Non traditional DPM student (pending) asking advice

[RSSC]

Since this board seems pretty positive I am going to ask for some advice from DPM residents and practicing docs.

I started PCPM years ago and dropped out after a year in panic over student loans and making a living. I am now in the Pharmaceutical industry and doing well (over $100K+). Being a doc has been my dream and it does get frustrating sometimes. To complicate matters, I have 3 kids.

Is it worth it to retire from a lucrative career to spend the next 6 or 7 years in school/residency and hope to make a living and pay back loans??????

Any honest advice would be helpful.

Thanks!

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[Feli]

IMHO, this is probably more of a question to discuss with your wife and best friend than a public forum.

We have a few career changers (who were making solid $$ before matriculating) in my Barry 09 class who have done well in the pod program: pharm rep, foreign MD, accountant, nurses, etc. On the contrary, we also had a couple career changers in the same c/o 2008 grouping who threw in the (frustrated) towel, and we even had some who were sent packing involuntarily due to a challenging curriculum.

It's all a matter of what you want IMO. Keep in mind that it is definitely not just 4yrs. There is 3yrs of residency +/- fellowship afterwards.

Heck, I never had a decent paying (>$20/hr) job before pod school. Still, if I was 18yrs old again yet knew then what I know now about being a doctor in general (MD, DO, or DPM... does not matter), I would have to really think hard about whether nursing or medicine suited me better. It's a poersonal decision. If you're smart and hardworking, you can excel in anything (moms tell kids that because it's true lol), and I think career choice is therefore a very individual decision based on many things: social personality... financial need... needs of your loved ones... religion... etc etc etc. Nobody fully understands those things like you do.

Personally, I have to become pretty introspective to make important life decisions like the one you are contemplating. There is no cookie cutter answer for major life decisions; I've figured that out with my upcoming process of selecting a residency training program.

Best of Luck