Why did you quit Engineering?

[Flippinski]

I hear ya, that's exactly why I have decided to leave engineering and pursue medicine. Follow where you want to go, backup plan, you can always go back to what you're doing now. I did some work as an ER scribe following doctors, and absolutely loved it. A short glimpse into the world, but there are a variety of ways that you can work as a physician, and everyone is going to bitch about something in their job..but at the end of the day wouldn't you rather be excited about what you do and frustrated about paperwork, rather than just bored and frustrated? I would.

Are there any people who have left engineering and are now attending that can say whether or not it was worth it? Was leaving engineering/desk jobs just a case of the grass is always greener or are you happier now that you're working with and helping people? Do you ever miss engineering? Did you consider any other fields besides medicine that would allow you to get out of the office and help people?

I'm 30 and have worked in the software field since graduating. I'm beginning to feel bored at work and I'm not sure if I can sit at a desk for the rest of my life. The only field I can think of that would allow the challenge of using my brain and hands is in medicine. I'm sure I'm just romanticizing the idea of being a doctor and I should do some volunteer work to knock the fantasy out of my head and get my feet back in reality. I've got some friends who are ED physicians and I hear them tell stories and it sounds like they've got some amazing experiences. But on the flip side I hear how stressful it is having to deal with the schedule, patients and regulations/paperwork. They say I'm lucky to have my weekends and that boring is good, at least I have a window in my office. But they've never sat at a desk for 40+ hrs a week on end. I'd like to get perspective from someone who has been on both sides.

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[tiger1523]

I hear ya, that's exactly why I have decided to leave engineering and pursue medicine. Follow where you want to go, backup plan, you can always go back to what you're doing now. I did some work as an ER scribe following doctors, and absolutely loved it. A short glimpse into the world, but there are a variety of ways that you can work as a physician, and everyone is going to bitch about something in their job..but at the end of the day wouldn't you rather be excited about what you do and frustrated about paperwork, rather than just bored and frustrated? I would.

How did you get started? How far along in the process are you? Have you had any doubts that wanted you to go back to engineering or are you sure you want to continue down this path?

 

[Shjanzey]

Are there any people who have left engineering and are now attending that can say whether or not it was worth it? Was leaving engineering/desk jobs just a case of the grass is always greener or are you happier now that you're working with and helping people? Do you ever miss engineering? Did you consider any other fields besides medicine that would allow you to get out of the office and help people?

I'm 30 and have worked in the software field since graduating. I'm beginning to feel bored at work and I'm not sure if I can sit at a desk for the rest of my life. The only field I can think of that would allow the challenge of using my brain and hands is in medicine. I'm sure I'm just romanticizing the idea of being a doctor and I should do some volunteer work to knock the fantasy out of my head and get my feet back in reality. I've got some friends who are ED physicians and I hear them tell stories and it sounds like they've got some amazing experiences. But on the flip side I hear how stressful it is having to deal with the schedule, patients and regulations/paperwork. They say I'm lucky to have my weekends and that boring is good, at least I have a window in my office. But they've never sat at a desk for 40+ hrs a week on end. I'd like to get perspective from someone who has been on both sides.

I'm only a first year so I haven't come close to seeing everything, but even after 9 months of schooling I am still loving every day. When I think about how miserable I was in corporate america it just makes it that much sweeter. I am also very interested in what I am learning, so it is easy to sit for long stretches of time and study. Most people can't wait to leave early on Friday to start their weekend, but I find it just as enjoyable to keep studying.

Even though we do get some ward time it only happens once a month and I have zero responsibility. I also don't have to do any paperwork, and I know that it will be the most annoying part of the job, but documentation is everything.

In short, looking at the huge debt I have incurred and the enormous risk I am taking...it has been totally worth it so far.

 

[tiger1523]

I'm only a first year so I haven't come close to seeing everything, but even after 9 months of schooling I am still loving every day. When I think about how miserable I was in corporate america it just makes it that much sweeter. I am also very interested in what I am learning, so it is easy to sit for long stretches of time and study. Most people can't wait to leave early on Friday to start their weekend, but I find it just as enjoyable to keep studying.

Even though we do get some ward time it only happens once a month and I have zero responsibility. I also don't have to do any paperwork, and I know that it will be the most annoying part of the job, but documentation is everything.

In short, looking at the huge debt I have incurred and the enormous risk I am taking...it has been totally worth it so far.

