Airline pilot to Doctor?

[Steve01]

This question has been asked several times. But I would like a fresh opinion on this subject. Thanks in advance.

I am 35 yrs old and a First Officer (co-pilot) with a major airline. I had been fortunate to be at the right place at the right time and got hired relatively young at my airline. I currently fly B777s, and work anywhere from 10-15 days a month. I usually work in a straight stretch and enjoy a couple of weeks off every month. Some months I pick up an extra flight for overtime pay and I am gone 18 days. I currently earn around $170,000 a yr- with potential to earn around $270,000/yr near retirement. It's a pretty decent job and I enjoy the work, colleagues, layovers, travel and the time off. On the negative side, sometimes it gets pretty stressful on the homefront, when I am gone for a week or two in a row.

However, I always have had a crush on being a Surgeon. I have family members who are surgeons and I have done a lot of 'shadowing'. And for the most part, I really enjoyed it. I like the hospital environment, the interactions and the challenges. I am seriously thinking about a career change. In some ways, I am bored of flying from point A to point B. Seen the world, 'been there, done that'! Ready to do something new and ready to learn! I want to do something more 'meaningful'. I have a 3.5 GPA in Aerospace Engineering. I am preparing for my MCAT currently and hope to get a good score. My family members who are doctors are not very encouraging about my career change wish. I would like a second opinion!

Here are my questions:

1. What are my chances of being accepted into a MD/DO school?
2. How much time off does an average Physician expect? Do you ever take work home?
3. I can fly as little as 9 days a month... is it possible to do some basic medical school part time?
4. What are your thoughts on a such a career change at this age?
5. Is it advisable to do medical school in Europe? (Italy, Poland etc). They have English programs which are accredited in the US and they are a LOT cheaper. I can write a check and be done with- no student loans.
6. How does the earning potential compare to that of a major airline? (I am not in either Flying or Medicine for the money- but it is a secondary consideration). At what point does a medical student start earning income?

Thanks again for your time!

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[cabinbuilder]

1. What are my chances of being accepted into a MD/DO school? Need the MCAT score, a good personal statement, etc. and apply.
2. How much time off does an average Physician expect? Do you ever take work home? Depends on the job, the contract, do you work a perm job, an independent contractor job, a locum job?
3. I can fly as little as 9 days a month... is it possible to do some basic medical school part time? NO, medical school is not part-time, it's all or nothing.
4. What are your thoughts on a such a career change at this age? You could do it, many do. Seems silly though when you are already making 6 figures and get lots of time off. Surgery you are looking at having the right pre-req's, do you need post bacc (1-2 yrs), then applying, you may not get in the first time. 4 years medical school, 5 years surgery residency. You would be 50 before even getting your foot into that first job. Do you wan't to do that?
5. Is it advisable to do medical school in Europe? (Italy, Poland etc). They have English programs which are accredited in the US and they are a LOT cheaper. I can write a check and be done with- no student loans. I wouldn't, difficult to get a residency in the US as an FMG.
6. How does the earning potential compare to that of a major airline? (I am not in either Flying or Medicine for the money- but it is a secondary consideration). At what point does a medical student start earning income? You are already at what the doctor's start at. Of course if you work more, you make more, just like your airline gig. Personally, given your story, I would stay as a pilot. Why go into 200K of more debt to come out making what you already do?

 

[Steve01]

Thanks for the response, cabinbuilder. All very good points. One more question: Does a medical student starting earning liveable income as a resident? Does the resident pay go up each year? Sorry for the noob questions!

 

[umcig]

Thanks for the response, cabinbuilder. All very good points. One more question: Does a medical student starting earning liveable income as a resident? Does the resident pay go up each year? Sorry for the noob questions!

Medical students do not earn a salary. They pay tuition.

Resident Physicians earn a salary. Starting salary is about 50k (plus or minus), depending on the program. Salaries go up about 1-2k a year.

You have lots of good questions, which Steve01 helped to answer. I suggest you read a book or two that talks about the application process and what it takes to get into medical school. Another suggestion is to talk to the premedical advisor at your current college (if you are taking courses now) or at the school where you received your undergraduate degree. The application process is very complicated.

Mike

 

[Steve01]

Thank you. I understand med students do not earn a salary. Just didn't know if residents are actually considered students. But good to know that residents earn an ok income. It is definitely a factor in my decison. I just ordered a book on US medical school application process. You are right... it's pretty complicated. Especially for someone like me who was educated abroad (UK). I will collect as much info as possible- and then decide if I should make the switch. Thanks again for all the comments so far.

