MD & DO Options for Med School Dropout?

[Anon1948]

I was looking for advice and your opinion (especially if you've been in a similar or know someone else in such a situation). I completed two years of medical school, but I left because I realized that it wasn't something I wanted after all. All my efforts until then was to please my parents, instead of doing medicine because it was solely my choice. As you can imagine, it became more difficult to stay motivated to study. Although I left and am at peace with my decision, I'm at a loss of what to do next or where to go. It's weird being asked the question, "What do you like to do?" I think I want to stay in medicine because it makes sense. Finding a new job/career that just makes me happy is just a pipe dream right? Is it possible?

I have a B.S. degree in Biology and two years of medical school under my belt. Other than that, I worked as a lab technician (many years ago) in college. I'm struggling to figure out what to do next. I feel limited because some things that are potentially interesting requires at least another Bachelor's or Master's degree or 2+ years of education. This would equal more loans, which I can't afford. I have enough loans that would equal 5 years of med school (even though I only completed two) already.

Please help!

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[Rogue42]

Some medical schools will work with you to give you a Master's degree if you have completed two years of course work.

Reach out to your school and see if this option is available to you

 

[Mad Jack]

Could try to get into medical device/ pharmaceutical sales

 

[Goro]

Clinical trials mgr

Lab tech or mgr

 

[Lawpy]

Learn programming and go into tech

Or find something like clinical trials coordinator

 

[GoSpursGo]

So, I say this not to kick you while you're down, but for other students in the future who consider doing what you did--I strongly suggest having an idea of what your plan B is before you drop out of school. It is MUCH easier to directly transition from school to something else before you start accruing a gap in your resume. Basically, the longer your remain out of school and unemployed, the harder it will be to wind up with a job that is fulfilling.

To that end, I suggest finding a job, any job, ASAP. Some of the ideas above are good. It may not be exactly what you want or what you see yourself doing for the next 20 years, but any experience that is gaining you new skills, establishing new connections, and re-establishing that you can be a productive worker is going to be valuable for you. Your "perfect" job may be 2-3 jobs down the line, but you need to start building experience to get there.

 

[DrDummyAccount]

You can literally do anything you want.

 

[lanzhou_lamian]

Learn programming and go into tech

Or find something like clinical trials coordinator

Seconding this. I have a med-school drop out friend as well as several career changer friends that did coding bootcamps, and they all are doing well for themselves currently.

Most programming bootcamps are <6 months long and teach you very employable and flexible skills. It also seems like the tech industry tends to be more focused on what skills you know versus what degrees you have (i.e. if you can pass a coding interview, they can overlook the fact that you don't have an MS in comp sci.)

 

[wholeheartedly]

I was looking for advice and your opinion (especially if you've been in a similar or know someone else in such a situation). I completed two years of medical school, but I left because I realized that it wasn't something I wanted after all. All my efforts until then was to please my parents, instead of doing medicine because it was solely my choice. As you can imagine, it became more difficult to stay motivated to study. Although I left and am at peace with my decision, I'm at a loss of what to do next or where to go. It's weird being asked the question, "What do you like to do?" I think I want to stay in medicine because it makes sense. Finding a new job/career that just makes me happy is just a pipe dream right? Is it possible?

I have a B.S. degree in Biology and two years of medical school under my belt. Other than that, I worked as a lab technician (many years ago) in college. I'm struggling to figure out what to do next. I feel limited because some things that are potentially interesting requires at least another Bachelor's or Master's degree or 2+ years of education. This would equal more loans, which I can't afford. I have enough loans that would equal 5 years of med school (even though I only completed two) already.

Please help!

You can do clinical laboratory science which is more clinical and better paying than a research lab tech gig. After a BS you can often do this with one additional year such as UNDs post bac program (4+1). There are a few states like MN that don’t require licensure and places like Mayo that will take some some non CLS people in the clinical labs but it restricts your mobility quite a bit. I did the post bacc 4+1 and loved it and loved working in the field. Some places like Mayo will also give tuition benefits for their non CLS people to take classes to become CLS and have partnerships with schools to do this.

Medical Laboratory Science (MLS)

UND has offered a Medical Laboratory Science (MLS degree) since 1949. Our Medical Lab Science programs have 70+ clinical affiliates in 15 states.

med.und.edu

Opportunities for advancement depend on where you work. In small places it’s pretty much regular CLS, lead, lab mgr. But in bigger places you can do quality, education, technical specialist, and diagnostics research and development. I got into both education and development and enjoyed it quite a bit.

Clinical trials is another good option and I think there’s a lot of opportunities for advancement once you get experience and I think compensation can be pretty decent at higher levels.

Then here’s a list of all kinds of allied health fields people might not know exist for anyone who might be looking or have a similar question. Most will require some additional training.