Congratulations! I'm glad you're enjoying it so far.

How did you make your first step out of the corporate world? Did you volunteer first to see if you'd like it better than your old job? I'm curious how you made sure this is what you wanted and you wouldn't regret leaving your old job.

Also, how do you like the people you are studying with? Any time I hang out with the folks in medicine they seem so much more interesting than the people I work with, not that they're bad folks. But software people seem a bit stale.

 

[Shjanzey]

Congratulations! I'm glad you're enjoying it so far.

How did you make your first step out of the corporate world? Did you volunteer first to see if you'd like it better than your old job? I'm curious how you made sure this is what you wanted and you wouldn't regret leaving your old job.

Also, how do you like the people you are studying with? Any time I hang out with the folks in medicine they seem so much more interesting than the people I work with, not that they're bad folks. But software people seem a bit stale.

Great questions. My first step was by volunteering at a free clinic run by students of the local medical school. I got to see a clinical environment as well as talk to enrolled students to hear about their experiences. I got to see first hand what medical students do, and I also was exposed to a real clinical environment. I enjoyed it immensely and ended up doing that for approximately five years while I worked on my pre-requisites. I also shadow some doctors as well.

To answer your second question, I felt like I had suddenly been dropped into a room full of people just like me. The amount of laziness and the low level of quality of work expected in corporate america starts to make me believe that pretty much everyone is mediocre and satisfied with doing "barely enough". Medical School is filled with intelligent, motivated people who, for the most part, are striving to be the best at what they do and to make a positive difference by their efforts. I have never felt a kinship towards any job I had before this until now. For me it was like finding the community that I belong to.

I know that sounds idealistic, but if you have any corporate experience the difference is truly remarkable.

 

[tiger1523]

Great questions. My first step was by volunteering at a free clinic run by students of the local medical school. I got to see a clinical environment as well as talk to enrolled students to hear about their experiences. I got to see first hand what medical students do, and I also was exposed to a real clinical environment. I enjoyed it immensely and ended up doing that for approximately five years while I worked on my pre-requisites. I also shadow some doctors as well.

To answer your second question, I felt like I had suddenly been dropped into a room full of people just like me. The amount of laziness and the low level of quality of work expected in corporate america starts to make me believe that pretty much everyone is mediocre and satisfied with doing "barely enough". Medical School is filled with intelligent, motivated people who, for the most part, are striving to be the best at what they do and to make a positive difference by their efforts. I have never felt a kinship towards any job I had before this until now. For me it was like finding the community that I belong to.

I know that sounds idealistic, but if you have any corporate experience the difference is truly remarkable.

It actually makes a lot of sense. I have a hobby/side job that I and the people I work with are passionate about. It is amazing to be able to dive in head first and have that feeling that you can't get enough. It doesn't compare to the day job.

So you found it was more the people you were working with that pushed you away from corporate america, or the work itself?

I'm planning on volunteering at a local hospital over the summer to see how I enjoy it. If so I guess I'll develop a plan from there.

 

[deleted648172]

I'm an industrial engineer. I remember working in supply chain for some pharma company, years ago. The people were so mediocre, there was nothing to aspire to, I was in some kind of hellish cubicle farm, and it was the most meaningless place and career I had ever stumbled upon. Not only that, but there was a greedy dark-side to corporate pharma that made me want to vomit into my own bowels.

I quit and volunteered for a while, and went into medical research (with a 50% salary cut). I've been working on fixing the transplant allocation system in the US since then, and I really enjoy it - but I'm ready to move on to clinical work now (I'm still pre-med).

If you are considering research as part of your eventual medical career, I think the engineering mindset is really going to help you out in that area!

 

[tiger1523]

I'm an industrial engineer. I remember working in supply chain for some pharma company, years ago. The people were so mediocre, there was nothing to aspire to, I was in some kind of hellish cubicle farm, and it was the most meaningless place and career I had ever stumbled upon. Not only that, but there was a greedy dark-side to corporate pharma that made me want to vomit into my own bowels.

I quit and volunteered for a while, and went into medical research (with a 50% salary cut). I've been working on fixing the transplant allocation system in the US since then, and I really enjoy it - but I'm ready to move on to clinical work now (I'm still pre-med).

If you are considering research as part of your eventual medical career, I think the engineering mindset is really going to help you out in that area!

I'm an industrial engineer. I remember working in supply chain for some pharma company, years ago. The people were so mediocre, there was nothing to aspire to, I was in some kind of hellish cubicle farm, and it was the most meaningless place and career I had ever stumbled upon. Not only that, but there was a greedy dark-side to corporate pharma that made me want to vomit into my own bowels.

I quit and volunteered for a while, and went into medical research (with a 50% salary cut). I've been working on fixing the transplant allocation system in the US since then, and I really enjoy it - but I'm ready to move on to clinical work now (I'm still pre-med).

If you are considering research as part of your eventual medical career, I think the engineering mindset is really going to help you out in that area!

So your research is still more engineering focus rather than patient care focused? Just trying to figure out the path you're taking. I don't have any medical research experience, although I might be able to find some medical software to work on. Although, I feel like that would land me in a similar spot to where I am now.

 

[deleted648172]

My research is kind of half-way between engineering and patient-care. I work with doctors and I look at national data on patient survival - then I write papers that hopefully other doctors will read and change the way they practice. In some of my work, I make 'apps' that help doctors explain the risks to their patients. Heck, I've helped some patients use the app myself.

There is very little or no patient contact for my research though - it is very big-picture and still is very different from patient-care. But, I work with so many different kinds of doctors that I have the opportunity to shadow many areas.

Working on medical software: maybe? if you're working at a hospital and are working with doctors, then perhaps it'll lead to some good opportunities. But if you're working on the medical software at a software company... I don't think that'll help too much (working on supply chain for drugs didn't make me understand a Pharmacist's job better). I'm learning from my volunteering/shadowing that patient-care is very different from the engineering/research I've done and that there's really no way to experience it without volunteering with patients.

 

[nooTropes]

Oh this is an easy one.

Graduated with Electrical Engineering & Computer Science degree. After working in the field for 8 years I realized that my oh so prestigious "engineering" degree was about as useful as used toilet paper. They let people who have no college training, but tons of "experience" into software engineering. As long as you say you have "experience" it is good enough.

People do not see me as an "engineer" but as a "programmer" and I find it demeaning. I am tired of working with amateurs who are second rate hacks at best. I am tired of trying to impress non-technical managers who only know how to recognize buzz-words instead of finding true talent. I am tired of working for 10 hours/day and have other people steal the credit for my work.

In short -- the corporate world is a joke. I want to work in a field where incompetence cannot be tolerated.

How did you arrived at the conclusion that medicine is right for you? Also, have you considered other options? It sounds to me that some of your problems could have been remedied by working at a start up or starting your own. Perhaps, using your engineering skills and talents to start a company or create a product that further advance the field of medicine?

 

[Shjanzey]

How did you arrived at the conclusion that medicine is right for you? Also, have you considered other options? It sounds to me that some of your problems could have been remedied by working at a start up or starting your own. Perhaps, using your engineering skills and talents to start a company or create a product that further advance the field of medicine?

My first job was a startup and it was fun but after that, every subsequent job was pretty awful. I could do a startup but I just don't have the passion or drive for business that would push me through the hard times.

I took a patient look at medicine and after four years of volunteering and shadowing I wanted to know more, and realized I could make a career out of it. My wife is also a physician so I got to observe her during her studies. I really feel like I made an informed decision, rather than an idealistic emotional decision.

I will start second year in august and I can still say that I am very pleased I made this change. Medicine is for me

 

[DrSES2B]

I graduated with a degree in Industrial Engineering. I knew well before graduation date that I was not destined to be an engineer, yet the economy and logic said to go ahead and finish my degree. It's now been a around 9 months since graduation and I am in the beginnings of thinking about a medical profession.

I originally got into Industrial Engineering via poor decision making skills. I've always known that math and the sciences were where my interests lay, but didn't give it enough serious thought as to what I would major in. I found out that engineering would be the death of me during my mandatory co-ops. Every job was very different from the last, except for the whole "work in a cubicle" thing. The tasks were different, but the setting and human exposure was the same. So I worked through all that to get the degree and here I am 9 months later.

I hope to sure up my decision about entering into the medical field and then get some exposure via a scribe position in a clinic/hospital (or something similar), studying for the MCAT, looking at possible post-bac programs since I lack the biology and organic chemistry requirements to apply to med school.

