Advice on Moving Forward

[IKantEven]

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Hello All,

Made an account because I'd like to discuss options to move forward. A little about me: I went to undergrad to be a pastor and when I realized that wasn't going to work out, I went to law school. I did both of these things because of what other people in my life said I should do, not because I really wanted to. It took me several years to realize just how costly of a mistake that would be. I am practicing law, but I am not really happy with it. I've been interested in medicine, and especially psychiatry, more and more the older I get and the more I see.

Of course, none of my prior coursework is science-based. I had a 3.52 uGPA and 2.99 law school GPA. (In both undergrad and law school, the worse grads were in lower level classes and I did very well in upper level classes). My science GPA in undergrad is a lovely 4.0 because the only science class I was required to take was biology (which was a joke of a class and I'm pretty sure the prof was a creationist). So, here I sit. I haven't taken a math or real science class since 2007. I know that if I'm going to do this, I'll have to do post-bacc work. I basically have two options for that work:

First, there is a university near me that offers a formal post-bacc program. The program is structured to work for professionals and includes accelerated intro classes to be able to get done faster. It also includes research and clinical opportunities. The cost of the program is about $450/credit plus normal fees.

Second, there's a community college near me that offers a significant number of science and math classes. However, there's no structured pre-med post-bacc program so I'd have to cobble it together myself. The cost is about $150/credit plus normal fees.

Here are the considerations at play:
-While I consolidated all my student loans after law school so I'm not sure how much I've borrowed in Staffords, I know I'm above the undergrad aggregate limit
-I have little savings, so I'd have to keep working during any undergrad coursework
-I have no connections to the medical community in my area, so finding shadowing/clinical opportunities on my own (especially when I still need to work) may prove difficult.

I'm not sure what the best option for me moving forward is. I've gone back and forth. The structured program will give me the ECs I know I'll need but it's just so much more expensive than community college. If I do community college, I know there are med schools that don't accept those credits and I'm also not sure how schools will feel about doing it part time.

Or do I just buck up, live with the mistakes of the past, and keep lawyering?

Any thoughts or advice would be extremely welcome.

 

[Crayola227]

Well before I tell you to forget it, how old-ish are you?

You have no connections to the medical community. How do you know medicine is for you? How do you know it will be more fulfilling and rewarding for you and worth the sacrifice?

Why do you want to leave lawyering? How do you do with it financially?

I dont think the structured program is worth the cost over CC. But some of that depends on how well you think you can do in the science classes without special support.

I did the bulk of my credits at CC and had no issues with admissions. Non-trads also get more tolerance for not going the uni route. It's understandable with $$ and working full time and going back and loans and all that. But the caveat is you have to do well.

What makes you think you'll do well in science and math?

As far as having to come up with your own ECs, depending on where you live and what this college is like, you should be able to figure that out despite going to a CC without the support of the other program.

 

[IKantEven]

It's not that I don't have connections - it's that I don't have any *here*. I don't live in the same area I grew up. There, my mother is an RN in a psych unit, my brother is a homecare provider, and I have a sister who has had 24 hour nursing her entire life due to congenital diseases. As for why psych specifically, it's a mix between talks with my mother and my regular interaction with individuals who have severe mental health issues these past several years as a lawyer (I practice in criminal, juvenile, and human services areas - so I've done child protection, civil commitment, and guardianship).

I want to leave lawyering because, as I indicated above, I became a lawyer primarily based on what others in my life said and secondarily because it was the easy route from undergrad (you can go to law school with a bachelor's in any field). I tested well on the LSAT and got a scholarship so it made sense. But I'm not happy as a lawyer. I get by with the work, I like to think I'm fairly good at it, but I don't enjoy it and I don't feel like I'm helping people how I want to. Financially, it's not that great of a gig for me - I'm a government lackey so benefits are great, pay not so much.

As for doing well in science - I honestly don't know. Like I said, it's been nearly 15 years since I've sat in a math or science class. But I did very well at them in high school. I was in an accelerated math program that had me completing College Algebra and Trigonometry my junior year of high school (hence why I never touched math in college) and got As in all my science classes. Math and science were also scored highly on my ACTs. But, I know high school classes and college entrance exams are hardly a measure for how well I'll do now.

