Banking before medschool?

[countryguy101]

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I'm currently taking a gap year between college and med school to do investment banking at a good firm (think Goldman/Blackstone/Evercore). I'm in a banking group that while not related to med school is known for being particularly good on Wall Street. Initially, I thought this was a good thing and would help set me apart when I applied to med school next year, but some people I've been speaking with say it was a huge mistake to go into banking if I thought I would potentially want to go to med school. How do you guys see banking experience looking on my application?

 

[el_duderino]

I don't think it'll be seen as a mistake, but it'll probably make adcoms wonder "why does this guy want medicine all of a sudden?"

Which makes me wonder "why are you doing banking if you want to be a physician?"

 

[bpperry]

I read something on here a while ago about someone who had written a personal statement about how business had prepared him for medicine. I think if you can take your experience in banking and do something similar, I can't see it being deemed "a mistake". I did a ton of music-related stuff during my gap, and that's the approach I'm taking. HOWEVER, I am also working as a phlebotomist, so you might consider finding some more clinical time.

 

[el_duderino]

You need to be pretty careful not to sound presumptuous when writing how something has "prepared you for medicine."

 

[bpperry]

You need to be pretty careful not to sound presumptuous when writing how something has "prepared you for medicine."

I know. I guess I meant that you can learn general skills (teamwork, etc.) to show adcoms that your activity hasn't been for nothing.

 

[Avocado8]

@countryguy101 I am doing something similar to you (more of a techy business job) - see this post and the few after it:

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/high-paying-gap-year-job.1079298/#post-15356115

I know. I guess I meant that you can learn general skills (teamwork, etc.) to show adcoms that your activity hasn't been for nothing.

I think there's something to be said for that- Lots of pros to working a non-academic world for a while. Definitely stay connected to medicine though.
OP, PM me if you'd like to compare notes!

 

[DokterMom]

I'm currently taking a gap year between college and med school to do investment banking at a good firm (think Goldman/Blackstone/Evercore). I'm in a banking group that while not related to med school is known for being particularly good on Wall Street. Initially, I thought this was a good thing and would help set me apart when I applied to med school next year, but some people I've been speaking with say it was a huge mistake to go into banking if I thought I would potentially want to go to med school. How do you guys see banking experience looking on my application?

Honestly, my first instinct is "He's in it for the money" and I don't think I'm the only one with that presumption. Prepare to rebut that suspicion.

 

[Mad Jack]

Just do it. It shouldn't hurt your prospects. Plus they will know that you're capable of putting in long hours (80-120/week isn't uncommon for those fresh in ibanking) and if handling a great deal of stress, positive attributes in any candidate. You will also be in more stable grounds financially than many other candidates.

 

[Goro]

And this will tell Adcoms that you're interested in Medicine how????

I'm currently taking a gap year between college and med school to do investment banking at a good firm (think Goldman/Blackstone/Evercore). I'm in a banking group that while not related to med school is known for being particularly good on Wall Street. Initially, I thought this was a good thing and would help set me apart when I applied to med school next year, but some people I've been speaking with say it was a huge mistake to go into banking if I thought I would potentially want to go to med school. How do you guys see banking experience looking on my application?

 

[Lamel]

Honestly, my first instinct is "He's in it for the money" and I don't think I'm the only one with that presumption. Prepare to rebut that suspicion.

Why would that be your first guess for someone who is quitting banking to go into medicine? I only ask because he is giving up a 120k+ starting salary straight out of college, with much more room to grow than medicine will ever allow him, to pursue medicine. Seems like the opposite of a money hungry guy.

 

[lmn]

Honestly, my first instinct is "He's in it for the money" and I don't think I'm the only one with that presumption. Prepare to rebut that suspicion.

Why? If they are truly at a good firm, s/he can make a ton of money by staying put. Going $300k in debt and delaying a comparable paycheck for the next 7-10+ years is the opposite of in it for the money.

 

[anon9301]

Agreed....this guy is probably less motivated by money than the vast majority of premeds given what he is giving up.

 

[lmn]

Agreed....this guy is probably less motivated by money than the vast majority of premeds given what he is giving up.

I agree, I would bet a substantial number of premeds would give up their "life dream" of becoming a physician if they were offered 120k+ + bonus as a starting salary ,with the potential for a salary cap much higher than most physicians, with no delay to their money making satisfaction, and still all the bragging rights/prestige/pickup potential of being a banker.

 

[DokterMom]

Why would that be your first guess for someone who is quitting banking to go into medicine? I only ask because he is giving up a 120k+ starting salary straight out of college, with much more room to grow than medicine will ever allow him, to pursue medicine. Seems like the opposite of a money hungry guy.

