Engineering vs. Medicine

[Bubblehead-to-MD]

My one concern (impending regret) is that this career path will take time from my wife, kids, and family. It is a trade i am willing to make.

Don't be willing to make that trade - you will regret it. You will need to work harder to preserve that precious time with your family - that needs to be treated as sacred.

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[8744]

Panda Bear,

I've read most of your threads and spent a day at the office reading your blog in entirety. However witty and quite entertaining, it seems to me that you are an incurably negative and pessimistic person. The "cup is half empty" type. I think it is perfectly justified for you to doubt your reasons for doing what you do.

Before you attack whatever credential I don't have, you should know that I have sufficient life experience to make my observations accurately. I also know that, as an optimist with an existentialist viewpoint, I am going to wake up tomorrow and have a great day. No matter what happens.

Thanks for wearing your heart on your sleeve. It helps me understand that this kind of attitude transcends all walks of life.

You cannot have read my entire blog. It is down pending SDN hosting it and all you can read are the last 15 articles. There are actually 206 articles which print out to about 500 pages.

As for the cup being half-full or half-empty, the fact remains that the cup only holds half of its capacity. CuriousJ asked if it made sense to start medical school at 50 and I answered his question, giving him ample reasons to back up my answer. These reasons transcend my personal opinion, at least to the extent that almost everybody you ask currently in residency will tell you what a grind this mother****er can be. As I have many kids, have been married for a long time, and am older than most residents I have, in addition, a unique persepective on the whole thing which is why CuriousJ posted his question on the Nontraditional Forum and not the Pre-allopathic one.

As for your existential optimism, you may very well wake up tomorrow and not have a great day. To ignore reality and insist that everything is alright all the time is to be a pollyanna, not an optimist.

 

[Ricegrad05]

Bubblehead-to-MD,
You've obviously been successful in getting into med school after a stint in the Navy. Any advice for a fellow nuke (although I work at Naval Reactors) in terms of selling yourself to schools? Also, do you know of any schools that are particularly friendly to ex-military types?

 

[^=^]

I understand that some of you guys think Panda's being an **. But he does have a good point.

 

[sacrament]

Before you attack whatever credential I don't have, you should know that I have sufficient life experience to make my observations accurately.

You have no credentials to make accurate observations about medical school, residency, and the pain thereof. It's painfully annoying when pre-meds start making judgments about those of us in the trenches.

Re: the thread subject. I was an R&D engineer at Intel with an M.S. in chemical engineering prior to starting medical school. My starting salary was just south of six figures, and the career track I was headed down would have quickly produced an income which I could never match in any medical field, ever. I probably could have retired prior to age 50. At the time this all seemed irrelevant. It's quite amazing, however, what a few years, a car payment, massive student debt, and intense Ramen-noodle-fatigue can do to an originally dismissive attitude about money. I'm a 30yr old physician who has to think twice about buying a hardcover book or going out to see a movie, because rent is coming due. Do I regret my career choice? Well, I don't bother thinking about it much, but I sure as **** wouldn't do it all over again.

 

[alpha62]

You have no credentials to make accurate observations about medical school, residency, and the pain thereof. It's painfully annoying when pre-meds start making judgments about those of us in the trenches.

Re: the thread subject. I was an R&D engineer at Intel with an M.S. in chemical engineering prior to starting medical school. My starting salary was just south of six figures, and the career track I was headed down would have quickly produced an income which I could never match in any medical field, ever. I probably could have retired prior to age 50. At the time this all seemed irrelevant. It's quite amazing, however, what a few years, a car payment, massive student debt, and intense Ramen-noodle-fatigue can do to an originally dismissive attitude about money. I'm a 30yr old physician who has to think twice about buying a hardcover book or going out to see a movie, because rent is coming due. Do I regret my career choice? Well, I don't bother thinking about it much, but I sure as **** wouldn't do it all over again.

Finally, one true thing posted here. Thank you.

All things truly wicked start from an innocence.
Ernest Hemingway

 

[AliveNkickin]

To all the negative posters out there..

I understand that the enthusiasm may diminish over time. Has it gone completely? Why wouldn't you do it all over again? If somebody has your life in their hands, wouldn't you want them to be competant enough to have completed the biggest "Mother****er" grind that society has to offer?

re: Engineering vs. Medicine. Personally I don't see the grass as being greener in any way. But, maybe the grass is a bit more meaningful.

