I could use some advising.

[Panksy]

I'm a 21yo 3rd year Chemical Engineering Student at a top 20 engineering school.

Finishing my undergrad is going to cost me about 30k in loans. Starting Salary for chemical engineers is roughly 65k-70k with approx topping off at around 95K with 8-12 years of experience.

My heart and interest is in medicine, but I'm worried I might be making a financial mistake by getting into medicine, as well as sacrificing other things.

My timeline if I decide to pursue medicine would be something like this.
I would take an extra year in undergrad to take my bio's and biochems, take the mcat in my senior year I would finish off my core courses and earn my bachelors and apply to med school. I would also start working on my EC's this year for my medical school profile, I am phlebotomy licenced and worked in a clinical research lab for two years and am currently a caretaker while I'm going to school but lack volunteering. If I were to dedicate myself towards medical school, I would spend the next 3 years building my EC and student profile.
Given I do well on the mcat, I would say I would be a competitive applicant for DO's and average-ish for most MD schools. While I'm interested in oncology, my financial assumptions are assuming I become a family physician with a starting salary of 185k and leveling off at 215k. Assuming it takes me 10 years to pay off my loan, does it financially make sense to pursue medicine when by the time I pay off my loan I would be ~40 and able to start living comfortably till I retire at 65 vs at the same age on the other path I would be an 15 year experienced engineer and probably began living comfortably with a family at ~30.

So what I'm asking is, are my assumptions of the paths roughly correct? If someone can clarify my assumptions and shed light onto something I might be overlooking I would also appreciate that.

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[TheBoneDoctah]

You can't look at it with a strictly financial eye. Yes, you are correct. It is going to take you longer to start "living comfortably" if you go into medicine, but would you be happier in medicine in the long run?

You said you're 21 right now and you said it would take 3 more years before you applied and 4 before you started. Let's say you started medical school at 25 (first off this isn't that much older than the average medical student, and certainly not much older than D.O. students. I started medical school when I was 27). So if you started at 25, you would graduate medical school around 29, and then finish family medicine residency around 32-33. This is not old by any means.

Now financially, let's say you're in the average 200k-250k of debt. If you are single trying to pay this off, yes it could take a while. However, are you going to have a spouse living with you? If so, if he/she also has a salary, while you are in residency, you can start paying down these loans if you can live off your spouses salary. Once you're an attending, you can pay them off ASAP. I wouldn't suggest delaying paying them off. If you have a second income in the home and are living like a resident for a year or two after residency, you can put your salary towards the loans and be loan free within 3 years. It will take discipline, but it is doable.

 

[Goro]

Do a search for @Law2Doc 's posts on this very Issue.

I'm a 21yo 3rd year Chemical Engineering Student at a top 20 engineering school.

Finishing my undergrad is going to cost me about 30k in loans. Starting Salary for chemical engineers is roughly 65k-70k with approx topping off at around 95K with 8-12 years of experience.

My heart and interest is in medicine, but I'm worried I might be making a financial mistake by getting into medicine, as well as sacrificing other things.

My timeline if I decide to pursue medicine would be something like this.
I would take an extra year in undergrad to take my bio's and biochems, take the mcat in my senior year I would finish off my core courses and earn my bachelors and apply to med school. I would also start working on my EC's this year for my medical school profile, I am phlebotomy licenced and worked in a clinical research lab for two years and am currently a caretaker while I'm going to school but lack volunteering. If I were to dedicate myself towards medical school, I would spend the next 3 years building my EC and student profile.
Given I do well on the mcat, I would say I would be a competitive applicant for DO's and average-ish for most MD schools. While I'm interested in oncology, my financial assumptions are assuming I become a family physician with a starting salary of 185k and leveling off at 215k. Assuming it takes me 10 years to pay off my loan, does it financially make sense to pursue medicine when by the time I pay off my loan I would be ~40 and able to start living comfortably till I retire at 65 vs at the same age on the other path I would be an 15 year experienced engineer and probably began living comfortably with a family at ~30.

So what I'm asking is, are my assumptions of the paths roughly correct? If someone can clarify my assumptions and shed light onto something I might be overlooking I would also appreciate that.