Why? If they are truly at a good firm, s/he can make a ton of money by staying put. Going $300k in debt and delaying a comparable paycheck for the next 7-10+ years is the opposite of in it for the money.

Agreed....this guy is probably less motivated by money than the vast majority of premeds given what he is giving up.

All true --
While giving up investment banking can be construed as a financial sacrifice, choosing investment banking in the first place implies exactly the opposite.

 

[lmn]

All true --
While giving up investment banking can be construed as a financial sacrifice, choosing investment banking in the first place implies exactly the opposite.

Meh from people I know who went into it, sure the money is a very important factor, but these are also generally the ones extremely driven to succeed and willing in to put a ton of effort and work into seeing the job through and that have a constant hunger to do things even bigger or better - they aren't that different from people pursuing a career as a physician. And at least you know that they'll have no problem surviving even the worst hours of 3rd year or residency haha

 

[Lamel]

All true --
While giving up investment banking can be construed as a financial sacrifice, choosing investment banking in the first place implies exactly the opposite.

True I suppose.

I guess it will come down to how OP spins his experience. It would probably be ideal if he did banking in the healthcare/biotech industries, at least that will be relevant. IF he can answer well, it shouldn't hold him back.

 

[Avocado8]

All true --
While giving up investment banking can be construed as a financial sacrifice, choosing investment banking in the first place implies exactly the opposite.

I view it as capitalizing on existing skills and opportunities to make money before going into debt forever - helping to finance medical education in advance.

I guess it will come down to how OP spins his experience.

Amen to this

 

[Mad Jack]

And this will tell Adcoms that you're interested in Medicine how????

What if it is more about just experiencing something different and gaining some real world experience outside of medicine before he takes the plunge, rather than something he intends to use as an app booster? Added perspectives can help a person be certain they're making the right choice in applying. He won't have to wonder how green the grass is on the other side of the fence- he'll have been there.

 

[Goro]

I'm not buying it. It just comes across to me as a lack of commitment, rather than wanting to gain new experiences. I'd like to know what OP's ECs are like.
I'd also love to hear what my learned colleagues @gyngyn, @LizzyM and @Catalystic have to say.

What if it is more about just experiencing something different and gaining some real world experience outside of medicine before he takes the plunge, rather than something he intends to use as an app booster? Added perspectives can help a person be certain they're making the right choice in applying. He won't have to wonder how green the grass is on the other side of the fence- he'll have been there.

 

[Mad Jack]

I'm not buying it. It just comes across to me as a lack of commitment, rather than wanting to gain new experiences. I'd like to know what OP's ECs are like.
I'd also love to hear what my learned colleagues @gyngyn, @LizzyM and @Catalystic have to say.

I was just curious. You're an adcom, so you obviously know the real deal. I was just thinking about it from my personal perspective- I have no desire to be a banker, but if I was offered the chance to do it for a year, I would totally do it just for the experience.

 

[LizzyM]

I have not seen adcom members be impressed by an applicant working f/t in IB before applying to medical school. Usually the question is "what was it that interested them in that?" and a concern that they are not dedicated to any specific career but flitting from one to another with no real path. This may not seem fair to an applicant but this is what I see/hear working with a few dozen adcom members.

 

[Greenberg702]

Maybe the OP needs to earn some money during his gap year. Plenty of people work, and if he can land such a good gig then why not? You'll be grateful when you take out ~100 K less in loans OP.

EDIT: If you happen to watch NY Med, this is very pertinent to your case:
http://nypost.com/2014/06/25/ny-med-doc-left-wall-street-for-the-er-after-subway-accident/

 

[gyngyn]

I'm not buying it. It just comes across to me as a lack of commitment, rather than wanting to gain new experiences. I'd like to know what OP's ECs are like.
I'd also love to hear what my learned colleagues @gyngyn, @LizzyM and @Catalystic have to say.

It's not so much that there's anything specifically wrong with banking. Rather, it selects for a pool that does not share the core personal qualities we are screening for. Any individual banker might be able to overcome this by his actions and effective narrative.

 

[Lamel]

I would like to ask the OP, if it was purely out of interest, then did you do an internship? And if so, why did you take full time after experiencing the internship? Money reasons?

 

[lmn]

Most surprising to me is that OP is only planning on doing a year, I have never heard of someone planning on only doing a year, the only ones who do just a year are the ones who can't handle it and leave for greener pastures.

 

[jjtheairplane]

Most surprising to me is that OP is only planning on doing a year, I have never heard of someone planning on only doing a year, the only ones who do just a year are the ones who can't handle it and leave for greener pastures.

