30s Non-trad, leaving tech for medicine, what’s the best route for me to get started or prepare for applications?

[spicystrawberry]

Hi SDNs,

I’m about to turn 32F, living in LA. I previously worked in the tech industry. Recently I finished a master degree related to this field but upon many months of reflection, I don’t want to pursue it any longer and seriously considering a career change to medicine.

I’m very well aware of all the expense, financial burden and long haul hardship of med school. My sister just finished med school and started her residency recently. She told me that there are other less intensive routes in healthcare but I am not sure I would be satisfied with a nursing or PA education.

I wanted to get advices about my current plan, where my focus should be, which areas need works or improvements, and any other feedback or comments that you may have.


My background
I have 7 years working corporate jobs in the tech industry and I dislike all of them. I made decent money to support myself but I’ve never seen or witness any positive impacts of my work. My work can be challenging and fun at times, rarely, as it leaned into one of my strengths as a creative person. However, I can't help but feel like my works had never helped improving anyone’s life or society as a whole, but rather be used to get in more sale for my employers and manipulated users/audience to behave in certain ways.
I dread thinking about spending my entire life working in the tech career. I can’t imagine being in my 40-50, working long hours in from of a computer only for paychecks with little impact that I've had.

When I was in college I never seriously considered medicine. Even though I enjoy learning sciences, human anatomy and physiology when I was younger but I never act on it or pursue them further (mostly due to fear of failure and being compared to other high achievers in my family. I come from a first gen Asian immigrant family, you get the idea).

I now learned the hard way that careers are long, I have nothing but time for the rest of my life and I believe should feel good about what I do for a living. Experiencing chronic pain now in my life has further deepened my desire to pursue medicine and to be able to directly impact people lives and build relationships with them in a meaningful way. I've given it a lot of thought over the last few months, and I realize that medicine makes the most sense for me.

I currently have no debt, had worked and supported myself through grad school. I don’t really have anything to tie me down like family or kids, maybe except my partner won’t likely want to move away from LA. I’m willing to start from bottom but I’m a bit loss on what’s the best way to prepare for it.

Experience in chronological order
- Graduated HS in 2010, went to community college for a lot GEs courses for transferring.
- BA in Graphic Design at a State school in 2017 (3.67 GPA)
- 3years worked in design agencies
- Most recent job was UX designer for SaaS startup for 4 years, working full time while attending school part-time
- Quit UX job to study full time in late 2023
- MS in Human Factors at a private school in 2024 (3.9 GPA, no research or publication, it’s a niche field falls under Human Computer Interaction).

Stats
- Completed none of the science+math pre-reqs in undergrad.
- Took English and Humanities courses between 2011-2013
- Took the GRE before my MS with very average scores of 150V/157Q in 02/2022
- Took several research methodologies courses and a Python course in my grad program

Shadowing+clinical volunteering
None so far as I’m waiting to hear back on my application from local hospitals and will be shadow a PCP next week. I’ve done online/virtual shadowing, it was helpful, but I don’t suppose it counts.

Non-clinical volunteering
- ~40 hr of design services for local nonprofits organizations (from over 7+ years ago)
- 20hrs at local animal shelter, I’ve been volunteering on and off for this seen finishing my grad school. I expect to keep doing this for quite foreseeable future

My questions
- How do I go about shadowing a doctor when I’m not a student in the field yet?

- Will pursuing clinical research jobs (clinical research assistant/coordinator) attainable for my MS degree alone with no clinical or lab experience?

- Since the current tech market is very bad and I’m just done with it in general, I rather not going back to UX tech work if I can help it, and work a clinical job to kill 2 birds with 1 stone if possible. I’m thinking of getting certified for CNA or MA to get clinical experience and some income to support myself. But I’m not sure which role is better or if it’s worth the time and money for the certification?

- My plan is to enroll in a postbacc locally at UCLA (tuition ranges $8k-$15k) in Spring 2025. The tuition for MA or CNA certification+training can also be in the same range ($3k-$10k) and it may take up to 9 months of training for MA certification. I need to be sure I’m making the best choice since this is can cost a bit of money and time.

- Is there any other route that I can take to get good clinical experience? I consider scribing but I'm concerned I wont make enough to survive in LA.

