I absolutely loved this thread, and it quite parallels a long email that I wrote to a friend last night. As someone else in this thread previously said, I think that many pre-meds that go straight into medical school don't understand the various 'soft skills' needed to be successful in the "business world". It's not nearly enough to be smart and pass exams. Especially as you get higher up the corporate ladder, it's much more about getting people to like you.
As I see it, there are essentially two types of jobs:
1) jobs where your certification/clearly defined skills gets you hired (plumber, nurse, doctor, accountant and programmer (non-management levels), nurse, firefighter, cop, teacher, construction worker, baggage handler, taxi driver, logistics dispatcher, pilot, welder, etc) ..... jobs where you potentially do the exact same thing on your first day of work as you do on your final day of work 30 years later. My pediatrician is working in the exact same office that he was 20 years ago, doing basically the same thing on a daily basis that he was doing 20 years ago (and very happy in life). Being qualified to work in this field is pretty objective.
2) And then there are jobs where your success depends on how much others buy into you (marketing, sales, most of the "business world", management, consulting, investing, artist/entertainer, writing and researching, pastor, politics). Success in this field is a lot more subjective, and you can't easily "make it" in this field by passing certification exams.
I think that there's another valuable difference between the two types of jobs: the first are "infrastructure" jobs and the second are "creating" jobs.
The first type of jobs are jobs that are entirely about "keeping things orderly" and often "fixing things". The plumber fixes broken pipes. The doctor fixes sick people. The firefighter fixes fires, the cop fixes crimes. The baggage handler fixes the problem of passengers not being allowed on the runway to retrieve their bag. The pilot and taxi driver fix the problem of people not being where they wish to be, the teacher, the problem of people being uneducated. These jobs generally focus on doing a clearly-defined task often and doing it well. The people in these jobs aren't looking to "break the mold" or be "revolutionaries". These jobs are vital to the functioning of an advanced modern society, and they are relatively recession-proof.
The second type of jobs is all about "creating new things" and "bringing greater happiness". Creating new ways to bring a customer a product. Finding new customers for a firm. Finding a way to make a firm more profitable. Trying to discover a way to have investment returns that are greater than just investing in CDs, bonds, and savings accounts. Coming up with a new strategy for a firm. Convincing people that your TV show is more entertaining than a rerun of "Seinfeld". And in the case of politicians and pastors, getting people to believe that the ideas that you're selling will bring them greater happiness. These jobs have enormous upside, but also very high failure rates. Almost always in these jobs, you can't do the same thing in year 1 as you do in year 30. Success in these jobs is about constantly thriving and reinventing yourself, and having a deft touch for the wishes and needs of others, as well as an ability to influence the wishes and needs of others.
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I'm 25, have worked for one of the IT consulting firms mentioned, and I'm now beginning pre-reqs. Our firm laid off a ton of good consultants/managers during the downturn, and who knows where they've ended up. Many of them, likely, in lower-paying jobs that they're not as interested in.
The biggest thing that appeals to me about being a doctor is the clear nature of the career path. If I'm admitted and make it through med-school/residency, I have a pretty clear idea of a job that will almost definitely be available to me on a day-to-day basis 15 years from now (PCP on staff at a large hospital, 150k-ish salary). That's not saying that I will definitely be doing that type of job, but as long as I get all the necessary training/certification, that opportunity will almost certainly be available.