^^ beat me to it. Oddly enough, I think the only problem is the fact that you're only doing it for one year. It may seem like a classic pre-med "let me be different and doing something unique for my gap-year" move. I'm an economics major at my school, I considered doing some EC in business myself. But, my interest is only in learning economics, I believe the application of what I learned can be used for a medical career (especially private practice). If you did it for say a few years and then decided post-bacc/medicine, the reasoning might be easier to make.

 

[Narmerguy]

I think most people would be confused to see the "trajectory" you're on. How does your experience as a banker mesh with your narrative about why you want to become a physician? What aspects of the medical profession similarly drew you to banking?

There are a lot of ways you can take that, and I think there's plenty of spin that you could put on it to show the connection and the trajectory. However, some people will be confused or simply believe that there are other applicants who seem more committed to a life of medicine, science, service, etc. You just have to make sure that you sell this properly, but I certainly wouldn't consider it a boost to your application among a bunch of medical professionals and academics.

 

[Goro]

If so, it might be prudent to continue volunteering in spare time to show that your eyes are on the right prize.

I was just curious. You're an adcom, so you obviously know the real deal. I was just thinking about it from my personal perspective- I have no desire to be a banker, but if I was offered the chance to do it for a year, I would totally do it just for the experience.

 

[mysdnhandle]

Ask yourself what you want to do. If you really want to be a doctor, you would more likely be asking about working in a clinical environment than I-banking. I doubt it will hurt you at all in the admissions cycle if you are genuinely interested in medicine (and you may even be able to save up for medical school). But since you had to ask this I would recommend asking yourself if you really want to do medicine. As for the people I know who were successful in the admissions cycle, this question would not have crossed their minds. They were volunteering full-time in the clinic in their year-off, not doing "I-banking".

If you go down the medicine pathway, you will have sooooo much time for 80 hour weeks. Do you really want to spend your entire prime doing that? There are cooler things to do in your year off (that are a lot less lucrative but more beneficial to your career, to you as a person, and to your skills) like working in Americorps, volunteering in Central America to learn Spanish, or doing research. I'd recommend those instead. But obviously, it's up to you to make this decision.

Edit: I'd be skeptical of the economic benefit of working for a year in I-banking and then going to medical school versus going straight in and earning an attending's salary a year earlier. Including interest/inflation/yadda yadda the argument of "I wanted to save for medical school" might not even make sense. You're the I-banking guy so I'm sure you can figure this one out. 😉

 

[mysdnhandle]

Nice humble brag. Your position won't help you any more in "preparing" for medicine than a cashier position at Walgreens. I doubt it would hurt you. Just say that you were taking off a year to explore your options and to find yourself.

Cashier position at Walgreens is a customer service experience with sometimes the under-served and chronically sick so it might be better preparation than I-banking.

 

[fuzzytoad]

Yeah but few professionals in their 20's can claim to have the discipline and ability to handle stress/long working hours that ibankers do. There are definitely strong selling points here but effective narrative is key. Then again this holds true when pivoting between any two fields.

To the jokers above, please tell me what an investment banker does.

 

[ridethecliche]

I'm semi surprised by this, I think quite a few people go down this path.

If you continue to volunteer/shadow etc during that year, you can say that you enjoyed the work and liked the money but realized that you weren't passionate about it. The great retort to anyone that asks about money at an interview can just be told, that yeah... I could have that, but I prefer to do something I found meaningful instead.

 

[G_Marker]

I think it's a little odd that you're doing banking during your gap year... did they take you on knowing that you'd be leaving in a year?

The physicians I have known have often made jokes along the lines of, "if I were really interested in making money, I'd be on wall street, etc." Banking just doesn't seem like a very meaningful experience from the point of view of a physician, so you'd really have to convince them why it's so meaningful and beneficial. From a physician's point of view, I think it might sound like the kind of job you get to make money. You'd have to go out of your way to make sure the adcoms think otherwise. Plus, you'd have to convince them that you're interested in medicine, when you've decided to spend your gap year... banking! How good are your statistics and ECs that you can afford to do this?

Maybe adcoms like applicants that are set apart from the rest - but I don't think banking qualifies as being particularly special or interesting (at least, I don't think physicians would find it interesting).

On the other hand, I don't know much about what your job entails or how you could relate it back to your interest in medicine. Maybe you could make it work.

 

[Greenberg702]

OP don't over think this. I went to an undergrad with a top ugrad business school and tons of kids (including pre meds) did BB IB and ended up with several top 10 acceptances. I was actually going to do an S&T internship at a BB last summer but ended up doing big 3 consulting instead. Literally no one cared about this when I applied and I got to do something cool that I'll never get to do again in my life. One of my interviewers actually complimented me and said it was good that I "worked in the real corporate world" and became financially savvy. As long as you have the normal ECs that demonstrate an interest in medicine, this will just be something interesting you do on the side.