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[Nontrad_FL_LGBT]

Check some of my posts esp WAMC last year. Very similar background, I did a DIY PB and gained all my hours part time over about 4 years while continuing my tech career. Starting MD this year.

 

[spicystrawberry]

Check some of my posts esp WAMC last year. Very similar background, I did a DIY PB and gained all my hours part time over about 4 years while continuing my tech career. Starting MD this year.

Thank you, I'll check and get back to you if I have any questions, if you don't mind of course

*Edit: actually, not sure how to check your posts about WAMC, your profile is limited to who can access.

 

[Nontrad_FL_LGBT]

Thank you, I'll check and get back to you if I have any questions, if you don't mind of course

*Edit: actually, not sure how to check your posts about WAMC, your profile is limited to who can access.

Oops. I don't know how to change that lol. I'll DM you

 

[spicystrawberry]

Hi there, this is almost exactly me. I am a software engineer though. I am at the point of writing my secondaries now. I did a SMP at a medical school and took the time to study the MCAT and just got my scores back. I'm not sure what will happen but I'll let you know because I know how difficult a position this is to be in.

I waffled many times because of the sheer stress of applying, and that if I failed, I could always just "go back to tech". Thinking about tech again has been a mental crutch. I don't look at myself as especially smart but the victories added up over time. Let me know I can help at all

Hey thanks for sharing your experiences. Why did you do an SMP? What was your backgrounds if you dont mind sharing? What did you do for all the ECs/clinical exp? Are you or Were you still a SWE while going through the prepping?

We can DM if you prefer to share privately

 

[esob]

You will have to figure out how to generate income while also completing your prereqs. While that sounds obvious, the devil is in the details. This is even more important for a post bac, where the real goal is 100% A's.

For example, becoming an MA would be great for clinical experience, but would working that job allow you to optimize your class schedule? All college professors are not created equal. At my undergrad, the distributions of A's from professors in the science dept was so diverse that two students could pursue the same courses with different professors and be in the top 15% of their classes, and yet one student would have all A's, the other all B's.

My point is that it is important to remember that the goal of the prereqs is to complete them with all A's. Accomplishing this will take hard work, a little luck, and decent logistical planning. The logistics is where I see people get taken for a loop because they allow EC's and the idea of a "clinical job" to interfere with optimizing their classes. This can result in an otherwise great application that lacks the statistics to gain an acceptance.

 

[spicystrawberry]

You will have to figure out how to generate income while also completing your prereqs. While that sounds obvious, the devil is in the details. This is even more important for a post bac, where the real goal is 100% A's.

For example, becoming an MA would be great for clinical experience, but would working that job allow you to optimize your class schedule? All college professors are not created equal. At my undergrad, the distributions of A's from professors in the science dept was so diverse that two students could pursue the same courses with different professors and be in the top 15% of their classes, and yet one student would have all A's, the other all B's.

My point is that it is important to remember that the goal of the prereqs is to complete them with all A's. Accomplishing this will take hard work, a little luck, and decent logistical planning. The logistics is where I see people get taken for a loop because they allow EC's and the idea of a "clinical job" to interfere with optimizing their classes. This can result in an otherwise great application that lacks the statistics to gain an acceptance.

Wow thank you, this is very helpful to make informed decisions, I will keep this in mind.

Why SMP - bad undergrad GPA in biology. 4.0ed my SMP. I am not a smart student, it took every ounce of strength i had to get this score, I put on 40 pounds, I didn't leave the house for months, and some classes I only get an A because of 1 question on an exam.

ECs - I did some clinical volunteering in college, many non clinical volunteering when I was working, but I didn't have any recent clinical exp before the SMP. I could not apply to medical school because of this + lack of MCAT when my SMP ended.

i had to shadow AND study for the mcat after my SMP ended, even as a non-traditional already. It sucked, everyone else was already started / has already started a year later, is a lot younger, and I'm still not in. MCAT was the hardest for me and I ended up with a 513.

Work - No. I have not worked. I quit and have used my savings right before the start of my SMP, 2 years ago. I live with my extended family until I am done with secondaries. It's a privilege. I would have quit if I had to work and study, I am not as talented as people here. I cannot handle full-time work + study. I have to go all in on one thing or I will fail completely.