 

[mestielest]

Stay flying bro and take care 👍

 

[Being]

I am a lowly pre-med so take my advice with a grain of salt. This is just my impression based on info I've learned from reading SDN for a few months:

Understand that a career change would unequivocally be the "wrong" choice. It would not be a choice that makes sense according to the expectations of society. You'll give up all your free time from now until you retire, work like crazy, and very probably end up with less money in the end.

On the other hand, life is either a daring adventure, or nothing. I do believe that the person who has more new experiences and chases their dreams and never stops having adventures is the one who ultimately lives a richer life. Just do your research and try to get a clear picture of what your life would actually be like if you go down this path. Spend some time during your "couple of weeks off every month" and read up.

Important note: how do you feel about non-surgical fields? As cabinbuilder pointed out, you'll be nearly 50 by the time you become an attending physician, and I gather on here that surgery is one of those fields where people retire early and not necessarily by choice. You need to be on top of your game physically and people tend to start having health problems around that age. On the other hand, you could be practicing in IM until you're 90 if you enjoyed it and were still sharp mentally. I would be nervous about going into medicine if you have your heart absolutely set on surgery and nothing else is interesting to you.

 

[Indianarn]

1. What are my chances of being accepted into a MD/DO school? Need the MCAT score, a good personal statement, etc. and apply.
2. How much time off does an average Physician expect? Do you ever take work home? Depends on the job, the contract, do you work a perm job, an independent contractor job, a locum job?
3. I can fly as little as 9 days a month... is it possible to do some basic medical school part time? NO, medical school is not part-time, it's all or nothing.
4. What are your thoughts on a such a career change at this age? You could do it, many do. Seems silly though when you are already making 6 figures and get lots of time off. Surgery you are looking at having the right pre-req's, do you need post bacc (1-2 yrs), then applying, you may not get in the first time. 4 years medical school, 5 years surgery residency. You would be 50 before even getting your foot into that first job. Do you wan't to do that?
5. Is it advisable to do medical school in Europe? (Italy, Poland etc). They have English programs which are accredited in the US and they are a LOT cheaper. I can write a check and be done with- no student loans. I wouldn't, difficult to get a residency in the US as an FMG.
6. How does the earning potential compare to that of a major airline? (I am not in either Flying or Medicine for the money- but it is a secondary consideration). At what point does a medical student start earning income? You are already at what the doctor's start at. Of course if you work more, you make more, just like your airline gig. Personally, given your story, I would stay as a pilot. Why go into 200K of more debt to come out making what you already do?

I agree with her. I wont say you can't do it, cause you can, but why go through when you really don't have to.

 

[pietachok]

3. I can fly as little as 9 days a month... is it possible to do some basic medical school part time? NO, medical school is not part-time, it's all or nothing.

I could absolutely have worked 9 days a month during my first two years of med school. While I certainly don't recommend having a job during medical school, it is not impossible to work that type of schedule now that so many schools webcast so much of their lecture content and have so few labs etc. with mandatory attendance. That said, counting on not only getting into medical school but getting into one with a schedule where this would be feasible is not a good idea.

 

[Goro]

You need to tell us your sGPA, and whether it includes the classic pre-reqs of Bio/Chem/Physics/Math. The avg MD acceptee has a GPA of 3.6 and an MCAT of 32. You wil also need to do some volunteer patient contact work. We need to know that you'll actually like being around paitients for the next 30 years.

1. What are my chances of being accepted into a MD/DO school?

Depends upon specialty/discipline.

2. How much time off does an average Physician expect? Do you ever take work home?

NO
3. I can fly as little as 9 days a month... is it possible to do some basic medical school part time?

Some of my all-time best students have been in their 30s and 40s.

4. What are your thoughts on a such a career change at this age?
Not if you want to land a residency slot in the US. Grads of foreign medical school have < 50% chance of doing this, and the slots aren't good ones. The odds will only decrease over time as well.

5. Is it advisable to do medical school in Europe? (Italy, Poland etc). They have English programs which are accredited in the US and they are a LOT cheaper. I can write a check and be done with- no student loans.

Five years past graduation, once you're finished with residency, you can expect to be making six figures.

6. How does the earning potential compare to that of a major airline? (I am not in either Flying or Medicine for the money- but it is a secondary consideration). At what point does a medical student start earning income?

