Fork in my life: CS vs Medicine

[Chocolina]

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Hi everyone! I've been lurking for the past 3 years, but I never made an account till this year.

I came into college without really knowing what I wanted to do so I decided on being premed while majoring in computer science. I hoped that by the end of college I would have decided, but I'm a senior now and I still can't decide.

Everyone says you should volunteer or shadow to see if being a doctor is for you. I've volunteered at my college's hospital for a semester, but ultimately switched to doing hospice work because I didn't like restocking shelves and wiping down beds. I've been doing that for 2 years along with volunteering at a community center. I've really enjoyed both of these experiences because I've been able to make direct impacts into other people's lives. I dabbled in research for a year, but quit because it wasn't my cup of tea.

This summer, I interned at a big tech company (think Google, Facebook, etc.) while shadowing here and there on my days off. The company offered me a full-time position after graduation so I'm set for a gap year job if I end up applying later on. I also enjoyed my experience here too because the project I was working on went live so a bunch of people are able to see and use it even thought it's pretty subtle.

The only thing left for me to do is take the MCAT which I'm planning on doing after graduation. If it's relevant, my cGPA is 3.7+ and my sGPA is 3.6+ (stupid ochem lol). I'd really like to hear your thoughts.

Thanks guys 😀

 

[Goro]

You can make big impacts in people' lives without being a doctor. Medicine is a calling.

What does your heart tell you???

 

[863168]

@Chocolina If you love it, then do it. If you don't love it, then why do it? It seems like this is a career defining job that you intrinsically enjoy and will put food on the table. If you didn't get those juicy STEM scholarships to cover for everything then you will have student debt on the docket. I'm a big fan of paying off those private loans before those interests start piling up because of how these systems are borderline predatory when it comes to considering earning potential of a majority of new graduates. Having covered intrinsic value and external monetary value, then I suppose the last method of persuasion would be to appeal to social norms. Most physicians when they are talking about the time they lose in their 20s when it comes to earning potential compare themselves to a peer group of engineers, computer scientists, and applied mathematics fields that make disputably similar income.

The one question that I think that someone with your skill will ask yourself down the road is whether you are okay with ultimately being an end user instead of being the designer of a more efficient program. However, the main question I think you are asking is if there is a pay-off between focusing on the MCAT and doing full-time at a Silicon Valley shop because during your first year you are mostly going to be learning the ropes. I honestly think that the medical application cycle is a long, gruesome fight for most students who are working in less coveted jobs. Taking a year off to professionally settle any outstanding debt or to prepare for accruing one in medical school shouldn't hurt you in the long term. But then again, it's not my call to make. It's yours.

 

[Chocolina]

@Goro My heart is torn LOL, but I understand what you're saying that medicine is a calling. My time at the hospice gave me a new perspective on life. There were so many forgotten residents and hearing their stories made me understand how much groundwork they laid for us today. After the death of my first resident, I just felt the desire to put more effort into caring for my next resident and ensuring their last months were enjoyable. I'm not sure if that's a calling, but I do think I need to do a bit more soul searching.

@Pina Colada Yeah from a financial perspective, I was planning on working and paying off my undergrad debt before applying because I wanted to go into med school debt free. In terms of pay-off, I know that I won't get that much done during my first year, but I can see that for both paths, there is an eventual gain.

 

[Goro]

Med schools aren't going anywhere.

 

[Welshman]

~Do both~

A lot of cool stuff happening with medicine and tech nowadays

 

[hottentot]

Hi everyone! I've been lurking for the past 3 years, but I never made an account till this year.

I came into college without really knowing what I wanted to do so I decided on being premed while majoring in computer science. I hoped that by the end of college I would have decided, but I'm a senior now and I still can't decide.

Everyone says you should volunteer or shadow to see if being a doctor is for you. I've volunteered at my college's hospital for a semester, but ultimately switched to doing hospice work because I didn't like restocking shelves and wiping down beds. I've been doing that for 2 years along with volunteering at a community center. I've really enjoyed both of these experiences because I've been able to make direct impacts into other people's lives. I dabbled in research for a year, but quit because it wasn't my cup of tea.

This summer, I interned at a big tech company (think Google, Facebook, etc.) while shadowing here and there on my days off. The company offered me a full-time position after graduation so I'm set for a gap year job if I end up applying later on. I also enjoyed my experience here too because the project I was working on went live so a bunch of people are able to see and use it even thought it's pretty subtle.

The only thing left for me to do is take the MCAT which I'm planning on doing after graduation. If it's relevant, my cGPA is 3.7+ and my sGPA is 3.6+ (stupid ochem lol). I'd really like to hear your thoughts.

Thanks guys 😀

I don't think anybody but you can answer your question. Each person is going to make decisions based on some objective criteria blended with a gut feeling. Your academics are fine, so you have to do a gut check and follow it.

 

[seedbrage]

.

 

[numbersloth]

Honestly, if you do CS + medicine research as a computer scientists (so you would probably need a PhD), you would still be able to have a lot of contact with physicians and other clinical professionals in order to understand needs that inform your research.

 

[P0ke]

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