Programs A-Z - Health Sciences Education - Mayo Clinic College of Medicine & Science

Alphabetical list of health sciences training programs offered by Mayo Clinic School of Health Sciences in Arizona, Florida, and Minnesota.

college.mayo.edu

 

[wholeheartedly]

Also keep in mind if you get a full-time non-student job at a university, a lot of times you can qualify for discounted tuition. In some cases hugely discounted which could help you advance your schooling without racking up a ton more debt.

 

[Angus Avagadro]

Majoring in Biology is a risk for pre meds because if you are not accepted, what do you do with a BS in Bio? This is basically what you are facing now. The good news is that you can think and function at a high level academically. I completely agree with @GoSpursGo , you should find ANY job that is remotely appealing now. This will help your self esteem immensely while you sort things out. Lose the sense of urgency you have to get your dream job right away. Employers look for reliable, loyal, employees they can train and put in positions for advancement. Recognize this will take some time to build up your resume. Good luck and best wishes!

 

[Dral]

Yes find a job NOW. Do not let your CV get any kind of significant gap where you aren't doing something either work-wise or education-wise. A gap will make you potentially less attractive as a candidate for employers down the line.

I agree with checking with your school. Maybe you could get a masters level degree or maybe you could work and your school could let you take some courses to get an MPH or research/science masters in less than a 2 year time frame.

 

[deleted1100659]

Drug rep is quite a lucrative job. The ones I interact with, are making in the six figures, early on in their career.

 

[Angus Avagadro]

Drug rep is quite a lucrative job. The ones I interact with, are making in the six figures, early on in their career.

True, but it is a tough business. Your territory gets downsized, your product gets pulled, but a couple of my neighbors are reps and do well.

 

[lumya]

I have a health admin graduate degree and I had two med school dropouts in my class (I think one did the preclinical years and the other noped out after day 1). Most of my former classmates work in hospital administration, state health agencies, pharmaceutical companies.

I know some places have MBAs geared towards healthcare specifically. Graduate programs like these are also very work friendly and I knew many people who got the degree part-time while working full time in the hospital doing things like clinical research, office admin, coders, finance, etc.

 

[Dave1980]

I was looking for advice and your opinion (especially if you've been in a similar or know someone else in such a situation). I completed two years of medical school, but I left because I realized that it wasn't something I wanted after all. All my efforts until then was to please my parents, instead of doing medicine because it was solely my choice. As you can imagine, it became more difficult to stay motivated to study. Although I left and am at peace with my decision, I'm at a loss of what to do next or where to go. It's weird being asked the question, "What do you like to do?" I think I want to stay in medicine because it makes sense. Finding a new job/career that just makes me happy is just a pipe dream right? Is it possible?

I have a B.S. degree in Biology and two years of medical school under my belt. Other than that, I worked as a lab technician (many years ago) in college. I'm struggling to figure out what to do next. I feel limited because some things that are potentially interesting requires at least another Bachelor's or Master's degree or 2+ years of education. This would equal more loans, which I can't afford. I have enough loans that would equal 5 years of med school (even though I only completed two) already.

Please help!

there is nothing good to transition to after dropping out of med school. i suppose nursing would be the best. could probably get into a 1 year accelerated course.

 

[Lawpy]

there is nothing good to transition to after dropping out of med school. i suppose nursing would be the best. could probably get into a 1 year accelerated course.

Well there are good backups but OP sadly majored in biology so they're kinda stuck with the above options

 

[ccp005]

Well there are good backups but OP sadly majored in biology so they're kinda stuck with the above options

I dont know how old you are, but this is a common misconception in this day and age. Your major doesn't really matter unless you are going into one of the few ones that require a pre-determined degree, such as engineering or maybe accounting. There are literally countless ways his career could go depending on what entry level job he chooses next. There are bio majors who are consultants for major firms, product managers in tech, etc.

A general "business major" isn't going to be a big advantage over a bio degree, for example.

 

[Lawpy]

I dont know how old you are, but this is a common misconception in this day and age. Your major doesn't really matter unless you are going into one of the few ones that require a pre-determined degree, such as engineering or maybe accounting. There are literally countless ways his career could go depending on what entry level job he chooses next. There are bio majors who are consultants for major firms, product managers in tech, etc.

A general "business major" isn't going to be a big advantage over a bio degree, for example.

I said like i did in the context of OP wanting to remain in medicine.

 

[ccp005]

Don't know much about you so I can't give that great of advice. What's important to you? Are you still looking for something lucrative? What do you like?

If you don't know then get out and get experience and start researching industries and careers.