 

[alpha62]

To all the negative posters out there..

I understand that the enthusiasm may diminish over time. Has it gone completely? Why wouldn't you do it all over again? If somebody has your life in their hands, wouldn't you want them to be competant enough to have completed the biggest "Mother****er" grind that society has to offer?

re: Engineering vs. Medicine. Personally I don't see the grass as being greener in any way. But, maybe the grass is a bit more meaningful.

You all just aren't getting are you ? It really doesn't matter what you do, this retiring baby-boomer generation is intent upon turning us all into their personal ATM.

 

[8744]

To all the negative posters out there..

I understand that the enthusiasm may diminish over time. Has it gone completely? Why wouldn't you do it all over again? If somebody has your life in their hands, wouldn't you want them to be competant enough to have completed the biggest "Mother****er" grind that society has to offer?

re: Engineering vs. Medicine. Personally I don't see the grass as being greener in any way. But, maybe the grass is a bit more meaningful.

You are way over-thinking it. Medical training blows because it is long, the hours are terrible, the pay stinks, and during the whole course of it The Man has you completely by the gonads. During my intern year, for example, I got exactly six complete weekends off during the entire year and, to add insult to injury, The Man made this out to be some kind of big privilege. My pay was around ten bucks an hour and I did approximately 60 nights of call during which I not only got no sleep but no rest of any kind as it is typical to work harder on call than during the day. Then I had to work until one in the afternoon on my post-call day which The Man considers a "day off" because you get to go home early even if you are too tired to do anything but sleep.

In other words, it is only in medical training that you can work a complete forty-hour work week in two days, be regularly deprived of sleep, and still have some ignorant mother****er tell you how lucky you are and how wonderful This Mother****er truly is.

It is not necessary to deprive residents of their health to make them good doctors. Medicine is not combat, residency is not the military, and it is only the sorry condition of the American medical system where everything is a mother****ing emergency (even when it's clearly not) that makes the training so dysfunctional.

 

[8744]

You all just aren't getting are you ? It really doesn't matter what you do, this retiring baby-boomer generation is intent upon turning us all into their personal ATM.

****ing A. I got news for all of you. The patients are getting sicker, older, and even more entitled.

 

[^=^]

This thread has turned into a war zone, and gone way off topic.
On second thought, we need Rambo!
Chill out everyone

 

[alpha62]

This thread has turned into a war zone, and gone way off topic.
On second thought, we need Rambo!
Chill out everyone

Even Rambo aka Sly Stallone, was too big of a wuss to go to Iraq and entertain the troops.

 

[Carter0891]

I have insomnia, and also my girlfriend of six years is becoming an accountant, so If i have to marry her, our combined income (through wise investing)

No offense intented, but that's hilarious, "If I have to marry her"

 

[deuist]

In other words, it is only in medical training that you can work a complete forty-hour work week in two days, be regularly deprived of sleep, and still have some ignorant mother****er tell you how lucky you are and how wonderful This Mother****er truly is.

I had dinner last night with two lawyers I went to college with. They had no idea about the training that doctors go through. They thought that residency was a well-run training institute where nurses always followed physicians' orders, residents work no more than 50-60 hours a week, and that they make enough money to start paying off their loans. They had never heard of the Match, did not know that emergency medicine was a real specialty, and were thoroughly confused as to why derm was so competitive.

These were very smart people, which means that the rest of country is utterly hopeless to understand this life.

 

[Newmanium]

Panda - as an engineer contemplating switching into medicine, I'm having trouble really appreciating your frustration. Questions:

1) Did you hate your previous engineering stuff?

2) Did you have a passion for medicine?

I only ask because I really hated my 2 years in engineering (EE), and after making the switch to just doing healthcare research, I am already soooooo much happier just being "around" a hospital, interacting with doctors, etc.

To me, the sacrifices to get through med school and residency don't sound too overwhelming. I'm curious if you were in the same gung-ho, "I hate engineering and I love medicine" mindset that I am, or if you started off different.

And I'm most interested in ER like you've ended up in... reason is that I want more "meaning" and fulfillment in the job, I like an intense workplace where you don't get bored, and I'd like a job where I could work 12 days a month and take home $200k+.