 

[Law2Doc]

Do a search for @Law2Doc 's posts on this very Issue.

Yeah, if you throw out the idea that you are going to retire at 65 and instead decide you'll just work into your 70s the calculations will look much better. But it's really a question of whether this career makes you happy and whether that happiness is worth more to you. If you can be comfortable doing what you enjoy that should be the end of the analysis. If you are looking at it as a balance sheet compared to other career paths, it's probably not the right choice.

 

[Law2Doc]

You can't look at it with a strictly financial eye. Yes, you are correct. It is going to take you longer to start "living comfortably" if you go into medicine, but would you be happier in medicine in the long run?

You said you're 21 right now and you said it would take 3 more years before you applied and 4 before you started. Let's say you started medical school at 25 (first off this isn't that much older than the average medical student, and certainly not much older than D.O. students. I started medical school when I was 27). So if you started at 25, you would graduate medical school around 29, and then finish family medicine residency around 32-33. This is not old by any means.

Now financially, let's say you're in the average 200k-250k of debt. If you are single trying to pay this off, yes it could take a while. However, are you going to have a spouse living with you? If so, if he/she also has a salary, while you are in residency, you can start paying down these loans if you can live off your spouses salary. Once you're an attending, you can pay them off ASAP. I wouldn't suggest delaying paying them off. If you have a second income in the home and are living like a resident for a year or two after residency, you can put your salary towards the loans and be loan free within 3 years. It will take discipline, but it is doable.

Nobody is going to live like a resident for 3 years after training, and it's amusing to see people on SDN keep bringing this concept up. You will be entering or in your 30s by then , possibly starting a family during those years, and life happens. If you start making a dent on your loans during those years you are way ahead of the game.

 

[Panksy]

You can't look at it with a strictly financial eye. Yes, you are correct. It is going to take you longer to start "living comfortably" if you go into medicine, but would you be happier in medicine in the long run?

You said you're 21 right now and you said it would take 3 more years before you applied and 4 before you started. Let's say you started medical school at 25 (first off this isn't that much older than the average medical student, and certainly not much older than D.O. students. I started medical school when I was 27). So if you started at 25, you would graduate medical school around 29, and then finish family medicine residency around 32-33. This is not old by any means.

Now financially, let's say you're in the average 200k-250k of debt. If you are single trying to pay this off, yes it could take a while. However, are you going to have a spouse living with you? If so, if he/she also has a salary, while you are in residency, you can start paying down these loans if you can live off your spouses salary. Once you're an attending, you can pay them off ASAP. I wouldn't suggest delaying paying them off. If you have a second income in the home and are living like a resident for a year or two after residency, you can put your salary towards the loans and be loan free within 3 years. It will take discipline, but it is doable.

No the age isn't concerning me, as @Law2Doc said, It's more realistic to finish school and focus on finally starting a family.

 

[Panksy]

Yeah, if you throw out the idea that you are going to retire at 65 and instead decide you'll just work into your 70s the calculations will look much better. But it's really a question of whether this career makes you happy and whether that happiness is worth more to you. If you can be comfortable doing what you enjoy that should be the end of the analysis. If you are looking at it as a balance sheet compared to other career paths, it's probably not the right choice.

The fulfillment medicine brings me is much more than that of an engineering career, but I don't imagine if I choose the engineering career I wouldn't be happy.

 

[Law2Doc]

The fulfillment medicine brings me is much more than that of an engineering career, but I don't imagine if I choose the engineering career I wouldn't be happy.

Most doctors will tell you if you think you'll be happy in another path, you probably should go that route. Medicine is only a good field if you won't succumb to the grass is greener syndrome. It's just a hard grueling unyielding path, and most of the fulfillment is based on your own mindset. And nobody is going to page you at 3 am as an engineer to ask if your NPO after midnight patient can suck on some ice chips.

 

[drdecaf]

I'm a 21yo 3rd year Chemical Engineering Student at a top 20 engineering school.

Finishing my undergrad is going to cost me about 30k in loans. Starting Salary for chemical engineers is roughly 65k-70k with approx topping off at around 95K with 8-12 years of experience.