As for the age question - I'm in my early 30s.

 

[Dral]

Also explore related fields such as psychology.

If you want to keep using your past degree, you could end up doing psychiatric forensics with psychiatry or probably even psychology.

 

[gyngyn]

I'm not happy as a lawyer.

Going to medical school does not make one happy.

 

[IKantEven]

Also explore related fields such as psychology.

If you want to keep using your past degree, you could end up doing psychiatric forensics with psychiatry or probably even psychology.

True. Thanks for that!

Going to medical school does not make one happy.

Haha I don’t think any schooling makes one happy. But I wasn’t intending to convey I thought it alone would make me happy. But I think one should be generally happy and somewhat enjoy their career. That’s just not the relationship I’ve found with lawyering. Maybe I won’t find it with medicine either. But, I want to at least explore it.

 

[gyngyn]

Haha I don’t think any schooling makes one happy. But I wasn’t intending to convey I thought it alone would make me happy. But I think one should be generally happy and somewhat enjoy their career. That’s just not the relationship I’ve found with lawyering. Maybe I won’t find it with medicine either. But, I want to at least explore it.

Medical school doesn't make you happy (or sad). It makes you a physician.
Being a physician doesn't make you happy. It permits you the opportunity to be of service in a particular way.
None of this has much to do with happiness.
Those hoping for happiness are likely to be disappointed.
You will be happy (or sad) based on factors intrinsic to you.

I agree with exploration... no matter where you may go next.
There are so many amazing ways to be of service as a lawyer.

 

[DigNewton]

Or do I just buck up, live with the mistakes of the past, and keep lawyering?

Have you considered lining up shadowing and/or clinical volunteering as a first step? It doesn't sound like you're certain that you want to go down this path. Shadowing and clinical experience might help you solidify this decision... or alternatively, avoid a lot of stress and financial investment. Juggling full-time work, night classes, volunteering, and shadowing is not easy. It's totally doable – plenty of non-trads have walked that road – but you're going to need a lot of clarity/commitment to stay motivated and do it well (let alone make it through the 8 years of school + residency required for psychiatry).

 

[Bonne Nuit]

You definitely need to shadow before you make any decisions about your future. Do not step away from your current career until you do so. Spend 40-80 hours shadowing physicians in various specialties - not just psychiatrists - and then reevaluate.

I knew a few nontraditional med school hopefuls who completely lost interest in medicine after their shadowing/clinical experiences. There is a huge difference between laypeoples’ idea of medicine and the day-to-day reality. Romantic/idealistic notions about the nature of doctoring tend to evaporate once you get a chance to peer behind the curtain.

Shadowing is required for a medical school application anyway, and it’s a lot more difficult to get ECs while you’re slogging through premed studies. Get shadowing out of the way first. You might end up hating medicine, you might end up loving it. But you do need to be informed.

 

[Arthur Morgan]

Do you have concrete reasons for going into medicine, or any key experiences within the field? You’ve mentioned your mother; have you shadowed her and physicians she’s worked with in a clinical setting? Medical school is laborious and expensive, and it’s tough to say whether or not you have a passion for medicine or if it’s just a flavor of the month. Nothing wrong with that, but it’s best to realize it before you get burdened by even more debt.

 

[Crayola227]

Growing up, because of your sister, did you have a lot of exposure to the medical field?

Growing up I had a parent in and out of the hospital for weeks at a time, I spent a lot of time sleeping there and doctor appts and the whole deal. The hospital always felt like home. So I mean enough exposure on that side can actually be pretty illuminating. Especially for getting a sense about what medicine often amounts to (frustrated management, not cure).

Of course, I followed this up with a couple years of shadowing a psychiatrist, and I did a medical mission thing overseas (there are ethical considerations here to consider in choosing and participating in such a program) for a couple weeks, in addition to other clinical work (elderly in-home care).

If shadowing listening to psychiatric appts for a few years doesn't turn you off, your interest is probably real. Same with wiping old smelly butts on top of what is otherwise 60 hour work week for you.

