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[SnakeDaddy]

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I am a 21 year old junior going pre-med at my local university. I am in good standing grade-wise (3.8 GPA) and have a lot of research/ work/ volunteer experiences in health care. I have recently been thinking if being a doctor is the life I want to pursue. I take the MCAT June of this year and am on my way to the final steps of more or less cementing my future as a doctor. The main thing pulling me back is my family and hearing how life is in residency and med-school in general. Now I always knew it would be tough, but I guess I had been closed-minded to thinking about it critically. As mentioned before I have a girlfriend I consider family (not just a normal thing but a 7 year relationship, basically married, would be if we could afford it at this point) and I don't want to stress our relationship. Also, I enjoy some free time to myself without feeling stressed 24/7. I know pre-med classes can be stressful, but I feel as if med-school would be a whole different beast. Another thing that bothers me is giving up my work life for basically 6 years, working nonstop when I do get my job, and the finical debt I would be in. I know being a doctor is hard work, but that's not the problem for me. I just want to not be married to my work and still enjoy life. I work at a hospital and I see what the doctors go through and it looks kinda crappy.
If i decide to not go pre-med and just stick with a biology degree, what job opportunities are available that make decent money (willing to get a masters) with good home-life and free time? What are your thoughts on this? Based on what you have read is medicine not for me?

 

[Durty-Trixxx]

It's perfectly normal to feel trepidation about med school/residency. It's basically a minimum of 7 years of obscene levels of stress, long hours, and sleep deprivation. Then as your reward for making it thru that, you get another 30-40 years of even more work, stress, and sleep deprivation --- YIPPEE !!

At this point I would look at the bigger picture of "the rest of your life". If you work at a hospital and think that a doctor's life looks "crappy" then I'm not sure why you want to enter the profession? Please don't say money because there are other easier pathways to achieve financial security. There are YouTubers who make $5 million a year posting a 10 min. video every few days, for crying out loud.

My advice is to spend your senior year shadowing docs of different specialties and getting a real idea of what modern day doctoring is all about and not what you see on ridiculously fictional TV shows like "The Resident". Ask them honest questions about work-life balance and take it to heart. Also remember that a healthcare career can mean more than just an M.D. --- dentistry, podiatry, optometry, hospital administrator, IT consultant, etc. are all ways to be considered a "healthcare professional" with a nice salary but also have time for family and other passions.

 

[SnakeDaddy]

It's perfectly normal to feel trepidation about med school/residency. It's basically a minimum of 7 years of obscene levels of stress, long hours, and sleep deprivation. Then as your reward for making it thru that, you get another 30-40 years of even more work, stress, and sleep deprivation --- YIPPEE !!

At this point I would look at the bigger picture of "the rest of your life". If you work at a hospital and think that a doctor's life looks "crappy" then I'm not sure why you want to enter the profession? Please don't say money because there are other easier pathways to achieve financial security. There are YouTubers who make $5 million a year posting a 10 min. video every few days, for crying out loud.

My advice is to spend your senior year shadowing docs of different specialties and getting a real idea of what modern day doctoring is all about and not what you see on ridiculously fictional TV shows like "The Resident". Ask them honest questions about work-life balance and take it to heart. Also remember that a healthcare career can mean more than just an M.D. --- dentistry, podiatry, optometry, hospital administrator, IT consultant, etc. are all ways to be considered a "healthcare professional" with a nice salary but also have time for family and other passions.

The main reason was not really for money but more so because I enjoy science and know healthcare is a major sector of science. I know there are other options I have concisered such as chiropractor or vet, but in retrospect are these any less stressful or time demanding?

 

[jconnell82760]

I am a 21 year old junior going pre-med at my local university. I am in good standing grade-wise (3.8 GPA) and have a lot of research/ work/ volunteer experiences in health care. I have recently been thinking if being a doctor is the life I want to pursue. I take the MCAT June of this year and am on my way to the final steps of more or less cementing my future as a doctor. The main thing pulling me back is my family and hearing how life is in residency and med-school in general. Now I always knew it would be tough, but I guess I had been closed-minded to thinking about it critically. As mentioned before I have a girlfriend I consider family (not just a normal thing but a 7 year relationship, basically married, would be if we could afford it at this point) and I don't want to stress our relationship. Also, I enjoy some free time to myself without feeling stressed 24/7. I know pre-med classes can be stressful, but I feel as if med-school would be a whole different beast. Another thing that bothers me is giving up my work life for basically 6 years, working nonstop when I do get my job, and the finical debt I would be in. I know being a doctor is hard work, but that's not the problem for me. I just want to not be married to my work and still enjoy life. I work at a hospital and I see what the doctors go through and it looks kinda crappy.
If i decide to not go pre-med and just stick with a biology degree, what job opportunities are available that make decent money (willing to get a masters) with good home-life and free time? What are your thoughts on this? Based on what you have read is medicine not for me?