Am I setting myself up for disillusionment? In my mind, all the pain with med school and residency still won't be as bad as engineering was... my theory is that knowing how miserable I was would be a great motivation to get through all the crap of medical training. But it doesn't seem that helped you at all...?

 

[8744]

Panda - as an engineer contemplating switching into medicine, I'm having trouble really appreciating your frustration. Questions:

1) Did you hate your previous engineering stuff?

2) Did you have a passion for medicine?

I only ask because I really hated my 2 years in engineering (EE), and after making the switch to just doing healthcare research, I am already soooooo much happier just being "around" a hospital, interacting with doctors, etc.

To me, the sacrifices to get through med school and residency don't sound too overwhelming. I'm curious if you were in the same gung-ho, "I hate engineering and I love medicine" mindset that I am, or if you started off different.

And I'm most interested in ER like you've ended up in... reason is that I want more "meaning" and fulfillment in the job, I like an intense workplace where you don't get bored, and I'd like a job where I could work 12 days a month and take home $200k+.

Am I setting myself up for disillusionment? In my mind, all the pain with med school and residency still won't be as bad as engineering was... my theory is that knowing how miserable I was would be a great motivation to get through all the crap of medical training. But it doesn't seem that helped you at all...?

1) No, I didn't hate engineering. I rather liked it once I went into business for myself but at the level of owning your own consulting firm, finances are a roller coaster. Sometimes you have a lot of business and are pulling in the money and then you can have a dry spell and barely pull in enough to keep the lights on. To make money in engineering you have to work for yourself because your value as a designer or low-level manager peaks at around forty, after which most firms can find plenty of younger guys willing to work for less.

2) I had and still have no pa**ion for medicine. It's just a job. Sometimes it's fun and I certainly enjoy working with my fellow residents and the staff of our department but towards the end of my shift I really, really want to go home and resent having to stay the extra hour tying up loose ends or getting a disposition on that last patient who, on average, has no real medical complaint that we need to address.

3) There is a huge difference between interacting with doctors and hanging around the hospital and actually being forced to work there.

 

[Newmanium]

Thanks for the response - and also thanks for the blog, it's helpful to hear about the more frustrating parts of all the training. I'm sure we're all curious how you'll feel once you finish residency, start making some $$$, and adjust to medicine as a career. It's one thing to be miserable for 8 years, quite another to be frustrated for 30.

When I was in aerospace engineering, many of the employees absolutely *loved* airplanes. This seemed to give them a rosy outlook that let them put up with a bunch of the crap (designing aerospace hardware/software has to be one of the most bureaucratic jobs in the world). I didn't share their outlook, have never really loved airplanes, and quickly tired of the whole scene.

In the same way, I hope my innate "fascination" with all things medical will greatly ease the burdens of school/residency. Tedious things that would have drove me nuts in engineering are all of a sudden fascinating in healthcare. I get such a "high" being around the field, it's easy to put up with the things that aren't ideal.

My hope is that our expectations become a self-fulfilling prophecy. My coworkers who got their pilot's license still love their jobs, no matter what sort of crap they've got to put up with. For me, I look forward to the worst parts of residency, because I know if I can get through that - I'm that much closer to becoming a doctor.

It seems to depend on whether it's a career or a passion. Of course, residency may annihilate whatever passion I start out with, so perhaps I'm naive. Did anybody who started with a deep passion for medicine, end up finding working as an attending to be a massive disappointment?

I can put up with virtually anything if my goal is worthwhile - so I'm not as worried about med school/residency, as I am concerned that the goal really is worthwhile. Obviously, this ends up being a gut call at some point, but it helps to hear from people who regret their decisions, and what advice they would have given themself 8+ years ago.

 

[sacrament]

Did anybody who started with a deep passion for medicine, end up finding working as an attending to be a massive disappointment?

Well I don't fit the bill, since I didn't start out with a passion for medicine, but the battlefields of residency and private practice are littered with the broken spirits of individuals who, once upon a time, sounded a lot like you. I know a lot of people who started out excited, passionate and idealistic, but ended up... sleepy and frustrated.
Actually, it seems that very few of us actively despise what we do (I don't), but at some point pretty much everybody starts to look at it as just a job, something you endure to pay the bills. That being said, I can think of a couple people I know who maintain a real love for medicine and obviously enjoy coming in every day. They seem to be outliers, but they exist. I don't know of any way to predict whether you'd be one of them.

