Engineer looking for a career change...thoughts? Likelihood of getting in?

[EJSXO]

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Hi all, thanks for reading. I've always wanted to go to medical school but decided to go for engineering--I was able to get a job, get a house, all that good stuff. But now, I'm grossly dissatisfied with life in my cube and the knowledge that what I do everyday has zero impact on real people. I'm an unusually social engineer--my personality doesn't fit, yet I have the critical thinking skills that help me thrive. I want to do more. I want to go to medical school again but my husband isn't really thrilled with the idea. Maybe I'm being too pie in the sky, he says...he doesn't like the idea of me now working long hours, overnight shifts, etc, now that I have such a cushy sweet (yet unsatisfying) engineering job. But he also knows how unhappy I am.

I have a bachelors in chemistry, graduated with a 3.3. I have a significant amount of materials engineering coursework and I've been in industry for almost 2 years now. I took the MCAT awhile back (sophomore year?) and did embarassingly bad on it, but I didn't study, either. I think acing the MCAT is a matter of going back and reviewing old material--I do technical work on a daily basis so my mind isn't "out of shape" yet =]

Issues I'm facing: Well, I'd have to study for the MCAT again while working a full time engineering job (I'm also a distance education graduate student, but only because I thought it would get me somewhere...a bigger cube isn't really the dream though), I can ONLY go to schools in St. Louis (we bought a house and we are not relocating after everything we've done to get here--deployments, Army, etc, we're very limited and the idea of uprooting ourselves is simply not something we're willing to do), I'm married, and we'd like to have kids sometime before I'm 30...I'm only 23 right now. I'm facing a fertility issue that had my clock ticking away (one of the reasons I switched to a "safe" career that allowed us to have a family asap) but now it's lying dormant and my specialist says time is on my side. Obviously that has me thinking that I don't "need" this safe career that I loathe...

I've entertained these thoughts seriously for the past 3 years, on and off. Told myself I was doing the "right" thing. Talked myself into engineering. Now I want to do something about it. If I don't, I'll always regret the what if. I keep telling myself I i try and I still can't get in by the time I'm 26, maybe I'll have an answer then.

Are those hyperlearning Kaplan courses worth it? If I could snag a 30 on my MCAT, I think I'd be okay to go to SLU....thoughts? Anybody else a non-traditional (aka industry transfer) thinking the same thing? I'm hoping my engineering career (albeit short) could really benefit me here..

 

[Catalystik]

A cGPA of 3.8 and 31 MCAT are the median stats for those accepted to SLU. With your undergrad cGPA of 3.3, I'd say you'll want to aim for an MCAT of 35-36 to compensate in order to get admission to an allopathic med school. Or a 27-30 for a DO med school.

If you took another year of postbac undergrad classes full-time, you might raise your GPA to a 3.4. Or you could consider an SMP (Special Masters Program) to redeem your low cGPA (See the Postbaccalaureate programs Forum of SDN).

You'll also need to update your medically relevant experiences: shadowing, clinical experience, leadership, teaching, non-medical community service, research. Though I'm sure you already have some of this from undergrad years, you'll want to beef up any weak areas and add some of those you don't have. Most particularly, you need recent exposure to a medical environment where you interact with patients in some way.

 

[Catalystik]

Anybody else a non-traditional (aka industry transfer) thinking the same thing? I'm hoping my engineering career (albeit short) could really benefit me here..

SDN's Nontraditional Forum has many posts from career changers in your same position. You might benefit from reading those threads as well as those in "What are my Chances?"

 

[J ROD]

You also need to get in alot of the ECs like volunteering, shadowing, clinical experience.

I think you need to shoot for a 34/35 MCAT.

And do whatever you can to get the GPA up.

 

[anxietypeaker]

Hi all, thanks for reading. I've always wanted to go to medical school but decided to go for engineering--I was able to get a job, get a house, all that good stuff. But now, I'm grossly dissatisfied with life in my cube and the knowledge that what I do everyday has zero impact on real people. I'm an unusually social engineer--my personality doesn't fit, yet I have the critical thinking skills that help me thrive. I want to do more. I want to go to medical school again but my husband isn't really thrilled with the idea. Maybe I'm being too pie in the sky, he says...he doesn't like the idea of me now working long hours, overnight shifts, etc, now that I have such a cushy sweet (yet unsatisfying) engineering job. But he also knows how unhappy I am.

I have a bachelors in chemistry, graduated with a 3.3. I have a significant amount of materials engineering coursework and I've been in industry for almost 2 years now. I took the MCAT awhile back (sophomore year?) and did embarassingly bad on it, but I didn't study, either. I think acing the MCAT is a matter of going back and reviewing old material--I do technical work on a daily basis so my mind isn't "out of shape" yet =]

Issues I'm facing: Well, I'd have to study for the MCAT again while working a full time engineering job (I'm also a distance education graduate student, but only because I thought it would get me somewhere...a bigger cube isn't really the dream though), I can ONLY go to schools in St. Louis (we bought a house and we are not relocating after everything we've done to get here--deployments, Army, etc, we're very limited and the idea of uprooting ourselves is simply not something we're willing to do), I'm married, and we'd like to have kids sometime before I'm 30...I'm only 23 right now. I'm facing a fertility issue that had my clock ticking away (one of the reasons I switched to a "safe" career that allowed us to have a family asap) but now it's lying dormant and my specialist says time is on my side. Obviously that has me thinking that I don't "need" this safe career that I loathe...

I've entertained these thoughts seriously for the past 3 years, on and off. Told myself I was doing the "right" thing. Talked myself into engineering. Now I want to do something about it. If I don't, I'll always regret the what if. I keep telling myself I i try and I still can't get in by the time I'm 26, maybe I'll have an answer then.

Are those hyperlearning Kaplan courses worth it? If I could snag a 30 on my MCAT, I think I'd be okay to go to SLU....thoughts? Anybody else a non-traditional (aka industry transfer) thinking the same thing? I'm hoping my engineering career (albeit short) could really benefit me here..

High mcats will offset ur gpa (this is easier said than done). The bigger issue (if thats possible) is ur limited application pool ur will to go for. Completely understandable under ur circumstances. The reality however is that it will be difficult to be accepted to any particular single med school regardless of ur mcat/gpa. Just too many apps at all the schools which results in some degree of randomness. Anyways, if u have the money to take postbacc courses and mcat then do both (postbacc courses are necessary unless ur mcat ends up stellar, >33). I personally dont think the prep courses work UNLESS u are not willing/cannot study on ur own. The problem still remains though that these courses dont leave much time for ur own studying (unless u quit ur job). In other words, the best route is studying on ur own in my opinion. BUT if u absolutely CANNOT do it, then take the course. Again, even if the courses were free, i think studying on ur own is better. Good luck though.