Have you considered PA? Still get the science/medicine focus but less schooling and often more "clinic" hours for a better home-life balance.

 

[pugsessed]

PA is a great option. This is a 2-3 year program. You might also like being a Physical therapist as well. Also if you like the science side of things you could look into being a CRA, a clinical research associate. There are other options in medical school and not just physicians who work in hospitals such as family medicine. Now I would discourage being a vet since vet school is actually harder to get into compared to medical school (since there any many less schools and still a huge competition).

 

[Goro]

I am a 21 year old junior going pre-med at my local university. I am in good standing grade-wise (3.8 GPA) and have a lot of research/ work/ volunteer experiences in health care. I have recently been thinking if being a doctor is the life I want to pursue. I take the MCAT June of this year and am on my way to the final steps of more or less cementing my future as a doctor. The main thing pulling me back is my family and hearing how life is in residency and med-school in general. Now I always knew it would be tough, but I guess I had been closed-minded to thinking about it critically. As mentioned before I have a girlfriend I consider family (not just a normal thing but a 7 year relationship, basically married, would be if we could afford it at this point) and I don't want to stress our relationship. Also, I enjoy some free time to myself without feeling stressed 24/7. I know pre-med classes can be stressful, but I feel as if med-school would be a whole different beast. Another thing that bothers me is giving up my work life for basically 6 years, working nonstop when I do get my job, and the finical debt I would be in. I know being a doctor is hard work, but that's not the problem for me. I just want to not be married to my work and still enjoy life. I work at a hospital and I see what the doctors go through and it looks kinda crappy.
If i decide to not go pre-med and just stick with a biology degree, what job opportunities are available that make decent money (willing to get a masters) with good home-life and free time? What are your thoughts on this? Based on what you have read is medicine not for me?

Lab tech (clinical)
Research tech
teaching
Allied health fields
nursing
PA
DDS
Podiatry
Lab mgr

Getting a research-based MS will open more doors.

 

[21Rush12]

Based on what I have read that you shared with us, I want to tell you that I think you are wise for looking at this goal with a critical lens and not pulling the wool over your eyes. There are people who don’t think honestly about these things until they are in medical school already.

Med school is not a black hole of misery. The first two years are just classes, just like undergrad. More information, but nothing radical. If I could have had any knowledge going forward about medical school, it would have been that med school is ABSOLUTELY NOWHERE NEAR as bad as people make it out to be. My personal feeling is that those people never worked a real demanding healthcare job before it; I have never worked as hard in my life as I did working 15 hour shifts in a dialysis clinic. Med school is challenging, but many other things are challenging as well.

Clinical years I haven’t done yet, but third year is certainly very busy, depending on the rotation. Fourth year is much more flexible.

Residency is a demanding job, but every doctor before you and after you will have gone through it. People get married during med school or residency, start families, and live their lives.

You are only giving up “work life” for the two preclinical years really; third year onward you are with patients doing things (although unpaid). Residency is a low paying job, but a job nonetheless. After that is a well-compensated career doing arguably one of the most meaningful things you can do, which is help other people.

It’s all about time management and prioritization. If your relationship is important to you, you will prioritize it and make time for it and it will persevere. If you want to spend time pursuing hobbies, you will prioritize it and make time for it and you will be able to do those things.

The name of the game is efficiency, and you learn this skill as you progress through training.

If you change your mind, that’s fine. But don’t misconstrue your valid concerns for signs you’re not able to become a doctor.

 

[Swan Ronson]

FWIW, and if it offers any anxiolysis, if you graduate with a 3.8 bio degree, theres borderline anything in the world you could do. i speak largely of finance and related fields. you'd need to be creative, but a lot of HR departments would look fondly on someone with the chops for a 3.8 in a difficult major who was -- i assume -- carving out time for altruistically-tilted extracurriculars. you could also -- and perhaps would need to -- pursue a masters in accounting or finance or management science which could lead you right into healthcare consulting or pharma consulting or lifesciences i-banking...the list would go on. most of those are just a year.

 

[ExcitatorySynapse]

I agree with Swan Ronson, had I not been depressed and keen on MD/PhD, I could have worked at an investment bank or elsewhere in financial services. You can also look into consulting and startups. Most big places are done recruiting for their summer class, but I think you could still find smaller firms that are willing to take you. If you are applying this year, I suggest that you write your MCAT, submit the applications, and try something else over the summer. I regret not exploring more and taking advantage of the opportunities I had at my school and I think your trepidation is normal.

 

[SnakeDaddy]

I just want to thank you all for your advice it seriously is nice to have a place like sdn to ask others in this possible position or that have been in my shoes before. I think I have been leaning towards PA school. I am hopeful that with many hours of experience and working at a hopitial (3000+ hours) that I should get into PA school alright. Anyway thanks again!