 

[QuikClot]

. . . but at some point pretty much everybody starts to look at it as just a job, something you endure to pay the bills.

Source? Doesn't sound like the physicians I know and work with.

One of our lecturers in the second year estimated that 20% of doctors are idealists, 20% see nothing but the color of money, and 60% reside somewhere in between sainthood and greed. That is more my experience.

It's not surprising that people who started out looking at medicine as just a job continue to see it as just a job. Not everyone feels that way. There's no "truth" of the matter; it's a calling to some people and a job to others. Some people who see it as just a job are nevertheless very good at it. They seem a lot less happy, however. It's a long career if you don't like taking care of people.

 

[sacrament]

Source? Doesn't sound like the physicians I know and work with.

Source? This is my experience. Take it for whatever it's worth.

One of our lecturers in the second year estimated that 20% of doctors are idealists, 20% see nothing but the color of money, and 60% reside somewhere in between sainthood and greed.

Did you happen to raise your hand in class and say "Uh, source?"

Anyway, that's not incompatible with what I'm saying. Just because you view your job as just a job doesn't mean you're money-hungry. It means you're just like the vast majority of the employed human race, most of whom are neither greedy nor saintly but rather just trying to get by. (And no, I don't have a source for that off-the-cuff remark.)

 

[alpha62]

My brother is an aerospace engineer. A Purdue Graduate. He loves the job, he just can't stand the *****holes he works with and works for.

After slaving away for 10 years in L.A. he got promoted to a cubicle in Palo Alto. Now he has nearly zero contact with anybody except his equipment and he loves it.

Medicine got to be pretty much like that for me because in hell it's not the heat that is so tormenting..... it's the *****holes you're down there with.

I watched the movie " Office Space" for about the 100th time last night. This seems to be a universal experience

 

[delusion]

I've read most of the thread and I am having exactly the same problem here. I've done 3 years of vet school because I was passionate about medicine and to a lesser extent, in the wellbeing of animals. I then decided that the future of veterinary medicine is only prosperous is well developed country such as the USA, and a degree in engineering (electrical) provides more flexibility, better pay as well as a chance to travel to different countries. I thoroughly enjoy my physics and maths but to leave all the medical knowledge behind is a waste. I am currently under the dilemma of whether I want to pursue this engineering degree or apply to medical school. The knowledge of medicine combined with the fact that medicine is well regarded in every country seems very ideal. But I am only afraid of the time commitment, the many years of studying as well as the restriction on whether I can travel or not (please correct me on this).

In reading what has been written, I would not like a future job being stuck in a cubicle working on designs etc. Maybe this is a stereotype of what engineer does, or we are not hearing from many, but it all really comes to the flexibility of the work, high starting salary, high chance to travel vs the knowledge of medicine, changing someone's life directly and high income later on. I don't know where to lean.

I have thought of biomedical engineering, but it seems being able to read, interpret, diagnose what the devices are telling you is far better than designing and maintaining the device. Maybe that is just me haha.

 

[JeffLebowski]

I thoroughly enjoy my physics and maths but...

I'm sorry, but I love this statement.

 

[DOCTORSAIB]

Umm...I have a question? Since when did the field of medicine become "EM" or some other field where you deal with scumbags all day long?

If you bust your ass during med school and do well on your boards, you just may end up in one of the competitive fields where your life is not "hell." The plastic surgeons, ENTs, Radiologists, Radiation Oncologists, ophthalmologists, orthopaedic surgeons and of course Dermatologists seem pretty damn happy to me.

And I'm happy. So there.

 

[Sol Rosenberg]

I've read most of the thread and I am having exactly the same problem here. I've done 3 years of vet school because I was passionate about medicine and to a lesser extent, in the wellbeing of animals. I then decided that the future of veterinary medicine is only prosperous is well developed country such as the USA, and a degree in engineering (electrical) provides more flexibility, better pay as well as a chance to travel to different countries. I thoroughly enjoy my physics and maths but to leave all the medical knowledge behind is a waste. I am currently under the dilemma of whether I want to pursue this engineering degree or apply to medical school. The knowledge of medicine combined with the fact that medicine is well regarded in every country seems very ideal. But I am only afraid of the time commitment, the many years of studying as well as the restriction on whether I can travel or not (please correct me on this).