I agree with gyngyn, it's about having a passion for being of service to people in a very particular, gritty way. It helps if you long to get your hands literally dirty in vomit, like a real morbid fascination for all the gross oozings of a human's life.

I say that medicine is right for you if it meets the basic definition of an actual addiction: continued pursuit in the face of increasing harms. Some part of you needs to be watching someone die a very awful, slow, painful death (not in a sadistic way) and needs to do that more than you need to be with your family on Christmas Day.

 

[IKantEven]

Thank you all for your replies. They are very helpful. I apologize if I came off as too naive or as if I believe medicine is 100% for sure my future. I did not intend to convey that. I know, at this point, professions are not always as they seem from the outside. I recognize that shadowing and clinical involvement will be helpful in determining whether to pursue this further. As you have indicated, I may shadow some doctors or do some clinical work and absolutely hate it, realizing that medicine is not the way to go. I may also start pre-req classes and realize I'm no longer any good at science and math, so medicine simply is not a possibility. And then there's the question of whether I'd get into med school at all. So, I do know there are many points prior to med school where it may come out that medicine is not the right path. But I at least want to explore it. And the pre-reqs are the part that will take the most planning as I have to both figure them out with work and with finances. That is why I was looking for some advice on which route to go. Also, if there was overwhelming support for the post-bacc program, then shadowing, research, and clinical opportunities would be built in, so I could consider that in my planning for exploring this.

As for why I'm looking into medicine, no, I haven't shadowed my mother or any physicians. I don't have any behind-the-scenes experience. I have the conversations I've had with my mother about her work experiences. I have watching my sister grow up needing significant medical care. And I have the conversations and courtroom questioning of physicians of various specialties in my criminal, child protection, and mental health cases. I know it's super cliche, but I've always wanted to do something to help people. The problem is, as a teenager and young adult, I let others persuade me in what that meant, believing they knew best. That led me first to pursue studies in ministry, which I didn't realize would not work out until my junior year of the program (when I finally came to understand that the queerness would not go away and I didn't actually believe what they were teaching). Then, when that fizzled, it led to law. I don't enjoy law much and I'm not satisfied in the career (as gyngyn pointed out, maybe happy was not the best term to use). And, yes, I've tried various types of law and worked in different settings.

I'm not saying lawyers don't help people. They do. I know without the work I did, many people would have not seen justice served, had closure, obtained needed services and care, or been protected from danger. But each time I've found myself with cases that involved physicians, I also found myself wanting to be on that side of the case. I've let it go multiple times now, in hopes that it was just a "flavor of the month" but I keep coming back to it.

I understand there's a possibility that the idea I have in my head is an idyllic fantasy with little basis in reality. And I'm willing to keep my mind open to the possibility that I'm not right in pursuing medicine as I move forward. But I do want to explore it because, not only has it been an on-and-off thought for some time (that I usually let go of, telling myself it would be too difficult and expensive), but it's the first time I've considered a profession on my own, without other people telling me it's what I *should* be doing.

So I am serious about exploring it and will definitely look into figuring out how to find some shadowing and clinical opportunities as part of that plan. And I am sincerely thankful for everything you all have said about it, including the warnings. If anyone has anymore advice on finding shadowing/clinical opportunities independently or on the post-bacc options in the OP, I will also gladly take those.

 

[IKantEven]

Growing up, because of your sister, did you have a lot of exposure to the medical field?

Growing up I had a parent in and out of the hospital for weeks at a time, I spent a lot of time sleeping there and doctor appts and the whole deal. The hospital always felt like home. So I mean enough exposure on that side can actually be pretty illuminating. Especially for getting a sense about what medicine often amounts to (frustrated management, not cure).

Of course, I followed this up with a couple years of shadowing a psychiatrist, and I did a medical mission thing overseas (there are ethical considerations here to consider in choosing and participating in such a program) for a couple weeks, in addition to other clinical work (elderly in-home care).

If shadowing listening to psychiatric appts for a few years doesn't turn you off, your interest is probably real. Same with wiping old smelly butts on top of what is otherwise 60 hour work week for you.

