Advice for a wannabe!

[rbsleep]

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Here's my story!

I'm currently 25 with a BA in Biology. I love science and want to make a career out of it. I originally planned on going the pre-med route...however I was turned off by the assumption that the life of a doctor was an arduous and self-sacrificial route which would consume my entire life. So I turned away from the pre-med route, started partying full time and figured with my science degree I'd find a good paying job in a science related field that wouldn't require me. Not very smart, obviously. But what's done is done.

Flash forward! I've been working in a commercial laboratory for 2.5 years. They pay me mostly in potato chips. As many of you might already know, a biology degree is not very lucrative in the real world. My current job is stressful and I work 50 hours a week to barely afford a decent standard of living.

I started dating a med student (M4). She absolutely loves what she does. Both of her parents are doctors. They also love what they do.

Now here's the funny part. One day I was having dinner with my gf and her family and we were all talking about life, the universe, and everything else that you tend to talk about when you each drink a bottle of wine. As it turns out, these two doctors (who chose that arduous, self-sacrificial route I was talking about earlier) have more vacation time and work less hours than I do! I won't even mention the fact that they make about 30X what I make.

So suddenly I'm being assaulted by this old dream that I brushed under the carpet years ago. Maybe I SHOULD have stuck with my Med School dreams. Hanging out with my girlfriend, her fellow med student/doctor friends, and her parents has completely shattered my erroneous idea of what being a doctor comprised. They all certainly work hard....but I ALSO WORK HARD. At least they're following their passions!

So, here's where I am.

25 years old with a BA Biology
3.0 GPA (But with probably a 3.5 science GPA)

Realistically, I'm going to have to go back for a couple years post-bacc to raise my GPA. My main concern is financial. I'm looking at 2 years post-bacc and 4 years Med-school. How the heck am I supposed to survive if I'm gonna spend the rest of my 20s in school? How will I afford rent? How will I eat? Who's gonna pay my insurance? Am I too old to think about going back?

Also...I want to have children and a family eventually. Let's say I start my residency at ~32 yo. How will I raise children if I'm working 80 hours a week!? I don't know how I feel about waiting to have kids until I'm almost 40.

Anyway...this is mostly just a mind dump. Sorry if it seems like I'm rambling I've really been feeling a lot of regret about my choices when I was in school. Now that I've been in the real world for a couple years, I realize how rough it can be. I don't think I can ever be happy unless I'm doing something I'm passionate about. And the only thing I've ever been passionate about is science, biology, and the study of the human body. I'm taking an Anatomy and Physiology course this summer and so far I LOVE it!

Let's say I want to start med school at the age of 29. What should I do between now and then to make myself as competitive as possible? Since my journey will probably last until I'm in my late 30s....what should I try to get out of my system now (for example, I want to travel, do horribly irresponsible things, etc)

I'd love any advice! I'm sure you guys read topics like this ALL the time so thanks for taking the time to read this one as well!

 

[MedPR]

Here's my story!

I'm currently 25 with a BA in Biology. I love science and want to make a career out of it. I originally planned on going the pre-med route...however I was turned off by the assumption that the life of a doctor was an arduous and self-sacrificial route which would consume my entire life. So I turned away from the pre-med route, started partying full time and figured with my science degree I'd find a good paying job in a science related field that wouldn't require me. Not very smart, obviously. But what's done is done.

Flash forward! I've been working in a commercial laboratory for 2.5 years. They pay me mostly in potato chips. As many of you might already know, a biology degree is not very lucrative in the real world. My current job is stressful and I work 50 hours a week to barely afford a decent standard of living.

I started dating a med student (M4). She absolutely loves what she does. Both of her parents are doctors. They also love what they do.

Now here's the funny part. One day I was having dinner with my gf and her family and we were all talking about life, the universe, and everything else that you tend to talk about when you each drink a bottle of wine. As it turns out, these two doctors (who chose that arduous, self-sacrificial route I was talking about earlier) have more vacation time and work less hours than I do! I won't even mention the fact that they make about 30X what I make.

So suddenly I'm being assaulted by this old dream that I brushed under the carpet years ago. Maybe I SHOULD have stuck with my Med School dreams. Hanging out with my girlfriend, her fellow med student/doctor friends, and her parents has completely shattered my erroneous idea of what being a doctor comprised. They all certainly work hard....but I ALSO WORK HARD. At least they're following their passions!

So, here's where I am.

25 years old with a BA Biology
3.0 GPA (But with probably a 3.5 science GPA)

Realistically, I'm going to have to go back for a couple years post-bacc to raise my GPA. My main concern is financial. I'm looking at 2 years post-bacc and 4 years Med-school. How the heck am I supposed to survive if I'm gonna spend the rest of my 20s in school? How will I afford rent? How will I eat? Who's gonna pay my insurance? Am I too old to think about going back?

Also...I want to have children and a family eventually. Let's say I start my residency at ~32 yo. How will I raise children if I'm working 80 hours a week!? I don't know how I feel about waiting to have kids until I'm almost 40.

Anyway...this is mostly just a mind dump. Sorry if it seems like I'm rambling I've really been feeling a lot of regret about my choices when I was in school. Now that I've been in the real world for a couple years, I realize how rough it can be. I don't think I can ever be happy unless I'm doing something I'm passionate about. And the only thing I've ever been passionate about is science, biology, and the study of the human body. I'm taking an Anatomy and Physiology course this summer and so far I LOVE it!

Let's say I want to start med school at the age of 29. What should I do between now and then to make myself as competitive as possible? Since my journey will probably last until I'm in my late 30s....what should I try to get out of my system now (for example, I want to travel, do horribly irresponsible things, etc)

I'd love any advice! I'm sure you guys read topics like this ALL the time so thanks for taking the time to read this one as well!

Oh boy do I know how you feel. Your situation is so similar to mine it's a little unnerving.

1. I work in a lab that pays in peanuts (I'd much prefer potato chips) and I feel a little silly still eating ramen multiple times a week as a 23 year old. Oh well, gotta eat and real food is a tad bit expensive at the moment.

2. I can't tell if you realize it or not, but your assumption about medicine (arduous and self-sacrificial) is absolutely correct. Chances are you'll end up working in some tiny clinic or hospital as a primary care physician making the minimum physician salary and working a normal 40-50 hour work week like everyone else. Very few people actually end up making $500k a year working 20 hours every other week. Whether or not getting competitive for medical school is easier or harder than getting through med school and being a physician I do not know, but I imagine it only gets harder as we get deeper and deeper into it.

3. How will you afford med school and all the other crap you are supposed to pay for? Student loans.. that's what I'll be doing. My parents are neither financially able or willing to help me out in any way.

4. My girlfriend is also a med student (MS3 next month). We've been dating for 3 years and living together for 1.5. She has been very supportive and I've learned a lot about what it's like to be a medical student from her. Being able to see first hand what it's like to drown in Netters, Pathoma, First Aid, etc is a perspective I don't think many pre-meds have and I hope to use it to my advantage both in interviews and once I matriculate. Seeing how miserable M1s and M2s are hasn't turned me off to the idea of becoming a physician, it has only made me want it more (sick, isn't it?).

5. Prove that you can still handle difficult coursework, volunteer, shadow, do research if you can. Proving you're competitive is the first step after deciding that medicine is what you want to pursue.

 

[NightGod]

Also keep in mind that, at 30, you'll likely be expected to retake your core four (Chem, Bio, Orgo, Physics) pre-req classes. Essentially every medical school wants you to have completed them within the last 7 years.