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[Engrailed]

I contemplated posting this here or on WSO but since I'm looking for a career foundationally in medicine with a helping of business on the side, I figured here would be better.

Headed into my senior year of UG. At the beginning of my degree up until about last year I had completely sworn off the world of business, but now I'm becoming increasingly interested in it, coinciding with a gradually dwindling interest in research/pure academia.
I want to pursue an MD/MBA, so a few questions:

1) For someone as interested as I am in business/administration/finance I'm tragically ignorant of the potential career prospects, what could I do with an MD/MBA? (lol)
2) Could I get into a top business school (because i know reputation matters for business school far more than for med school) straight out of UG with a life science degree and no experience in finance?

You should try posting this on WSO.
I have a few friends that have done this. Ill PM you!

Also, your username is

 

[calipremed5768]

To get into high finance you need to go to a target undergrad school. Top MBA programs require experience in business usually before you go. Even then a very small minority of starting analysts from investment banks are able to move onto hedge funds or private equity (I don’t consider Ibanking high finance). Then an even smaller fraction of those who get into finance become Soros Icahn Ackman types. This is especially true as increasing access to information by the public is consistently diminishing the edge professionals have. That’s why most turn to inside information but the SEC is very capable with new technology

 

[calipremed5768]

So the answer to #2 is that it would be nearly impossible unless you were valedictorian at Harvard with a compelling story. I only consider Wharton/Stanford/HBS/Booth/Stern/Columbia to be elite

 

[Engrailed]

Also as an aside, Id like to add that if your ultimate goal is finance, yes, avoid med school altogether. The MBA is way more important and with the cost of MD, you would be driving yourself into an incredible amount of debt with low return as any job in finance is achievable without MD. From my encounters, the only MD people in finance are those never had a true passion for healing patients, and somehow were disillusioned during their med school process which made them swerve into finance after their degree.

Edit: Id like to further add that, if your applying to med school is driven by finance, you would sadly be taking a seat away from someone who truly wishes to utilize their degree as a doctor. Just the bigger picture there

 

[Engrailed]

Do the two degrees, MD and MBA, not complement each other well? I seem to be reading an overwhelming amount of posts saying that the MBA offers you job opportunities in case you end up disliking medicine, it's never that they work in an environment where the two degrees are both useful...

See my edit above in my post.
But just think of the $200-400K debt you would accumulate during that time. Unless you were absolutely certain you wanted to build a healthcare company etc, then it’s worth it but I think if you want to go into the general finance roles in banking or advisory etc, MD is a waste of time and money!

 

[907914]

Alright, guess I'll stick to getting into med school first then.

If the first step in your get rich quick plan is to get into medical school, you’re gonna have a bad time.

 

[calipremed5768]

I tend to disagree. Medicine is the only career that you can reliably make it into the top tax bracket. Ya you won’t be able to buy a private jet but you should be able to afford a mini mansion and a Maserati. People always say the best way to make money is entrepreneurship (“just start your own business bro”) or business/law. But it’s simply not true. The top earners in those fields make much more than top earning doctors but a very small percentage can make it into upper level positions in those fields (up or out culture)

 

[calipremed5768]

For example I just got to the hospital to meet with research advisor and in the physician parking lot the most common cars were range rovers, BMWs, Mercedes, Tesla, Audi etc. even saw one Aston Martin

 

[OfMiceAndWomen]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned consulting? Most of my classmates who are interested in medicine, but more on the business side, do consulting, and then go to grad/med school. I believe it's usually very difficult to go to business school right out of undergrad. If you can have a focus on healthcare at a big firm, or even at a healthcare consulting boutique firm, it's usually a good stepping stone to MBA or even MD if you want to go that route (one of my former classmates is analyst at McKinsey, and they're paying for all her MCAT prep). MD/MBA is definitely doable if that is what you're passionate about.

Not my expertise, but I believe with MD/MBA, if you want to work in academic medicine/hospital, you can rise up the ranks of hospital on the administrative side. You can partner with clinicians to open/run private practices. You can probably make bank doing healthcare consulting.

 

[deleted804295]

I contemplated posting this here or on WSO but since I'm looking for a career foundationally in medicine with a helping of business on the side, I figured here would be better.