I would love to hear an update on your story. I am currently an Industrial Engineering considering the transition to medical school. I wasn't sure if it was something possible with my background however from this forum it appears to be a transition a lot of engineers make. I don't have much knowledge in the medical field other that my passion for helping people and the thought of my mother always telling me it what I should have been. Industrial Engineering was the quick and easy route for me to finish school quick to get a decent job to provide for my family. But sitting in the cubicle and answering to a 1000 different bosses along with the tough environment to drive change, has made me question if this was really what I wanted. Hopefully you are able to respond. I see this is an old post but I am definitely interested an eager to hear how it's going for you.

 

[Engeniero89]

Hello fellow engineers! I am currently almost done with my first year of working for a fortune 125 (biggest utility/power company in country) as an electrical engineer/project manager who's responsible for the safety of my craft-based workers' lives (I take this very seriously, as I would take the lives of future patients I may have equally seriously). Co-oped during college for one of the world's biggest oil companies. GT alum, minors in chem & biomedical engineering. I've long dreamed of becoming a physician, but life necesitated that I help my family with funding so they could live happily & out of poverty. I shall accrue enough funds for them within 2 years and then be on my way to applying to medical school (we hope).

There is not a better ROI for a bachelor's degree than one of the broad engineering disciplines (mechanical, electrical, civil, chemical) and IMO an excellent hedge against the possibility of not getting accepted into a professional/graduate school. It's a catch-22 however, as one's GPA may take a hit due to the extraordinarily difficult courseload (I can attest to EE and BME being rough-though still graduated with high honors; though at GT high honors is a 3.35 minimum haha).

This is actually my first post on SDN and I really enjoy reading and learning from each of you on discussions & information regarding hopes of entry into professional schools! Thanks to each of you for teaching me so much!

 

[ImportedKamariya]

h1b visas and imported labor (atm, mostly indians). if disney can completely layoff its staff, so can any other major company. m$oft already did so in waves this and the past year. engineering is one of the WORST fields you can ever go into. most if not all of it can be done remotely. if the guy has to be there, just fly him in and send him back to his country or hire him as a contractor for a short time and have someone else take over. very unstable job/career.

----> civil/ENV engineer here. Yes! Experience - just like in engineering, experience is what matters! If you are reading this thread, then you are for sure INTERESTED in medicine and the thought of pursuing it as a career, but you won't know until you have valuable EXPERIENCES. it's just like when you give someone a gift - give them an experience and they'll remember it forever, give them a material item and they may/may not remember it.

um, no. quarterly profits matter for stockholders. like i said, disney engineers had to train indians on h1b visas who had zero experience in their work before getting their compensation package after being laid off. all that matters is profits and how little a company can pay you. of course if you have a union job working directly for the govt., you are in paradise. otherwise, the corporate world will eat you alive.

 

[shoal]

h1b visas and imported labor (atm, mostly indians). if disney can completely layoff its staff, so can any other major company. m$oft already did so in waves this and the past year. engineering is one of the WORST fields you can ever go into. most if not all of it can be done remotely. if the guy has to be there, just fly him in and send him back to his country or hire him as a contractor for a short time and have someone else take over. very unstable job/career.

----> civil/ENV engineer here. Yes! Experience - just like in engineering, experience is what matters! If you are reading this thread, then you are for sure INTERESTED in medicine and the thought of pursuing it as a career, but you won't know until you have valuable EXPERIENCES. it's just like when you give someone a gift - give them an experience and they'll remember it forever, give them a material item and they may/may not remember it.

um, no. quarterly profits matter for stockholders. like i said, disney engineers had to train indians on h1b visas who had zero experience in their work before getting their compensation package after being laid off. all that matters is profits and how little a company can pay you. of course if you have a union job working directly for the govt., you are in paradise. otherwise, the corporate world will eat you alive.

Hello fellow engineers! I am currently almost done with my first year of working for a fortune 125 (biggest utility/power company in country) as an electrical engineer/project manager who's responsible for the safety of my craft-based workers' lives (I take this very seriously, as I would take the lives of future patients I may have equally seriously). Co-oped during college for one of the world's biggest oil companies. GT alum, minors in chem & biomedical engineering. I've long dreamed of becoming a physician, but life necesitated that I help my family with funding so they could live happily & out of poverty. I shall accrue enough funds for them within 2 years and then be on my way to applying to medical school (we hope).

