Would something like this be okay?

[grapp]

I'm considering becoming a paramedic first before I start college at a university. Then I can work on the side and my backup job I already have. Would it hurt if I delayed entry for a few years to college to get a feel for pre-hospital medicine first? I'm still considering medical school but it might help if I get a bit of experience and a feel for pre-hospital medicine which is still an ideal job of mine.

Just wondering if anyone else had some objections to this on why it's not a good idea?


Thank you.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

I don't think anyone is going to particularly care whether you start college tomorrow or in 10 years as long as you do well. Though the experience and exposure you'll get as a paramedic will make you stand out as an applicant especially so at DO schools which seem to love EMTs.

 

[grapp]

I don't think anyone is going to particularly care whether you start college tomorrow or in 10 years as long as you do well. Though the experience and exposure you'll get as a paramedic will make you stand out as an applicant especially so at DO schools which seem to love EMTs.

Awesome, thanks for the input. Good luck in med school.

 

[sonofva]

Noone will care but future you. Because if you really want to do med school, every year later you start working as an EM physician is 275000$ less you have, which over the course of a career can mean the difference of millions of dollars in lost money in investments

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

Noone will care but future you. Because if you really want to do med school, every year later you start working as an EM physician is 275000$ less you have, which over the course of a career can mean the difference of millions of dollars in lost money in investments

I don't think it's really fair to put that on an 18 year old who is still deciding their future.

 

[Law2Doc]

Noone will care but future you. Because if you really want to do med school, every year later you start working as an EM physician is 275000$ less you have, which over the course of a career can mean the difference of millions of dollars in lost money in investments

That's an extremely silly way to look at it. What if the future him, having not had the good EMT experiences to build on, drops out of med school $200k in debt? Or never gets in in the first place? Or what if that future him loses focus in college and ends up in a worse career path because he didn't grow up with as good a set of prior experiences? Or what if starting earlier leads to earlier burnout and he has a much shorter career than if he simply started later with a better sense of his goals? Or the stress of the job gives him a heart attack earlier? Point is you can't predict the future, let alone ones net lifetime salary in it.

As a career changer who came to medicine later in the game, I can say for certain I frankly wouldn't have enjoyed it as much or maybe even stayed with it very long had I started it right out of college. You need to take the path that's right for you. Counting a potential salary you haven't even earned yet is simply a bizarre way to go through life. I recommend for your own good that you stop thinking this way or every bump in the road you face is going to be a much bigger deal than it needs to be.

 

[Goro]

There's no law that says you have to go to college at 18, and to med school at 22.

Being an older candidate with actual work experience is a plus. For many Millennials, being a resident is their actual first job, and it shows in work ethic at times.

I'm considering becoming a paramedic first before I start college at a university. Then I can work on the side and my backup job I already have. Would it hurt if I delayed entry for a few years to college to get a feel for pre-hospital medicine first? I'm still considering medical school but it might help if I get a bit of experience and a feel for pre-hospital medicine which is still an ideal job of mine.

Just wondering if anyone else had some objections to this on why it's not a good idea?


Thank you.

 

[grapp]

There's no law that says you have to go to college at 18, and to med school at 22.

Being an older candidate with actual work experience is a plus. For many Millennials, being a resident is their actual first job, and it shows in work ethic at times.

Thank you for your reply Goro.

 

[grapp]

That's an extremely silly way to look at it. What if the future him, having not had the good EMT experiences to build on, drops out of med school $200k in debt? Or never gets in in the first place? Or what if that future him loses focus in college and ends up in a worse career path because he didn't grow up with as good a set of prior experiences? Or what if starting earlier leads to earlier burnout and he has a much shorter career than if he simply started later with a better sense of his goals? Or the stress of the job gives him a heart attack earlier? Point is you can't predict the future, let alone ones net lifetime salary in it.

As a career changer who came to medicine later in the game, I can say for certain I frankly wouldn't have enjoyed it as much or maybe even stayed with it very long had I started it right out of college. You need to take the path that's right for you. Counting a potential salary you haven't even earned yet is simply a bizarre way to go through life. I recommend for your own good that you stop thinking this way or every bump in the road you face is going to be a much bigger deal than it needs to be.

Thanks Law2Doc. Lol, I liked your analogies. I thought seeking out pre-hospital medicine will be a great memory I can build on and hopefully build on to my future med school experiences. I'm super suprised an "attending physician" was concerned out my future total net worth... I guess everyone becomes a doctor for their own reason.

 

[sonofva]

Thanks Law2Doc. Lol, I liked your analogies. I thought seeking out pre-hospital medicine will be a great memory I can build on and hopefully build on to my future med school experiences. I'm super suprised an "attending physician" was concerned out my future total net worth... I guess everyone becomes a doctor for their own reason.

It's true. You shouldn't plan your life around a future salary. But I think it's silly to say that finances shouldn't be a concern. 350k in medical school debt is a real deal for many of my friends. I wish I would have started investing a little when I was 16.

It's also silly to have high schoolers trying to plan a "day-by-day" of the next decade of their lives until they get an acceptance to medical school, but people do that all the time on this forum.

I'm normally the one who says "just try to have a little fun, don't get in trouble, try to start thinking about college, and go on some dates/traveling." First time I drop something real on here and people get uppity. Lol.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile app

 

[grapp]

It's true. You shouldn't plan your life around a future salary. But I think it's silly to say that finances shouldn't be a concern. 350k in medical school debt is a real deal for many of my friends. I wish I would have started investing a little when I was 16.

It's also silly to have high schoolers trying to plan a "day-by-day" of the next decade of their lives until they get an acceptance to medical school, but people do that all the time on this forum.

I'm normally the one who says "just try to have a little fun, don't get in trouble, try to start thinking about college, and go on some dates/traveling." First time I drop something real on here and people get uppity. Lol.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile app

While it may be true debt is an issue for doctors. "Hopefully" fingers crossed, I'll have 20-40 years if I'm lucky after becoming a doctor to pay it off, not saying I will work until I'm 70. But, I get bored easy... Never know, might take a research position. Most doctors that I know pay it off within a 8-15 year stent comfortably living. However, I don't believe interpheres with becoming a paramedic to see how I like working as one. Especially if I can find some scholarship opportunities at a CC for a paramedic program. I agree that medical school debt is a factor for any doctor who ever attends medical school.

Sure it's something real, but it isn't real until 8-10 years + down the line? I understand your point, but it lacks because of how far out it is. Just a thought.

 

[sonofva]

While it may be true debt is an issue for doctors. "Hopefully" fingers crossed, I'll have 20-40 years if I'm lucky after becoming a doctor to pay it off, not saying I will work until I'm 70. But, I get bored easy... Never know, might take a research position. Most doctors that I know pay it off within a 8-15 year stent comfortably living. However, I don't believe interpheres with becoming a paramedic to see how I like working as one. Especially if I can find some scholarship opportunities at a CC for a paramedic program. I agree that medical school debt is a factor for any doctor who ever attends medical school.

Sure it's something real, but it isn't real until 8-10 years + down the line? I understand your point, but it lacks because of how far out it is. Just a thought.

By this logic, though, your whole thread lacks. You're asking about using paramedic school as a boost for an application that won't happen for 8 years. If you want to be a paramedic, do it man. Try doing whatever you think you may passionate about while you're young. Frankly, there is no situation in which more education will hurt you unless you end up defaulting on a student loan or the like. But if you want to prognosticate about the future, then don't get smug when an "attending physician" raises a point about the benefits of compounding interest.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile app