Interest in Psychiatry

[DR. Tran]

Can anyone with experience give me some advice?
I am currently a software engineer. I plan to stay in this industry for 10 years as I make money to pay for medical school, a house and raising kids. My husband is also a software engineer. We are in our mid 30s. Growing up I wanted to be a doctor but due to mental health issues my grades suffered (but still not unfixable overall 3.32 sgpa maybe 3.0 had master in CS with 3.86 gpa). Lately I am feeling that sure I can make good money in Tech, but its not something I want to do forever because I want more purpose out of my life. I'm drawn to psychiatry because of my mental health experience. Do you think starting again on this journey at 44 makes sense? By then I would likely pay off my house and have money to pay for medical school. Honestly I feel like I would make the same amount of money either way so its not a financial question. Just wondering if its worth it and how can I prepare myself in these 10 years so that I don't waste anymore time when I decide to make that jump.

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[gyngyn]

Just wondering if its worth it and how can I prepare myself in these 10 years so that I don't waste anymore time when I decide to make that jump.

No one knows but you.

 

[Rapsidy]

Can anyone with experience give me some advice?
I am currently a software engineer. I plan to stay in this industry for 10 years as I make money to pay for medical school, a house and raising kids. My husband is also a software engineer. We are in our mid 30s. Growing up I wanted to be a doctor but due to mental health issues my grades suffered (but still not unfixable overall 3.32 sgpa maybe 3.0 had master in CS with 3.86 gpa). Lately I am feeling that sure I can make good money in Tech, but its not something I want to do forever because I want more purpose out of my life. I'm drawn to psychiatry because of my mental health experience. Do you think starting again on this journey at 44 makes sense? By then I would likely pay off my house and have money to pay for medical school. Honestly I feel like I would make the same amount of money either way so its not a financial question. Just wondering if its worth it and how can I prepare myself in these 10 years so that I don't waste anymore time when I decide to make that jump.

I think there is a lot easier routes to feel like you are getting more and helping with mental health than psychiatry. Trust me I get it I went into medical school with the intent of becoming a psychiatrist. But I wouldn’t do it at in my later 40’s or early 50’s, I feel exhausted many days even in my early 30’s in medical school.

Would you have to take prereqs? Shadow? Get clinical experience? Take the MCAT? If you are working full time during all of this that extends the time even longer. Have you looked at other routes like social work, NP, PA, licensed professional counselor?

As stated, only you can say if it’s worth pursuing. But if you are going to make the same money either way you’d be giving up at least 8 years of income to pursue this route that you wouldn’t otherwise give up.

 

[DR. Tran]

I think there is a lot easier routes to feel like you are getting more and helping with mental health than psychiatry. Trust me I get it I went into medical school with the intent of becoming a psychiatrist. But I wouldn’t do it at in my later 40’s or early 50’s, I feel exhausted many days even in my early 30’s in medical school.

Would you have to take prereqs? Shadow? Get clinical experience? Take the MCAT? If you are working full time during all of this that extends the time even longer. Have you looked at other routes like social work, NP, PA, licensed professional counselor?

As stated, only you can say if it’s worth pursuing. But if you are going to make the same money either way you’d be giving up at least 8 years of income to pursue this route that you wouldn’t otherwise give up.

I took most of the prerequisite but would have to do a postbacc cause I was dealing with mental health issues as I was taking them and didn't do well. Financially, I have a master in computer science (3.867 gpa) and I know I can finance the medical degree if I wait another 5 years to work and also have babies. I got the ok from my doctor that medical school is possible for me. I am now starting to think it might be better if I wait until my kids start elementary school for me to start medical school both financially and in terms of responsibility to them. But I don't know what the process of medical school would be like just in intensity and time.

 

[Rapsidy]

It’s intense, and it’s intensely time consuming. I have a friend who has 2 kids in medical school and he misses a ton of time with them, and I know that is a regret of his.

It’s basically a full time job plus an extra 20-40 hours a week of just studying. I’m not saying it can’t be done with young kids, it absolutely can. But it’s not done alone and you’ll need a village of help and you’ll have to be okay with missing a lot of time with them.

 

[Fluidity of Movement]

You can easily get in a 25+ year medical career after graduation at 48. The question is do you want to be a psychiatrist? I would be more concerned about sacrificing the next 10 years doing something you don't want to do. That lack of fulfillment will bleed into everything else you do and likely your family.

It is very noble and these are difficult questions to answer. I think it is a bit much to wait until "the perfect time" to go to medical school. I have fallen into a bit of that trap myself and it's been 10 years for me since I started, and have my share of regrets for waiting so long to get back in the game. I can't necessarily say I would change anything, but I guess the emotional side of me won't let it go that I won't get that time back.

If I were forced to wait another 10 years, I would definitely be doing something mental-health related until then. You could definitely get an LPC (or whatever your state's version is) license or even a life-coach and be developing your skills at least in that regard. Heck, there are even volunteer opportunities such as crisis lines that require little training. You can do a lot of things part time and online these days.

I wouldn't just ignore this path completely for ten years, and then magically have the same passion as you do now. I'd talk with your partner and see realistically when would be a good time for you to go, but I would caution against waiting for that "perfect time," as that tends to get pushed further and farther out as things go on.

 

[deleted1153076]

Can anyone with experience give me some advice?
I am currently a software engineer. I plan to stay in this industry for 10 years as I make money to pay for medical school, a house and raising kids. My husband is also a software engineer. We are in our mid 30s. Growing up I wanted to be a doctor but due to mental health issues my grades suffered (but still not unfixable overall 3.32 sgpa maybe 3.0 had master in CS with 3.86 gpa). Lately I am feeling that sure I can make good money in Tech, but its not something I want to do forever because I want more purpose out of my life. I'm drawn to psychiatry because of my mental health experience. Do you think starting again on this journey at 44 makes sense? By then I would likely pay off my house and have money to pay for medical school. Honestly I feel like I would make the same amount of money either way so its not a financial question. Just wondering if its worth it and how can I prepare myself in these 10 years so that I don't waste anymore time when I decide to make that jump.

I wouldn't... you have a good thing going. Also there are quicker routes to psych care including psych NP and therapy. The reason I became a doctor is that 1)It was important to my ego to prove I could do something hard and medicine was that mountain I chose.. 2)I liked working with psych patients, but I also like understanding things on a very detailed level. 3)I wanted financial security. some people are motivted my more alturistic things, that may be you. It really depends on what being a psychiatrist means to you. Objectively though I would say its a bad idea, that doesn't preclude you doing it as I don't know your motivations. Whatever you decide, make sure you are good at your job. Motivations aside, the world needs more competent psychiatrists period..

 

[AlbinoHawk DO]

No, i don't think starting medicine at age 44 makes any sense. While you may like psychiatry, you aren't guaranteed to match. You also don't know where you'll match. The toll it will take to do clinicals and residency at 48 years old doesn't sound pleasant and much else dealing with the environment of medicine where you're like a child all over again

 

[deleted1153076]

No, i don't think starting medicine at age 44 makes any sense. While you may like psychiatry, you aren't guaranteed to match. You also don't know where you'll match. The toll it will take to do clinicals and residency at 48 years old doesn't sound pleasant and much else dealing with the environment of medicine where you're like a child all over again

Yes this is good advice. The nature of residency is so arbitrary, you are bound to whatever institution you end up at even if your life is turned upside down. For instance I just so happened to luck out matching to the place I did when the pandemic showed up, residents in NYC and California got royally screwed by their programs and draconian lockdown laws. Psych residents in NYC were being pulled in to cover ICU's, violating duty hours and all kinds of mess all while not getting hazard pay. Even when they had time off they had to just sit in their apartments. I was in a semi-rural area that never got hit hard so my workload actually decreased for the first year and although venues were closed I just spent alot of time outdoors, my state wasn't stupid enough to lock down the forest and beaches(looking at you California).

 

[esob]

It can be done, but you only do it if you CAN'T DO ANYTHING ELSE. That means literally you will just be miserable if you don't become a doctor. That's when you go to med school because there is no other choice. I did it in my 40's and did just fine. Yes, some attendings treat you like a kid, but many more are enamored that you've done something other than medicine since you were a zygote.

 

[chicandtoughness]

I'm a (pretty successful) mental health clinician who is switching paths to be a physician. If you just want to be involved in mental healthcare, there are plenty of faster, easier, more financially reasonable, and equally fulfilling ways to get there.

Ask yourself first and foremost whether you want to do MEDICINE. Psychiatry is going to be like 10% of your 4-year med school experience, and 1/3rd of your residency will be internal med. Are you okay with slogging through the medicine in order to get to the psychiatry?

If ALL you want is to be involved in mental health, be a psychologist, a clinical social worker, a mental health clinician. Happy to share any of my experiences.

 

[ksheridan123]

If you do want to pursue medicine and you think that you can handle it with everything else happening in your life, I don't see why not.

Money is not a problem, right? Though, do you really want to pursue psychiatry, or just have a career that's more about mental health? Psychiatry is about medicine, after all. There are other options, like being a psychologist or even a social worker.

Again, look into more options that better suit your plan first.

 

[DR. Tran]

Thank you everyone for your advice. I think medicine is an expensive and risky route to take at 44 now that I analyze myself. Maybe one day I will get tired of this software engineering track or maybe one day it will get tired of me, but I think if my goal is to give mental health care there are other ways that will be less risky.