There is not a better ROI for a bachelor's degree than one of the broad engineering disciplines (mechanical, electrical, civil, chemical) and IMO an excellent hedge against the possibility of not getting accepted into a professional/graduate school. It's a catch-22 however, as one's GPA may take a hit due to the extraordinarily difficult courseload (I can attest to EE and BME being rough-though still graduated with high honors; though at GT high honors is a 3.35 minimum haha).

This is actually my first post on SDN and I really enjoy reading and learning from each of you on discussions & information regarding hopes of entry into professional schools! Thanks to each of you for teaching me so much!

Gt alumn 2005 bme, finally done with Residency. Its one hell of a road, I'd consider staying in engineering after being through it all. Well see how attending life is. As a GT GRAD you're at a disadvantage from a gpa perspective. I had a 3.7, and 5 consectutive 4.0 semesters. Good luck and be sure you are going in with eyes wide open

Sent from my VS986 using Tapatalk

 

[Engeniero89]

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[blindwillow]

I'm an introvert. Introvert doesn't mean I don't want to deal with or talk to people, in my case it means I prefer to deal with one person at a time and have a meaningful interaction whenever possible. In my former work environment (huge floor of cubicals with outdoor/field visits) you had to be an extrovert to do well. Extroverts made the connections and advanced up the ladder, introverts got relegated to closets and put on the "technical" track.




Yes, I'm not sure what field the person was talking about though. I came out of school in 2008 making $75k with benefits. In July when med school starts I'll be walking away from the $100k salary I'm making right now. Very few people leave engineering because the money is lousy but in my area the job market is dominated by big oil. Big oil = big salary




There is more to life than pure capitalism. I no longer exalt the "producer" over the "servicer". I made gasoline for a living. Er more correctly, I came up with ideas to keep machines and equipment safe, functional, and reliable so that people could make gasoline. People made the gasoline, and people need to be healthy to do that. Medicine is just one aspect of making and keeping a society at large healthy, but medicine makes a huge impact on people's lives.


To some, it is. They should stay in engineering and keep the world turning. For some of us, we'd rather lose 10+ years of income, go into significant debt, and sacrifice material, emotional, and physiological comforts to do medicine because we found engineering so unfulfilling. YMMV

I'm also in the oil industry as a process engineer. I'd like to know more about your experience of transitioning into medicine. Please pm me if you have a moment to talk! Thanks!!

 

[aerodoc]

I'm a former aeronautical engineer, did propulsion systems design for private jets mostly. I left corporate America for the same reasons as many others have commented. Even though the job was challenging and was fun some days, in general I felt unfulfilled. I looked at my bosses and co-workers who had been in the business for 20-30 years and asked myself if that's really what I waned my life's work to be. Working 9-5 everyday with 2-4 weeks vacation on some obscure design part on an aircraft that neither myself or 99% of the population would ever be able to enjoy and that in 20 years would be obsolete anyway. And you throw on top of that the idea that the producers, in other words the people that actually design and construct the aircraft (engineers, line workers) are all subservient to the will of some CEO or businessperson that will sell you under the bus for a little more profit for themselves and the shareholders, and you have a job that makes you feel like you're not working for anything.

With medicine on the other hand, I found a profession that I could use my critical thinking skills just like engineering but where my work would actually mean something to someone. Where you aren't cooped up all day in a factory on the outskirts of town in a cube farm working with the same people every day for 20-30 years and can get laid off whenever the economy has a downturn. Medicine gives you the opportunity to work how you want, where you want, and with who you want. You want to live rural, urban, in a suburb go for it. You want to work with poor people and marginalized populations, go for it. You can go internationally and be on the front lines of health crises all across the world, you can make your mark in politics, or you can be the small town doc that everyone in the community trusts with their family.

I'm in residency now and these feelings haven't changed. Where I would wake up to go to work as an engineer and dread it everyday, I can honestly say there have been very few days like that in medicine. I work much longer hours than I ever did as an engineer now (I'm an intern) but it's work I feel good about, and I would do it all over again if I had to. The debt is something everyone deals with but it works out in the end, and you can always find loan repayment if you want. And I don't see my time in med school as time sacrificed, those are years you live just like everyone else, it's not like those years vanish. Honestly I had a much better time as a med student than I did as an engineer, and I had much more freedom as well. Those years are going to pass anyway, you can choose if you want them to pass working for someone else on something you don't care about or if you want to take a risk and build something that is hard, but is fulfilling and so far for me, the journey has been worth every second.

Feel free to PM me or whatever