Yeah I feel you, I can relate so much in your last point. I was almost the same way, I don't consider myself talented or super smart either. I had to quit my job on my last 2 semesters of grad school to complete it without losing my sanity. It sucks so much and makes me bitter thinking about all the time and money wasted in a career that is wrong for me. Sounds like you made the right choices which results in great GPA and MCAT score given your background. Congrats, wish you the best and please keep us updated where you will end up

 

[skim3516]

I feel like we're in the same boat! I'm 30F in LA, making a career change from marketing/business to medicine. Right now, I'm taking science prerequisites at both a community college and UCLA Extension while working part-time as a medical receptionist at a clinic. The UCLA Extension courses are definitely more challenging than the community college classes. But CC classes are also pretty solid and a lot more affordable. The professor at UCLA extension really pushes students, thinking we should be able to handle the workload since we're all aiming for med school. It's tough, but you'll love it since you enjoy learning science! Plus, the evening and weekend classes at UCLA Extension make it easy to work with your schedule.

I also thought about getting MA certification, but the cost (at least $2,000) and the time to finish the program + to find a job afterwards... made me lean towards becoming a medical scribe instead. Not sure but I think you can get a job as a medical scribe without any certification. But I totally agree that having MA experience will be beneficial when applying.

If you have any questions about UCLA Extension or prereqs, feel free to ask! I often feel isolated and overwhelmed being on this non-traditional premed journey, so I'd love to connect with others with similar goals!

 

[spicystrawberry]

I feel like we're in the same boat! I'm 30F in LA, making a career change from marketing/business to medicine. Right now, I'm taking science prerequisites at both a community college and UCLA Extension while working part-time as a medical receptionist at a clinic. The UCLA Extension courses are definitely more challenging than the community college classes. But CC classes are also pretty solid and a lot more affordable. The professor at UCLA extension really pushes students, thinking we should be able to handle the workload since we're all aiming for med school. It's tough, but you'll love it since you enjoy learning science! Plus, the evening and weekend classes at UCLA Extension make it easy to work with your schedule.

I also thought about getting MA certification, but the cost (at least $2,000) and the time to finish the program + to find a job afterwards... made me lean towards becoming a medical scribe instead. Not sure but I think you can get a job as a medical scribe without any certification. But I totally agree that having MA experience will be beneficial when applying.

If you have any questions about UCLA Extension or prereqs, feel free to ask! I often feel isolated and overwhelmed being on this non-traditional premed journey, so I'd love to connect with others with similar goals!

If you don't mind me asking, which CC is that? How much more affordable are classes? Why do you take some classes at CC and not UCLA?
I also haven't seen any MA training program near me cost that low $2000, they're more like in the $8k- $15k range

 

[skim3516]

If you don't mind me asking, which CC is that? How much more affordable are classes? Why do you take some classes at CC and not UCLA?
I also haven't seen any MA training program near me cost that low $2000, they're more like in the $8k- $15k range

I am taking some courses at East Los Angeles College. East LA or any CC is way cheaper than UCLA extension. At ELAC, a 5-unit class is around $230 ($46 per unit) while at UCLA extension it's around $1025~$2200 per class. I also didn't qualify for fafsa at UCLA extension. I am just trying to budget as much but if you could take all the necessary courses at UCLA extension it might be easier since you don't have to juggle two schools. There are pros and cons to each school. CC classes are cheaper and relatively easier but you have to go in-person at least 1~2 days a week with almost no evening option whereas at UCLA extension you can work full-time and take classes in the evening. I've seen people do a DIY post-bacc (what I am doing - taking prereqs at multiple schools) or just do one complete post-bacc like the pre-health program at UCLA extension. So, it really depends on your situation and finances and what works best for you.

 

[whichbreath]

Another LA non trad here (30M).
-You have shadowing (virtual) and volunteering. And also have worked for a few years. Similar to me! (But I’m in a PhD program)

-you need to take the requisite classes, take the mcat, and gain clinical experience.
1. UCLA extension is an ok choice, I think. I’m also planning to take my remaining prereqs there
2. After taking the prereqs, leave about 1-3 months for mcat prep
3. You also need clinical experience. I’d recommend MA if you can tolerate blood or CNA if you can’t. There are always programs that take people with no training. Scribing is also an option but I mostly view it as an activity for undergrads.
4. For shadowing, I’m not sure. Maybe see if you have any connections