In reading what has been written, I would not like a future job being stuck in a cubicle working on designs etc. Maybe this is a stereotype of what engineer does, or we are not hearing from many, but it all really comes to the flexibility of the work, high starting salary, high chance to travel vs the knowledge of medicine, changing someone's life directly and high income later on. I don't know where to lean.

I have thought of biomedical engineering, but it seems being able to read, interpret, diagnose what the devices are telling you is far better than designing and maintaining the device. Maybe that is just me haha.

I'm not really sure what you are asking here.....On your vacations you can ravel to different countries as a physician as much as you can as an engineer.

Oh, wait, you think that you travel frequenctly as a [design] engineer? Hahahahahaha. The typical engineering job is more like what I bolded in your description. If you want to travel, you need to get into marketing or sales, at which point, you will be doing very little "physics and maths."

Indeed, in many ways engineering is a lot like medicine in that you are not doing much "physics and maths" as part of your day-to-day job, but instead, you are doing a tremendous amount of paperwork ("documentation of your designs" in engineering) and running a lot of CYA simulations. At least medicine (most specialties) necessitates patient contact and working closely with others -- this is not necessarily the case with engineering.

Really, you need to get some REAL exposure to both fields before you make a decision. Internships/Co-op programs are the best way to get exposed to engineering, but even those don't give you the full picture. For medicine, you need to get clinical exposure. In my opinion, the engineering work that I know is more similar to medicine than it is different -- the devil is in the details. For me, it is these details that make the day-to-day engineering jobs that I have held (I have held several different engineering jobs over a 12+ year career) unbearable to the point where I no longer WANT to advance my career in engineering, and feel that I will like the day-to-day responsibilities, etc of a physician better. Also, I have some of my own ideas for research and entrepreneurship in healthcare, but have lost that sort of innovative "spark" in engineering (actually, I never really had it -- I just didn't want to admit it.)

 

[Noobguy]

I'm in a similar situation. I'm not an engineer, but I'm leaving a high paying occupation ($150-200k) to probably go to a DO school. I actually already quit a year or two ago and have just been doing enough contract work to pay the bills while I look for a new profession.

 

[delusion]

Sol Rosenberg, my post wasnt so much as a question but a ramble on what is going through my mind, haha. With regards to the travel, I guess my real point is that you spend 4 years of engineering school, graduate and work to earn enough possibly to take a year off to travel. With medical school though, its a big commitment right up to your residency years.

But yeah even though exposure to the different fields definitely is a good thing, I feel that with such a small amount of time, what you see are the good things of each field, which would probably even make it harder to make a decision. Would you be able to elaborate your work as an engineer? How true is the whole 'cubicle work?'

 

[alpha62]

I'm in a similar situation. I'm not an engineer, but I'm leaving a high paying occupation ($150-200k) to probably go to a DO school. I actually already quit a year or two ago and have just been doing enough contract work to pay the bills while I look for a new profession.

You sir.. are CRAZY. If you showed up on my door step, I'd ask for a urine drug screen.

 

[alpha62]

Umm...I have a question? Since when did the field of medicine become "EM" or some other field where you deal with scumbags all day long?

If you bust your ass during med school and do well on your boards, you just may end up in one of the competitive fields where your life is not "hell." The plastic surgeons, ENTs, Radiologists, Radiation Oncologists, ophthalmologists, orthopaedic surgeons and of course Dermatologists seem pretty damn happy to me.

And I'm happy. So there.

Spend less time at Fell's Point and more time on the job and see how long the pink cloud lasts

 

[jarwel]

Wow, I guess that must just be CA. Was this a TS cleared job? Senior engineering management doesn't even clear that much here.

Not at all. As a software engineer with a few years experience and the right skills you can easily pull in 110,000-120,000 as a contractor here in Texas. Most full timers are seeing 85,000-95,000 + bonus.

Again I must emphasize that you need the right set of skills in order to accomplish this, but it most certainly can be done.

 

[Newmanium]

Not at all. As a software engineer with a few years experience and the right skills you can easily pull in 110,000-120,000 as a contractor here in Texas. Most full timers are seeing 85,000-95,000 + bonus.

