliably tell if it's not for you, it's just really hard to tell if it is for you).
 
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Thank you lazymed and rik1111 for your responses

@Rik1111- that's the thing, the biggest thing I feel I'm wasting is time. I know what it's going to take to become a physician and I'm ready to tackle it head on, but my fear is that I don't want to leave something good that I have now (which will eventually get even better) to something I will regret. I guess you're right, more exposure is probably what I need

@lazymed- yes, the 50k is just the start. Having my dad in the same business "guarantees" that i can get to his position much faster (probably by age 25-26) than if I didn't have him, so I know my future earning potential is pretty solid. You said being a surgeon to you is one of the coolest jobs out there, which is what I assume it to be as well and that's exactly what I'm looking for! I know if I choose to stay in the work I'm in now I'll always regret not going to med school. You're right, maybe it's just something I have to dive into and experience it myself!
 
Thank you lazymed and rik1111 for your responses

@Rik1111- that's the thing, the biggest thing I feel I'm wasting is time. I know what it's going to take to become a physician and I'm ready to tackle it head on, but my fear is that I don't want to leave something good that I have now (which will eventually get even better) to something I will regret. I guess you're right, more exposure is probably what I need

@lazymed- yes, the 50k is just the start. Having my dad in the same business "guarantees" that i can get to his position much faster (probably by age 25-26) than if I didn't have him, so I know my future earning potential is pretty solid. You said being a surgeon to you is one of the coolest jobs out there, which is what I assume it to be as well and that's exactly what I'm looking for! I know if I choose to stay in the work I'm in now I'll always regret not going to med school. You're right, maybe it's just something I have to dive into and experience it myself!

If you know yourself well enough that you are as sure as you can be that this is true, go. You're only 21, and have many years ahead of you to work towards what you want to do. I wouldn't pass up an opportunity you know you'll regret to do something you're not passionate about.
 
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Thank you lazymed and rik1111 for your responses

@Rik1111- that's the thing, the biggest thing I feel I'm wasting is time. I know what it's going to take to become a physician and I'm ready to tackle it head on, but my fear is that I don't want to leave something good that I have now (which will eventually get even better) to something I will regret. I guess you're right, more exposure is probably what I need

@lazymed- yes, the 50k is just the start. Having my dad in the same business "guarantees" that i can get to his position much faster (probably by age 25-26) than if I didn't have him, so I know my future earning potential is pretty solid. You said being a surgeon to you is one of the coolest jobs out there, which is what I assume it to be as well and that's exactly what I'm looking for! I know if I choose to stay in the work I'm in now I'll always regret not going to med school. You're right, maybe it's just something I have to dive into and experience it myself!

Honestly, if you have any doubts, keep exploring them and make a decision. If it takes you 3 years to figure it out, that will be time well spent. You're going to dump a huge amount of time into this, and it's not like you can't bank almost all of that cash you're making now (assuming you're at least somewhat frugal).
 
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DO NOT GO TO MEDICAL SCHOOL. STAY WHERE YOU ARE.
 
Is it bad that I read that and all I really picked out was the R8 thing? I want your car.

That said, don't go to med school..it seems like you're perfectly happy with your current situation..
 
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What job are you working currently? Do you have to work hard/long hours? Medicine can be exhausting. Surgery is great, but I think that oftentimes it is glamourized because surgeons work harder/longer than those in any other career I know of. Are you willing to dedicate a huge portion of your life to work? Will you be happy coming home from the hospital after a 30 hour shift? I would definitely recommend shadowing many doctors in different specialties because this is a big decision.
 
What job are you working currently? Do you have to work hard/long hours? Medicine can be exhausting. Surgery is great, but I think that oftentimes it is glamourized because surgeons work harder/longer than those in any other career I know of. Are you willing to dedicate a huge portion of your life to work? Will you be happy coming home from the hospital after a 30 hour shift? I would definitely recommend shadowing many doctors in different specialties because this is a big decision.

Pretty much everyone is happy to go home after 30 hours! ;) But seriously, after residency, the vast majority of surgeons (or physicians in general) will not spend 30 continuous hours in the hospital on a regular basis. There is a lot more control of lifestyle after getting done with training.

Moving thread to PreAllo as this is a premed topic.
 
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Again thank you everyone for replying and trying to help me

@medstudent7860- I'm a manager at a car dealership (not the most ideal job lol) And I can tell you 80 hour weeks are normal so i can say im better prepared to work long hours. sure 30 hour shifts sound ridiculous but as smurfette said, it should get much better after training is over. I'm looking for something that I'll enjoy and feel good doing everyday which I feel medicine will give me, but then other times I don't (emotional see-saw)

btw @NeuroSpeed and @fancymylotus the R8 is definitely a nice car, but obviously not that big of a deal If I'm debating to get rid of it for school :)
 
OP I'm also in a similar dilemma, currently making $70000 at the age of 24; the difference is that I have already graduated and I'm applying this cycle, but part of me still wonders if it's worth it. Let's see what happens, I don't have an acceptance yet.
 
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