 

[MedWonk]

If I were in a career earning me six figures and I were content with it, and getting two weeks off per month, no way would I ever spend the next decade of my life switching into medicine.

 

[cabinbuilder]

I could absolutely have worked 9 days a month during my first two years of med school. While I certainly don't recommend having a job during medical school, it is not impossible to work that type of schedule now that so many schools webcast so much of their lecture content and have so few labs etc. with mandatory attendance. That said, counting on not only getting into medical school but getting into one with a schedule where this would be feasible is not a good idea.

The question wasn't whether he could work. The question was can you do med school part time- that answer is NO. There were those in my class who worked a few days a month.

 

[Steve01]

Thanks for all the comments and advice so far. I appreciate you guys and gals taking time to answer a newbie. So far, the sentiments closely resembles what the physicians in my family told me. Naturally I don't trust family - so had to get an opinion from the outside. Looks like I may be better off flying airplanes, at this point in my life. After high school, I had an equal love for flying and medicine. I wanted to be a doctor or a pilot, and that was it. I brooded over that decision for months and went the engineering/flying route... but still peek across the yard at the medical world and wonder if it has greener pastures, with some regret mixed in. Thanks again for the discussion.

 

[Steve01]

I am a lowly pre-med so take my advice with a grain of salt. This is just my impression based on info I've learned from reading SDN for a few months:

Understand that a career change would unequivocally be the "wrong" choice. It would not be a choice that makes sense according to the expectations of society. You'll give up all your free time from now until you retire, work like crazy, and very probably end up with less money in the end.

On the other hand, life is either a daring adventure, or nothing. I do believe that the person who has more new experiences and chases their dreams and never stops having adventures is the one who ultimately lives a richer life. Just do your research and try to get a clear picture of what your life would actually be like if you go down this path. Spend some time during your "couple of weeks off every month" and read up.

Important note: how do you feel about non-surgical fields? As cabinbuilder pointed out, you'll be nearly 50 by the time you become an attending physician, and I gather on here that surgery is one of those fields where people retire early and not necessarily by choice. You need to be on top of your game physically and people tend to start having health problems around that age. On the other hand, you could be practicing in IM until you're 90 if you enjoyed it and were still sharp mentally. I would be nervous about going into medicine if you have your heart absolutely set on surgery and nothing else is interesting to you.

Great point about going into a non-surgical field... appreciate your input. I guess being in surgery is somewhat like being an airline pilot. The moment you stop being in top form (fail our annual medical check-up)- you are out of the game. Which is a negative in both surgery or flying I guess. In aviation, we partially protect ourselves from such an event by purchasing 'loss of license' insurances.

 

[lawyer_doc]

Steve01 if you enjoy being a pilot I would personally stick with it. The only question is this - can you imagine having lived your life with never having been a doctor? If you can even a little bit, likely not worth it.

I'm an attorney who makes a healthy income, and I've had my decision to go into medical school questioned by so many people. You have to ask yourself the hard questions because if you have the tiniest shred of doubt, there are ten people who will doubt you.

 

[lawyer_doc]

.

 

[Kale01]

Holy crap - you get paid six figures to work 10 to 15 days a month? WTF? Don't quit your day job. Seriously. Most people mainly go into medicine for the money and job stability. Your job >>>>>>>>>>being a doctor.

 

[Steve01]

Thanks again for the input. The majority opinion here resembles the advice I got from my family members who are physicians. I think I might be better off sticking with flying at this point. Good luck to you ladies and gentlemen. I envy you! Best wishes.

 

[Lnsean]

Yea, unless not being a doctor keeps you up at night, I would not forgo what you have.

 

[CircadianRhythm]

OP if you want to get a medical fix I suggest keeping your airline job and going to a paramedic program with the end goal being volunteering at a fire department. As a paramedic you will know to interpret EKGs, advanced airway techniques (intubation and surgical cric), learn to thoroughly assess patients with history and physicals, have a pretty large amount of drugs you can push, deliver babies, run codes, control bleeding and splint fractures among other things. I think volunteering as a paramedic can give you the satisfaction of providing patient care in emergency situations without having to leave your lucrative career.

Paramedics are also leaders in the field. You will direct EMTs and other first responders on the scene for all medical issues. And with your degree you could definitely advance to be an officer in a volunteer fire department if you desire more leadership roles. I'd highly consider this.

 

[Steve01]

CircadianRhythm- I never thought about that at all. Didn't even know such an opportunity/program existed on a part time basis. Thanks for your input. I will certainly look into this.