From IT to Pre-med

[Zombee]

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Hello Everyone,

I have thoughts of changing my career from IT to Medical and would like to know how that would work. What is the process? I have a B.S degree in Information Technology and currently working for a software company.
I want to know what it takes to become a medical or pre-medical student from my stand point. What school in Florida should I be talking to to get started?

Please help me make my decision.

Thank you!!
Zombee

 

[txguy]

Hello Everyone,

I have thoughts of changing my career from IT to Medical and would like to know how that would work. What is the process? I have a B.S degree in Information Technology and currently working for a software company.
I want to know what it takes to become a medical or pre-medical student from my stand point. What school in Florida should I be talking to to get started?

Please help me make my decision.

Thank you!!
Zombee

I did the exact same thing.

It took me 1.5 years to finish my pre-reqs and take the MCAT--you have to take all of your science classes together to do it fast. Look into post-bacc programs at your local state university.

As for med school, you can play up your problem solving/analytical skills. Since I was an IT consultant, I also talked about my interpersonal/communication skills. All of these are easily transferrable to the practice of medicine.

Non-traditional studnets typically do well, so good luck!

PM me if you have any more questions...

-tx

 

[SaltySqueegee]

Yep, I had a similar skill set:

See part of my Personal Statement for explanation of correlation to medicine:

"I can remember the first time I saw that iridescent apple-green cursor blinking before my eyes. It was a TRS-80 Model 1, a "beast" straight out of the late 70's, with 4KB of ROM and 16KB of RAM. It didn't have any floppy or hard drives to speak of, instead it had an after-market hacked together tape drive that was nothing more than a cassette-voice recorder. The computer was about ten years old, putting me at an age of nine when I first became acquainted with it. My father purchased it for approximately $50 from a school that was upgrading their computer lab. He thought it would be a good investment for my education. Who would have thought that computer would play such a pivotal role for my future career in medicine?

When my sophomore year of high school came around, I was already working in the "Industry" as a computer technician for the semiconductor corporation, Ultratech. Since my first encounter with the "beast," I had devoured volumes of computer manuals. This insatiable appetite for the knowledge of how computers work, led me to be part of a prestigious program at my high school, the CIA (Computer Integrated Academics) program. I also participated in a one-year program at the CCOC (Central County Occupational Center), where I learned the intricacies of digital network management. These programs provided me with an in-depth understanding of the world of computers and invaluable experience in troubleshooting problems and issues with complex systems that have multiple points of failure."

The rest of the essay goes into relating back and forth the human/machine type understanding, and explaining how medicine is all that and much more.

I've now started my first year in med-school. And the ride to getting here has been totally worth it! 👍 👍 👍

Best of Luck, and I wish you Success!

PM me if you have any techie/geek-type questions relating to the med-app process.

 

[Cthulu]

I just quit a job in the computer industry. I also took all my pre-reqs while still in college. But to expand my bio background and to prove I can keep my grades up I'm in a masters program in biomedical engineering.

 

[BeatArmy]

If you are in Tampa, as your profile says, USF would probably be your best bet for completing the prereqs you are missing. Really, any 4 year school in Florida is fine, but they seem to look down on comm college classes, unles there are special circumstances.
Your personal situation will likely dictate how quickly you can make it happen. If you can quit your job and do a full-time post-bacc/volunteering/MCAT prep regimen, you can be applying next summer. If you have to continue working full-time, as I did, it may take a year or two longer.
No matter which route you choose, do well in the classes, do well on the MCAT, and get some exposure to medicine, if you don't already have it, and you should be fine.
Good luck.