If you're looking for something lucrative with no further schooling you can still do... consider:
Management Consulting
IT Consulting
Med-device Sales
Pharma Sales
Tech Sales
Business Analyst --> Product Manager (Tech)
Marketing analyst --> Marketing Manager --> Product Marketing Manager (Tech)
UX design (Tech)

These are just a few that come to mind. It would take all day to go through them all. If you want to make money good places to go are the Med-device industry or the Tech industry.

Edit: You'd potentially need to do a bootcamp for UX design. You can potentially learn by yourself, but without a design background this would be easier

 

[ccp005]

I said like i did in the context of OP wanting to remain in medicine.

Gotcha. My apologies

 

[Piskaupf]

That was probably the dumbest thing you could do.

Also, you quit because med school is something you don’t want and now you’re asking other people what you want to do? Huh?

 

[flasheroonie]

That was probably the dumbest thing you could do.

Also, you quit because med school is something you don’t want and now you’re asking other people what you want to do? Huh?

I agree. Sounds like you still need to figure out what you want to do with your life. No forum will ever be able to answer that question for you.

 

[Ganon]

We need to normalize RN/RT/Rad Tech/Ultrasound etc. as the *normal* undergrad paths to medical school.

Formulate a BS degree that has multiple "job" tracks that also gives you all of the medical school prerequisites without extending the length of the degree.

Make that the RULE, not the exception.

Less than half of applicants get into medical school, we should *not* be screwing the majority of premeds.

 

[Proudfather94]

Op hasn't been on since Sep 24th. I have not started yet but if I felt this way going into 3rd year I would just finish it at that point, unless I had a full ride. You're probably over 100k in loans at that point plus undergrad loans and now you're stuck. At least if you stick it out until after residency you will be able to have a job with enough money to pay off your loans.

 

[ChordaEpiphany]

Tech is a solid option.

There was a guy on here posting about his cocaine addiction who got expelled, did a CS bootcamp and grinded leetcode questions, and is now making solid money at FAANG.

Tech is the new "doctor/lawyer," and things will only skew more and more that way in our lifetimes. Even a low level technical position at FAANG will net you more than an average physician over a lifetime, especially when you consider the various financial/tax advantages of their payment structure. These positions also provide a halfway decent QOL at a young age, too. Yes, you work a lot, but working 80 hours/week at 24 years old at $200K TC means you can basically wave your bank account at domestic duties. 80 hours/week is always bad, but it's a lot more tolerable when you have a laundry service, housekeeping, grocery delivery/company-provided food, etc...

The money is so good in tech, especially in FAANG, I'd argue most of us could drop out right now, take a low-level coding job, go back for an MS in CS, and probably wind up financially way better off. My roommate went from a communications degree from a no-name university working at Starbucks to $100K/year in Fintech over 4 years. I'd put his overall ambition and work ethic at 25% of an average med student. Senior SWE at FAANG make $300-400K. At the staff level they are making ortho money. At the director level they eclipse neurosurgery. All of this without $300-400K in loans and 10 years of barely minimum wage labor. Check out levels.fyi. Looking at compensation schemes from other industries, it becomes very hard to justify going into this profession unless you are truly passionate about patient care, especially when you factor in the opportunity cost of training.

I only see the money heading out of medicine. Medicine and the people who provide it will be beaten and battered in the name of affordability, when the reality is that we simply haven't found a way to provide these services affordably yet. The result will be governments, private equity firms, and hospital administration coming to you, the doctor, with their hand out, telling you to keep working hard, maybe even harder, but accept a lower salary. If you don't like medicine, dropping out is no longer a horrendous idea. "Doctor" is not the golden ticket to the upper middle class it used to be, and there are plenty of opportunities out there for people who work hard.

 

[Phloston]

I was looking for advice and your opinion (especially if you've been in a similar or know someone else in such a situation). I completed two years of medical school, but I left because I realized that it wasn't something I wanted after all. All my efforts until then was to please my parents, instead of doing medicine because it was solely my choice. As you can imagine, it became more difficult to stay motivated to study. Although I left and am at peace with my decision, I'm at a loss of what to do next or where to go. It's weird being asked the question, "What do you like to do?" I think I want to stay in medicine because it makes sense. Finding a new job/career that just makes me happy is just a pipe dream right? Is it possible?

I have a B.S. degree in Biology and two years of medical school under my belt. Other than that, I worked as a lab technician (many years ago) in college. I'm struggling to figure out what to do next. I feel limited because some things that are potentially interesting requires at least another Bachelor's or Master's degree or 2+ years of education. This would equal more loans, which I can't afford. I have enough loans that would equal 5 years of med school (even though I only completed two) already.

Please help!

Honestly, I would just learn crypto and technical analysis and then live remotely somewhere and just do that.

 

[Princeton Medical Student]

French Foreign Legion!