My heart and interest is in medicine, but I'm worried I might be making a financial mistake by getting into medicine, as well as sacrificing other things.

My timeline if I decide to pursue medicine would be something like this.
I would take an extra year in undergrad to take my bio's and biochems, take the mcat in my senior year I would finish off my core courses and earn my bachelors and apply to med school. I would also start working on my EC's this year for my medical school profile, I am phlebotomy licenced and worked in a clinical research lab for two years and am currently a caretaker while I'm going to school but lack volunteering. If I were to dedicate myself towards medical school, I would spend the next 3 years building my EC and student profile.
Given I do well on the mcat, I would say I would be a competitive applicant for DO's and average-ish for most MD schools. While I'm interested in oncology, my financial assumptions are assuming I become a family physician with a starting salary of 185k and leveling off at 215k. Assuming it takes me 10 years to pay off my loan, does it financially make sense to pursue medicine when by the time I pay off my loan I would be ~40 and able to start living comfortably till I retire at 65 vs at the same age on the other path I would be an 15 year experienced engineer and probably began living comfortably with a family at ~30.

So what I'm asking is, are my assumptions of the paths roughly correct? If someone can clarify my assumptions and shed light onto something I might be overlooking I would also appreciate that.

I admire your desire to pursue medicine. I was actually in a somewhat similar situation. Although it was in my final semester of undergrad that I realized medicine was the right path... It took me about 2.5 years to take all my pre-reqs. In that time I also finished a social science masters program and gained some DO exposure. My advice is that if medicine is what you would like to pursue, do it now. I wish I would have figured it while still in the core of my undergrad. It sounds like you have a plan, go for it!

 

[Panksy]

Most doctors will tell you if you think you'll be happy in another path, you probably should go that route. Medicine is only a good field if you won't succumb to the grass is greener syndrome. It's just a hard grueling unyielding path, and most of the fulfillment is based on your own mindset. And nobody is going to page you at 3 am as an engineer to ask if your NPO after midnight patient can suck on some ice chips.

As annoying as that sounds, there's nothing that excites me more than getting to the day where I receive that 3am page.

 

[Panksy]

I admire your desire to pursue medicine. I was actually in a somewhat similar situation. Although it was in my final semester of undergrad that I realized medicine was the right path... It took me about 2.5 years to take all my pre-reqs. In that time I also finished a social science masters program and gained some DO exposure. My advice is that if medicine is what you would like to pursue, do it now. I wish I would have figured it while still in the core of my undergrad. It sounds like you have a plan, go for it!

I appreciate the encouragement alot, thank you!

Best of luck to your studies and medical pursuits!

 

[TUVIX]

Most doctors will tell you if you think you'll be happy in another path, you probably should go that route. Medicine is only a good field if you won't succumb to the grass is greener syndrome. It's just a hard grueling unyielding path, and most of the fulfillment is based on your own mindset. And nobody is going to page you at 3 am as an engineer to ask if your NPO after midnight patient can suck on some ice chips.

You also will never get the ice chip page if you go into family medicine and do ambulatory only. That's one of the great things about medicine is that it is many different careers depending on which specialty you go into. It's totally possible to have a job with similar stress and work hours as an engineer that is a project manager dealing with a lot of deadlines and managing a team of engineers. I think people have to be realistic with themselves about the specialty they choose. For example, I know I would hate my life as a surgeon, and would not really want the ice chip page, or to be arguing with a resident about giving Mrs. Smith too much crystalloid....so I will never be pursuing life as a surgeon.

 

[j4pac]

If you go into medicine for the money...

 

[shoal]

As annoying as that sounds, there's nothing that excites me more than getting to the day where I receive that 3am page.

You just wait... No sleep for 18 hours, you just fell asleep and ding ding ding, page for ice chips, Tylenol. Mr x has more pain. It sucks, pure and simple.

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[Panksy]

You just wait... No sleep for 18 hours, you just fell asleep and ding ding ding, page for ice chips, Tylenol. Mr x has more pain. It sucks, pure and simple.

Sent from my VS986 using Tapatalk

The ding ding ding of achieving your career goals! I honestly cant wait