I agree with gyngyn, it's about having a passion for being of service to people in a very particular, gritty way. It helps if you long to get your hands literally dirty in vomit, like a real morbid fascination for all the gross oozings of a human's life.

I say that medicine is right for you if it meets the basic definition of an actual addiction: continued pursuit in the face of increasing harms. Some part of you needs to be watching someone die a very awful, slow, painful death (not in a sadistic way) and needs to do that more than you need to be with your family on Christmas Day.

I wasn't in the hospital with her a lot, but I was acutely aware of her hospital visits and what they entailed. Mom was pretty openly communicative about what was going on. But I did learn to suction her at around 11 or 12 and learned how to change her feeding tube and trach as a teenager. I was also a PCA in high school and college, though my clients were usually on for mental health or behavioral issues (it still did involve assistance with daily cares and could get pretty messy or difficult at times).

I can't say I've wiped butts, but I do have some morbid fascinations. I discovered Figure 1 awhile back and have been fascinated with the things I've seen on there. I've watched videos of surgeries and severe injuries intrigued and without issue. I know being in person adds the smells and other factors, but I can't imagine hating it.

As for listening to psych appts, I don't imagine it would turn me off. I haven't had to listen to them, but I've read pretty lengthy medical charts and doctors notes (both mental health and trauma) as an attorney and wasn't turned off. Listening sounds way better than reading!

 

[DigNewton]

First... please know that none of us are trying to carelessly shoot down your dreams or anything like that. It's just that anyone in this field, or anyone who's going into this field and has done their homework, knows it's a long, long road loaded with sacrifice to get there. If we don't challenge people on their ideas about becoming a doctor, we're not doing our due diligence.

So, let's get down to the brass tacks, if you're still wanting to do this.

If cost weren't an issue, I'd say go for the organized post-bacc, simply because it solves a lot of the logistical headaches most of us go through as non-trads (finding shadowing, ECs, etc.). It sounds like you're hoping to go a more affordable route, which will also work, it just takes more legwork and can be an exercise in frustration at times. For the DIY route, here's my two cents:

Shadowing
Myself and others recently shared some advice on non-trads finding shadowing opportunities in another thread. You'll almost certainly need some primary care shadowing hours for schools to take you seriously (not a hard rule, though). There's not a lot of night/weekend primary care, so plan on taking some vacation days to pull that off. Other types of shadowing can happen around your work schedule (hospital medicine, ER, urgent care, etc.).

Pre-requisites
If you need to save money, the community college should be fine. Many non-trads take most of their pre-reqs at a community college. You might run into some schools that look down on that, but there are plenty that won't. And as for it being part-time... I can't imagine any school having a problem with that, when they see that you're also working full-time, volunteering, and shadowing.

ECs
Med schools like to see commitment, and like to see both clinical and non-clinical volunteering. My suggestion would be find one of each (clinical and non-clinical) and build up at least a couple hundred hours in each. Clinical could be really tricky right now, depending on how your region is handling COVID-19 regulations.
Non-clinical:
- Since you're already interested in psychiatry, and it sounds like you identify as queer, you might want to look into opportunities with Trevor Project or Crisis Text Line. They always need volunteers, and shifts are available 24/7 from anywhere in the country. (Some people consider this clinical, but it seems like most don't).
- Food banks, homeless shelters, and the American Red Cross have all kinds of after-hours and weekend opportunities
Clinical:
- Hospitals never close. Not all departments use volunteers 24/7, but some do. ERs are a common one where I am.
- Hospice care centers often have evening hours available
- Some people get scribe training and work part-time
- Given your interests, check local psychiatric hospitals, too (though you'd get plenty of exposure in a regular ol' ER).

There is a TON of helpful advice on SDN, so search liberally. But also tune up your BS radar, because for every piece of good advice, there are probably 10+ that are just.......... not good.

Wanna go high-yield? Check out posts from @Goro @LizzyM @gyngyn @Moko @gonnif . They're all very knowledgeable and give clear, direct, honest advice.