 

[allantois]

I would find it odd seeing a successful investment banker from Wall Street volunteer at a local ER, no?

 

[persumas]

I would find it odd seeing a successful investment banker from Wall Street volunteer at a local ER, no?

Maybe odd in a general sense, but since OP wants to become a doctor I don't think it would be odd at all. Just IB tends to have incredibly strenuous hours.. so pulling that full-time job + ECs.. would be difficult, but not impossible.

I have a few friends that work in the corporate world (not IB, so of course ymmv), they actually get time off to volunteer and many of them choose to volunteer in free clinics, children's hospitals, etc.. Many people volunteer out of personal satisfaction of giving back to the community, not for purely the "I need to get into med school" mentality 🙂

 

[Lifeman]

Just wondering how you found the time to learn how to invest while also being pre-med. Are you a non-trad?

 

[Concrete Jungle]

Just wondering how you found the time to learn how to invest while also being pre-med. Are you a non-trad?

There is really no requirement to learn how to "invest" for entry level ibanking. The first thing he will probably do is sit him in front of a computer, take away his mouse, and teach him excel.

 

[pyrrion89]

I'm currently taking a gap year between college and med school to do investment banking at a good firm (think Goldman/Blackstone/Evercore). I'm in a banking group that while not related to med school is known for being particularly good on Wall Street. Initially, I thought this was a good thing and would help set me apart when I applied to med school next year, but some people I've been speaking with say it was a huge mistake to go into banking if I thought I would potentially want to go to med school. How do you guys see banking experience looking on my application?

I've met 3-4 med students who were at McKinsey/Bain/Deloitte before applying MD. May not be the same as i-banking, but related. You could try to apply to MBA/MD programs, and/or talk about how you want to use your MD to become a leader in health administration or helping to shape a more equitable/efficient system of how we charge money to provide medical service.

The pro is they know you're from a good firm, so they know you're a "winner," so to speak (hardworking, ambitious, productive). You just need to demonstrate how you're not a greedy sociopath for your previous work and your current plan to switch career.

 

[Gauss44]

I'm currently taking a gap year between college and med school to do investment banking at a good firm (think Goldman/Blackstone/Evercore). I'm in a banking group that while not related to med school is known for being particularly good on Wall Street. Initially, I thought this was a good thing and would help set me apart when I applied to med school next year, but some people I've been speaking with say it was a huge mistake to go into banking if I thought I would potentially want to go to med school. How do you guys see banking experience looking on my application?

This is a fine background IF AND ONLY IF you present it in the RIGHT way.

Robot Script: There's an old cliche (that has about as much repetition in the medical field as the song, "Sweet Home Alabama," does for it's 3 minutes or so of play time), that goes, "Don't go into medicine for the money." What's meant by that is, "Don't go into medicine solely and ONLY because you want to get rich." Be aware.

If you want to apply your financial background: Doctors with financial background are invaluable today because we're currently facing a financial crisis in the medical field. A financial background could enable one to provide very valuable information and feedback about financial policies of insurance, reimbursements, managing money in your department/private practice etc.

 

[fuzzytoad]

The pro is they know you're from a good firm, so they know you're a "winner," so to speak (hardworking, ambitious, productive). You just need to demonstrate how you're not a greedy sociopath for your previous work and your current plan to switch career.

This was my experience interviewing and I really could not imagine it any other way. Frankly I've met a ton of "iffy" pre-med/med students, but I've never been unimpressed by anyone I've met out of MBB and IB (despite the stereotype). In general I'd seriously doubt the credibility of any institution that would look negatively upon an achievement like GS/EC/Blackstone IBD without any other red flags. Grats OP you will do fine.

Frankly, it's clear from the responses that half the people in thread have no idea what an investment banker does, let alone how their skills and qualities may or may not affect their med school eligibility. At another online community we'd call you chimps.

 

[jvquarterback]

This was my plan after undergrad. I took the MCAT in August my senior year and wasn't planning on applying until the next cycle but after I got my score I applied to a few schools and ended up getting in at a couple. At the end of the year I had to decide between the ibanking job or go to med school. Financially I made a huge mistake.

I had an ibanking internship the summer before and in my interviews everyone asked about why I did ibanking after two summers working on cancer research in the lab. I told them I wanted to explore my options and that I liked ibanking but I was much more passionate about medicine. At least some of the adcoms really liked my answer.

Good luck.