Again I must emphasize that you need the right set of skills in order to accomplish this, but it most certainly can be done.

Key is to be a contractor - at my previous place, where a 5-year average salary was between 70k-80k, the contractors made anywhere from $55-75 an hour (ends up being approximately double our salaries if you ignore benefits).

But you have to live the contractor lifestyle. Many of the ones I've met are from Phoenix, and do gigs for 6-12 months. They fly home every other weekend to see their wife and tend their house, and come back to a cheap apartment/motel.

Even for double the money, none of our regular employees were ever tempted to become a contractor. The lifestyle is horrendous. Maybe if you're young and don't have a family - but to be a contractor, you've typically got to have at least 3-5 years of experience.

Not to mention, every contractor I've met is absolute crap. They interview well, and specialize in doing just enough to stay under the radar for 6-12 months, after which everybody realizes they didn't do squat.

I'm sure they're not all that bad, just my experience at two 10,000+ large engineering companies.

 

[engineeredout]

Hey semi-on, semi-off topic but have any of you engineers taken the PE exam (or at least the first part of it)?

 

[8744]

Hey semi-on, semi-off topic but have any of you engineers taken the PE exam (or at least the first part of it)?

Yes. And I passed it and was a Registered Professional Engineer in the State of Louisiana.

 

[farmb]

Not to mention, every contractor I've met is absolute crap. They interview well, and specialize in doing just enough to stay under the radar for 6-12 months, after which everybody realizes they didn't do squat.

I'm sure they're not all that bad, just my experience at two 10,000+ large engineering companies.

Newmanium - Aerospace Engineer here. Just chiming in to agree on the low quality of contractors in general. We've ripped through our share of deadbeats. We have, however, had the occasional contractor who really shines. Those are the ones we try to keep around. We try to weed out the low performers within 4-6 weeks if possible.

 

[soonereng]

Hey semi-on, semi-off topic but have any of you engineers taken the PE exam (or at least the first part of it)?

First part being the FE I'm guessing?

Yeah I passed it and the PE. I'm currently licensed in OK. Unlike Panda, I'm trying to keep up the license since it really doesn't take too much to do it.

 

[shahrouz]

i'm Ms polymer engineer student in iran but my interest is medicine field . i like medicine , but i have no money to study this.so i want to apply for phd engineering or phd of nanomedicine to get some fund and have money to living and start contemporaneous medicine. my resume in engineering is good. dears i hate my filed"POLYMER" depthly , i like medicine, i want to know which contry in the world is suitble for me. in other words i want to know in which contry studying in medicine course from beginning "i mean after high school diploma" is free for international students. please help me, i need your aid.

 

[UMED122]

Any opinions on Chemical engineering? I'm advising a family member to consider it (he's looking to switch from a different but somewhat related non-engineering field). Any tips or advise I should give him?

 

[Newmanium]

Any opinions on Chemical engineering? I'm advising a family member to consider it (he's looking to switch from a different but somewhat related non-engineering field). Any tips or advise I should give him?

As a terminal career? I.e., not related to a medical career?

Chemical engineering is hard - I was electrical, and the general consensus amongst my friends was that chemical, nuclear, and electrical were the most challenging specialties (with chemical probably getting the edge?). Mad props to the chemical guys...

That being said, never found the job prospects in chemical engineering interesting. Most seemed to revolve around petroleum plants...

 

[UMED122]

Terminal career for his purposes right now. I don't think he's too interested in petroleum...possibly alternative energy though. But most likely, I think he's going to pursue biotech. He has an undergrad bio science degree, and he's currently finding it hard to get a good job in the industry or to move up in his current one. He likes math and chemistry, and has thought about engineering in the past, so I figured chem e might be a good field for him to go into.

 

[engineeredout]

Terminal career for his purposes right now. I don't think he's too interested in petroleum...possibly alternative energy though. But most likely, I think he's going to pursue biotech. He has an undergrad bio science degree, and he's currently finding it hard to get a good job in the industry or to move up in his current one. He likes math and chemistry, and has thought about engineering in the past, so I figured chem e might be a good field for him to go into.