 

[LizzyM]

Thanks for the shout-out. I would say that clinical exposure should be the first goal. Volunteer work of a non-clinical nature is less of a priority when the OP (original poster) is employed as a service provider to very vulnerable populations.

Before getting too deep into courses, be sure that medicine is what you want. Shadowing and clinical volunteering are a good starting place.

 

[IKantEven]

First... please know that none of us are trying to carelessly shoot down your dreams or anything like that. It's just that anyone in this field, or anyone who's going into this field and has done their homework, knows it's a long, long road loaded with sacrifice to get there. If we don't challenge people on their ideas about becoming a doctor, we're not doing our due diligence.

So, let's get down to the brass tacks, if you're still wanting to do this.

If cost weren't an issue, I'd say go for the organized post-bacc, simply because it solves a lot of the logistical headaches most of us go through as non-trads (finding shadowing, ECs, etc.). It sounds like you're hoping to go a more affordable route, which will also work, it just takes more legwork and can be an exercise in frustration at times. For the DIY route, here's my two cents:

Shadowing
Myself and others recently shared some advice on non-trads finding shadowing opportunities in another thread. You'll almost certainly need some primary care shadowing hours for schools to take you seriously (not a hard rule, though). There's not a lot of night/weekend primary care, so plan on taking some vacation days to pull that off. Other types of shadowing can happen around your work schedule (hospital medicine, ER, urgent care, etc.).

Pre-requisites
If you need to save money, the community college should be fine. Many non-trads take most of their pre-reqs at a community college. You might run into some schools that look down on that, but there are plenty that won't. And as for it being part-time... I can't imagine any school having a problem with that, when they see that you're also working full-time, volunteering, and shadowing.

ECs
Med schools like to see commitment, and like to see both clinical and non-clinical volunteering. My suggestion would be find one of each (clinical and non-clinical) and build up at least a couple hundred hours in each. Clinical could be really tricky right now, depending on how your region is handling COVID-19 regulations.
Non-clinical:
- Since you're already interested in psychiatry, and it sounds like you identify as queer, you might want to look into opportunities with Trevor Project or Crisis Text Line. They always need volunteers, and shifts are available 24/7 from anywhere in the country. (Some people consider this clinical, but it seems like most don't).
- Food banks, homeless shelters, and the American Red Cross have all kinds of after-hours and weekend opportunities
Clinical:
- Hospitals never close. Not all departments use volunteers 24/7, but some do. ERs are a common one where I am.
- Hospice care centers often have evening hours available
- Some people get scribe training and work part-time
- Given your interests, check local psychiatric hospitals, too (though you'd get plenty of exposure in a regular ol' ER).

There is a TON of helpful advice on SDN, so search liberally. But also tune up your BS radar, because for every piece of good advice, there are probably 10+ that are just.......... not good.

Wanna go high-yield? Check out posts from @Goro @LizzyM @gyngyn @Moko @gonnif . They're all very knowledgeable and give clear, direct, honest advice.

Oh gosh, I know you're not trying to shoot me down. The warnings, the difficulties, the considerations are all important and I wish I would've taken those types of messages more seriously before law school. But thank you for that reassurance and thank you for all the practical information in this post. That will be super helpful.

Thanks for the shout-out. I would say that clinical exposure should be the first goal. Volunteer work of a non-clinical nature is less of a priority when the OP (original poster) is employed as a service provider to very vulnerable populations.

Before getting too deep into courses, be sure that medicine is what you want. Shadowing and clinical volunteering are a good starting place.

Thank you so much for the information! I also hadn't thought about my area of practice in those terms and relevancy. So that definitely shines a light on how I can portray my current work should I end up applying to schools.

 

[Goro]

OP, one of the things you're going to have to prove to Adcom members is that you're running TO Medicine, and not merely running away from Law. I get the sense that for you, it's the latter.

Be that as it may, you need to volunteer with patients to see if you really want to be around sick and injured people for the next 30+ years, AND know what you'd bet getting into.

Not all volunteering needs to be in a hospital. Think hospice, Planned Parenthood, nursing homes, rehab facilities, crisis hotlines, camps for sick children, or clinics.