Headed into my senior year of UG. At the beginning of my degree up until about last year I had completely sworn off the world of business, but now I'm becoming increasingly interested in it, coinciding with a gradually dwindling interest in research/pure academia.
I want to pursue an MD/MBA, so a few questions:

1) For someone as interested as I am in business/administration/finance I'm tragically ignorant of the potential career prospects, what could I do with an MD/MBA? (lol)
2) Could I get into a top business school (because i know reputation matters for business school far more than for med school) straight out of UG with a life science degree and no experience in finance?

Top business school? No. You can land some pretty good internships if you live in a big city. The biology major at my school implemented some programming which a lot of finance jobs are interested in.

You would have to do a year of internships/business presentations/networking and then go the business school route.

I'm curious as to why you're interested in business however. Is it just because of the money or do you enjoy crunching numbers or do you enjoy networking? Depending on what your answer is you can find most of these things in medicine. Additionally medicine has very little pure research. You should shadow some people in these fields so that you understand what you're getting yourself into.

 

[deleted804295]

It's understandable that the topic of money has to be broached when I'm talking about branching into business, but suffice to say I grew up with money. If I wanted the easiest life I'd follow in my parents' footsteps.

To be honest I wouldn't be able to tell you exactly what I'm hoping to expect if I branch into the business world. I'm not shy to admit I know very little about it, and it's something I'd have to research more into. I enjoy administration and and management and I enjoy healthcare, so why not add one and one together, I assumed.
Med school is still the immediate goal, but yeah, I'm prioritizing MD programs that offer an MBA on the side.

It'd be nice if you knew what you were getting into. I'm pretty sure the schools with MD/MBA programs prioritize students who have experience in the business world and can substantiate their goal with more than just an interest in it. Consider getting a couple business internships and networking.

 

[paimei42]

Do the two degrees, MD and MBA, not complement each other well? I seem to be reading an overwhelming amount of posts saying that the MBA offers you job opportunities in case you end up disliking medicine, it's never that they work in an environment where the two degrees are both useful...

They can complement each other but not if you're going into high finance.

Even if you are using it in a complementary way, your MD degree is essentially equivalent to a really expensive bio degree if most of your day to day in in finance/ using the MBA

 

[calipremed5768]

I would probably wager that a JD complements an MD better than an MBA. Can even defend yourself in malpractice suits

 

[Engrailed]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned consulting? Most of my classmates who are interested in medicine, but more on the business side, do consulting, and then go to grad/med school. I believe it's usually very difficult to go to business school right out of undergrad. If you can have a focus on healthcare at a big firm, or even at a healthcare consulting boutique firm, it's usually a good stepping stone to MBA or even MD if you want to go that route (one of my former classmates is analyst at McKinsey, and they're paying for all her MCAT prep). MD/MBA is definitely doable if that is what you're passionate about.

Not my expertise, but I believe with MD/MBA, if you want to work in academic medicine/hospital, you can rise up the ranks of hospital on the administrative side. You can partner with clinicians to open/run private practices. You can probably make bank doing healthcare consulting.

At an event I encountered someone who did an MD at a T5, completed an ENTIRE anesthesiology residency and then swerved into consulting-not even as a director but bw an associate and director. I remain baffled even to this day. Why someone would go thru all of that to end up in a position one could get with just a few yrs work exp..!

 

[premed20172017]

I met someone that went to an Columbia or Hopkins (or the like), and decided to start a biotech company. Let’s just say they have no loans to pay anymore.

 

[Engrailed]

I met someone that went to an Columbia or Hopkins (or the like), and decided to start a biotech company. Let’s just say they have no loans to pay anymore.

Nice. But tons of people try that route.. and most startups fail tbh.
Amazing if they make it that far to get it off the ground but hard to do!

 

[pazzer2]

You don't need an MBA to learn about business. You can learn business skills with practical on the job training. An MBA is good if you want to pivot careers. In this case a full time MBA at a top school is a must. Part time or exec MBA programs aren't worth it.

There are some MBA programs for students right out of Undergrad (Harvard, Stanford, etc). But these are tough to get. You apply in your senior year, and then defer for 2 years, and then matriculate after getting work experience.