Chemical engineering is definitely moving away from petroleum and shifting towards alternative energy. Theres definitely possibilites for ChemEs in biotech, especially working in the pharmaceutical industry. Sounds like your friend might be interested in Biomed engineering as well, but from what I hear the job market isn't so hot for BMEs. BME has turned into the sexy engineering major so the markets been flooded with them. ChemEs have many options though.

But yeah as people have mentioned above, its hard as ****.

 

[UMED122]

But yeah as people have mentioned above, its hard as ****.

Hardest in terms of the job, or the education? Thanks for all of the feedback by the way. I just talked to him, and it sounds like he's looking at a graduate certificate in modeling/control of processes (w/in a chem e. department) rather than a masters in anything.

 

[aas550]

Hello!

I read this post online and found it pretty interesting.
I did a BS in Econ and BS/MS in Electrical Engineering (3.6/4.0) in a total of 4 years and a quarter. I thought I wanted to do business and engineering.
I went to British School and did Olevels in Pre-med and got good grades. But I switched to Pre-Engineering for Alevels. You could only take four and I dropped Bio I was too young to know any better. Then I came to the US for my engineering degree. After working two years at an IT consulting firm I have been realizing that I might be interested in med school. I am thinking of going to business school or med school . The amount of money for going to either schools is the same. I love helping people and I love hands on experience. I have to take bio and organic chemistry only as the rest of the science requirements have been completed in undergrad. I am currently 25. I recently also got laid off which gave me time to think about a change in career. I am not interested in law, IT or finance. I thought I liked strategy consulting for energy or technology company but that I am not sure. I have been thinking about what I am passionate about for years. Maybe it is medicine. My dad was a dropout of medicine and he wanted me not to be in medicine because of crazy hours. Little did he know consulting hours were as crazy as well. I am not going into medicine or going to b school to make money. I want to work in a field where I feel satisfied and passionate about. I am really confused and need advice.
Sorry for the long post but I need to think what is the timeline to apply for Med school. DO I even have a good shot at it? I like to study and i like sciences. WIll I able able to give MCAT and finish my requirements in one year ? I have volunteer experience but no research in bio expereience.

Thank you

 

[darkwalk]

Hello!

I read this post online and found it pretty interesting.
I did a BS in Econ and BS/MS in Electrical Engineering (3.6/4.0) in a total of 4 years and a quarter. I thought I wanted to do business and engineering.
I went to British School and did Olevels in Pre-med and got good grades. But I switched to Pre-Engineering for Alevels. You could only take four and I dropped Bio I was too young to know any better. Then I came to the US for my engineering degree. After working two years at an IT consulting firm I have been realizing that I might be interested in med school. I am thinking of going to business school or med school . The amount of money for going to either schools is the same. I love helping people and I love hands on experience. I have to take bio and organic chemistry only as the rest of the science requirements have been completed in undergrad. I am currently 25. I recently also got laid off which gave me time to think about a change in career. I am not interested in law, IT or finance. I thought I liked strategy consulting for energy or technology company but that I am not sure. I have been thinking about what I am passionate about for years. Maybe it is medicine. My dad was a dropout of medicine and he wanted me not to be in medicine because of crazy hours. Little did he know consulting hours were as crazy as well. I am not going into medicine or going to b school to make money. I want to work in a field where I feel satisfied and passionate about. I am really confused and need advice.
Sorry for the long post but I need to think what is the timeline to apply for Med school. DO I even have a good shot at it? I like to study and i like sciences. WIll I able able to give MCAT and finish my requirements in one year ? I have volunteer experience but no research in bio expereience.

Thank you

I'm in similar boat as you. I applied to med school 5 years ago, but didn't get in. The disappointment gnawed at me since. I'm currently working as a software engineer pulling in good money, but its not satisfying enough for me. All day sitting in front of a computer screen, wading through spaghetti code, and fixing bugs is taking a toll on me.

I'm thinking seriously about reappying to med school, but I must be damn sure its what I want to do. The problem is I can't think of any good experience that will truly replicate the meaning of being a doctor. The closest is to maybe volunteer at a hospice? I volunteered at hospitals before, but most of the time, I performed trivial tasks. I need some experience that will truly hit me with everything. Any suggestions?

Anyways, I estimate that going through the medical application process and holding a 40 hour week job will be tough. Say goodbye to all your weekends. If you want to try it, better be 100% focused. Immediately.