Some types of volunteer activities are more appealing than others. Volunteering in a nice suburban hospital is all very well and good and all, but doesn't show that you're willing to dig in and get your hands dirty in the same way that working with the developmentally disabled (or homeless, the dying, or Alzheimers or mentally ill or elderly or ESL or domestic, rural impoverished) does. The uncomfortable situations are the ones that really demonstrate your altruism and get you 'brownie points'. Plus, they frankly teach you more -- they develop your compassion and humanity in ways comfortable situations can't.

 

[IKantEven]

OP, one of the things you're going to have to prove to Adcom members is that you're running TO Medicine, and not merely running away from Law. I get the sense that for you, it's the latter.

Be that as it may, you need to volunteer with patients to see if you really want to be around sick and injured people for the next 30+ years, AND know what you'd bet getting into.

Not all volunteering needs to be in a hospital. Think hospice, Planned Parenthood, nursing homes, rehab facilities, crisis hotlines, camps for sick children, or clinics.

Some types of volunteer activities are more appealing than others. Volunteering in a nice suburban hospital is all very well and good and all, but doesn't show that you're willing to dig in and get your hands dirty in the same way that working with the developmentally disabled (or homeless, the dying, or Alzheimers or mentally ill or elderly or ESL or domestic, rural impoverished) does. The uncomfortable situations are the ones that really demonstrate your altruism and get you 'brownie points'. Plus, they frankly teach you more -- they develop your compassion and humanity in ways comfortable situations can't.

Thank you Goro. I get this. In a sense, yeah, I am running from law. But I can't run from it without running to something. And I've had this feeling of going to medical on and off for a couple years now. So I would say it's both. And I don't want to repeat the mistakes I made with law, so I definitely want to make the effort to explore as you and others have suggested. Thanks for the advice on where to go about that.

I definitely agree that getting my hands dirty during exploration would be more likely to root out my true feelings about medicine and whether I want that to be what I actually run toward full force. As a PCA when I was a teen/young adult and as an attorney, I have seen some pretty severe mental illness, worked with homeless individuals, interviewed children who have been abused or heavily neglected, and have worked in rural, suburban, and urban areas so have had the opportunity to see how the impoverished community is different in each. And I want to see those things from the medical perspective as I explore. I don't want to sit in a cushy upscale suburban clinic/hospital and call it a day. So thank you for your advice and ideas. I'll definitely be looking out for the types of opportunities you recommend!

 

[Dral]

If that is truly your intent, then you'll really have to prove yourself through your narrative. Basically you'll have to put your money where your mouth is to prove your intent to ad coms.

I'm not trying to put down law school, and maybe things have changed...but med school admittance vs law school is apples and oranges in a sense.

I don't know if the same thing happens with law school, but med school applicants go through bigger picture changes over time. Due to the pandemic and economic instability, I'm expecting a pretty big uptick in applicants (apparently this last app cycle is already reflecting that). So applying within these next few years will probably be particularly brutal.

I'm not going to glorify medicine and say it's some special calling (it is for a good number of people though). In the end it's still a job/career. However, ad coms have their choice of the cream of the crop of students. Trads have to explain why medicine. You have to explain why medicine and why the switch as well.

I'm sure it sounds like we're starting to beat a dead horse, but it's all just good intent to prepare you for what's ahead should you choose moving forward with your plans.

 

[IKantEven]

If that is truly your intent, then you'll really have to prove yourself through your narrative. Basically you'll have to put your money where your mouth is to prove your intent to ad coms.

I'm not trying to put down law school, and maybe things have changed...but med school admittance vs law school is apples and oranges in a sense.

I don't know if the same thing happens with law school, but med school applicants go through bigger picture changes over time. Due to the pandemic and economic instability, I'm expecting a pretty big uptick in applicants (apparently this last app cycle is already reflecting that). So applying within these next few years will probably be particularly brutal.

I'm not going to glorify medicine and say it's some special calling (it is for a good number of people though). In the end it's still a job/career. However, ad coms have their choice of the cream of the crop of students. Trads have to explain why medicine. You have to explain why medicine and why the switch as well.

I'm sure it sounds like we're starting to beat a dead horse, but it's all just good intent to prepare you for what's ahead should you choose moving forward with your plans.

No worries, I get it! Obviously I don’t have experience with med school admissions but, based on reading, I’d say there are similarities (specialized admission test score and GPA playing important factors in admissions) but also stark differences (I did not experience any secondaries or interviews for law school admissions). It also seems like law schools are a dime a dozen and once you get to lower tiers, they’re happy to take the money of anyone who wants to try to be a lawyer. So while top tiers are competitive, I’d say, overall, getting into a US law school is probably far easier than a US med school.

I almost wish law school looked at pre-admission exposure to the field. Had I been pushed to do that in order to get in, I likely never would’ve ended up going.

But I’m older and more mature now and making my own decisions in life. If I go through this exploration and don’t find myself going “yes, medicine is where I need to be,” then I have no problem calling it off. I could survive law if needed and even if I still wanted to escape, I recognize there are other less competitive options that would take less time and fewer loans to get to lol.

 

[wook]

Medical school doesn't make you happy (or sad). It makes you a physician.
Being a physician doesn't make you happy. It permits you the opportunity to be of service in a particular way.
None of this has much to do with happiness.
Those hoping for happiness are likely to be disappointed.
You will be happy (or sad) based on factors intrinsic to you.

I agree with exploration... no matter where you may go next.
There are so many amazing ways to be of service as a lawyer.

This!

 

[Dave1980]

Any thoughts or advice would be extremely welcome.

Formal SMP. You won't be able to work during any of it. So either take out loans, build up savings, mvoe in with family, or rob a bank.

You may miss your 9-5 government job. It's a long road and the financial pay off for you are extremely uncertain and not definite.

 

[8YearsLate]

It's not that I don't have connections - it's that I don't have any *here*. I don't live in the same area I grew up. There, my mother is an RN in a psych unit, my brother is a homecare provider, and I have a sister who has had 24 hour nursing her entire life due to congenital diseases. As for why psych specifically, it's a mix between talks with my mother and my regular interaction with individuals who have severe mental health issues these past several years as a lawyer (I practice in criminal, juvenile, and human services areas - so I've done child protection, civil commitment, and guardianship).

I want to leave lawyering because, as I indicated above, I became a lawyer primarily based on what others in my life said and secondarily because it was the easy route from undergrad (you can go to law school with a bachelor's in any field). I tested well on the LSAT and got a scholarship so it made sense. But I'm not happy as a lawyer. I get by with the work, I like to think I'm fairly good at it, but I don't enjoy it and I don't feel like I'm helping people how I want to. Financially, it's not that great of a gig for me - I'm a government lackey so benefits are great, pay not so much.

As for doing well in science - I honestly don't know. Like I said, it's been nearly 15 years since I've sat in a math or science class. But I did very well at them in high school. I was in an accelerated math program that had me completing College Algebra and Trigonometry my junior year of high school (hence why I never touched math in college) and got As in all my science classes. Math and science were also scored highly on my ACTs. But, I know high school classes and college entrance exams are hardly a measure for how well I'll do now.

As for the age question - I'm in my early 30s.

I really don't have any advice for you on your ultimate decision (I say you're young, follow your heart) but I can say:

A) I imagine your particular field of law is extremely heart-wrenching. I can't imagine how anyone could be genuinely happy dealing with the type of trauma you must encounter regularly (and the red tape that likely hinders your ability to glean any real sense of impact from it). I don't know how the legal profession works entirely, but is there any chance you can practice in a medical arena? Patient advocacy, malpractice, personal injury? I know those have their own sets of struggles but maybe look into it and see if it might give you more satisfaction?

B) As a lawyer you would probably crush the CARS section of MCAT which is enviable.

C) I'm a proponent of DIY postbaccs > formal postbaccs. I feel like it's like the guys at the service department charging you $50 to change your air filters when it costs $10 to do it yourself. Just make sure you take upper-levels at a university. Also you may not qualify for loans with a formal post-bacc (in my case I had to register as a second-degree seeking student to qualify).

Good luck!