 

[podboy]

I'm in a similar situation. I'm not an engineer, but I'm leaving a high paying occupation ($150-200k) to probably go to a DO school. I actually already quit a year or two ago and have just been doing enough contract work to pay the bills while I look for a new profession.

Dude, if you "actually already quit a year or two ago" then there was very little chance you would ever earn $150k. Most folks have a firm grasp on when they were separated from their last job.

DO school sounds like a very, very good option for you.

 

[aas550]

I'm in similar boat as you. I applied to med school 5 years ago, but didn't get in. The disappointment gnawed at me since. I'm currently working as a software engineer pulling in good money, but its not satisfying enough for me. All day sitting in front of a computer screen, wading through spaghetti code, and fixing bugs is taking a toll on me.

I'm thinking seriously about reappying to med school, but I must be damn sure its what I want to do. The problem is I can't think of any good experience that will truly replicate the meaning of being a doctor. The closest is to maybe volunteer at a hospice? I volunteered at hospitals before, but most of the time, I performed trivial tasks. I need some experience that will truly hit me with everything. Any suggestions?

Anyways, I estimate that going through the medical application process and holding a 40 hour week job will be tough. Say goodbye to all your weekends. If you want to try it, better be 100% focused. Immediately.

Hey!
If you dont mind me asking why do you think you didnt get into med school? Your GPA or MCAT or you didnt have enough research/volunteer experience?
If I dont have a shot at med school I dont want to apply and waste a year.

Thank you

 

[darkwalk]

I never asked the reason they rejected me. My stats were:

GPA 3.3 Washington university in st. louis Biomedical engineering
MCAT: 11:12:8 the latter being verbal, so that hurt me

I had some ECs, but not extensive compared to others.

I *think* the reason I was denied was a combination of applying late, bad verbal score, and GPA was not very competitive. However, I did get interviews from 3 out of 5 schools I applied. (drexel, saint louis univ., OHSU)

I'm positive that I can raise my verbal MCAT score within a year if I start now, so my plan is to take the MCAT aroudn the end of this year while volunteering consistently, and apply as soon as possible (1st day). Perhaps this will show the adcoms that I'm serious. Hopefully, my lack of volunteering will not prohibit my chances.

If you are serious, aas550, I wish you luck. Go for it 100%! I think your GPA definitely helps you, unlike mine. But you have to start volunteering/shadow somewhere asap.

 

[mahnster13]

Anybody heard of people getting accepted into med school with a BS in Mechanical Engineering?
That's what my dad got his degree in at the University of Toledo, and he considered applying to med school for a while, but considering the fact that he already had 3 kids by the time he was 26 he has just stayed in the mechanical engineering field, moving from Honda in Ohio now to Boeing in Washington.
I am pretty interested in mechanical engineering as far as undergrad areas of study, but my ultimate goal is still to become a doctor... is that an unheard of pathway?

 

[engineeredout]

Anybody heard of people getting accepted into med school with a BS in Mechanical Engineering?
That's what my dad got his degree in at the University of Toledo, and he considered applying to med school for a while, but considering the fact that he already had 3 kids by the time he was 26 he has just stayed in the mechanical engineering field, moving from Honda in Ohio now to Boeing in Washington.
I am pretty interested in mechanical engineering as far as undergrad areas of study, but my ultimate goal is still to become a doctor... is that an unheard of pathway?

My bachelors is in chemical engineering and I'm currently a med student. Not impossible by any means.

 

[Sol Rosenberg]

Anybody heard of people getting accepted into med school with a BS in Mechanical Engineering?
That's what my dad got his degree in at the University of Toledo, and he considered applying to med school for a while, but considering the fact that he already had 3 kids by the time he was 26 he has just stayed in the mechanical engineering field, moving from Honda in Ohio now to Boeing in Washington.
I am pretty interested in mechanical engineering as far as undergrad areas of study, but my ultimate goal is still to become a doctor... is that an unheard of pathway?

I just met an incoming MS1 at my school that was a MechE major, so it's obviously not unheard of.

 

[mahnster13]

Ok cool, that's awesome to hear that chemical and mechanical have yielded favorable results
Has anybody happened to hear about those programs at the University of Washington? And what advice do you have about handling the coursework and keeping your GPA up? That's what I am worried about, I hear UW has a bad reputation as far as their grading system...