Quitting job for pre-med prereqs?

[TheDreamingDog]

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Hey folks!

I think I may need to quit my job now to pursue this. There are only two universities nearby, they both only offer daytime classes, and my work probably won't be willing to give me a couple hours off in the middle of the day. Also, I wanted to hit some summer classes to speed things up significantly and there's no way I could do that with my job.

The job is an engineering job, I do own a home, but single/no kids so I can get pretty lean as needed. Also, I have about $60k saved up from engineering that I can use. Part of the plan would be to get a medically oriented part-time job to slow the depletion of my funds. May have to take out some loans, as well. Thinking a two-three year trajectory for matriculation at this time.

What do you all think? What would you do in this situation? Just wanted to reach out for some external input before I do this. My parents will def. think I've lost my mind! Thanks for reading!

 

[mk04447]

I did it, use your money sparingly because you'll need it along the way.

 

[BC_89]

I’d calculate and crunch my numbers with a budget plan just so I know what’s ahead of me. Sounds like you know it’s a marathon not a sprint and some sacrifices need to be made. Good job on thinking ahead with the savings. If shadowing / volunteering are up to par I’d consider keeping part time status of your current job (if even possible) to alleviate the debt but outside of that I don’t see much else I’d do differently. Best wishes on the journey

 

[TheDreamingDog]

Thanks so much for the responses! I guess I was just hoping for a little reassurance since it's such a huge, life-changing step to quit my job. Once I do that, it's a one-way trip towards medicine.

Plus, the advice on this forum is to NOT quit your job while undertaking the pre-medical journey. I completely understand that advice but there must be quite a few others out there in a similar situation with minimal class offerings. I guess those of us in that position have a very serious decision to make before we even start.

Thanks again!

 

[Forever Geebs]

Thanks so much for the responses! I guess I was just hoping for a little reassurance since it's such a huge, life-changing step to quit my job. Once I do that, it's a one-way trip towards medicine.

Plus, the advice on this forum is to NOT quit your job while undertaking the pre-medical journey. I completely understand that advice but there must be quite a few others out there in a similar situation with minimal class offerings. I guess those of us in that position have a very serious decision to make before we even start.

Thanks again!

Do what's best for you. Many of us did and have no regrets, but on that same note, I'm sure there are others that did and regretted it. We don't know your financial situation and flexibility, so take our advice with a grain of salt.

Either way, best of luck to you.

 

[DarklingThrush]

Thanks so much for the responses! I guess I was just hoping for a little reassurance since it's such a huge, life-changing step to quit my job. Once I do that, it's a one-way trip towards medicine.

Plus, the advice on this forum is to NOT quit your job while undertaking the pre-medical journey. I completely understand that advice but there must be quite a few others out there in a similar situation with minimal class offerings. I guess those of us in that position have a very serious decision to make before we even start.

Thanks again!

I quit my job to moved back to my home state where fortunately I was still a resident (long story). I used my entire savings for 2 years of classes which amounted to about 60 credits. It cost me around 20k. Luckily my fiancé helps with living costs and other expenses. If you can, you could try to scribe for a private practice. I make pretty good money working part time around my class schedule. A lot of places pay scribes nothing, but if you look around long enough and get lucky, maybe you can get some experience and get paid for it at the same time.

 

[TheDreamingDog]

Thanks @DarklingThrush and @Forever Geebs! I've read your other thread @DarklingThrush and I've seen a lot of your advice around the forums @Forever Geebs.

I'm glad you mentioned scribing. Part of my plan is to grab a scribing position to both get clinical experience and make a little bit of money with the money being the lesser of the two motivations. I just need to get a resume cleaned up, draft a good cover letter, and start applying to the dozens of positions I've seen around here. I had that on my to-do list for this weekend.

I'll also be getting my Labrador through therapy training and doing some volunteer hours at a hospice center with him. I think that will be a lot of fun for my pup, the patients, and myself and my dog's demeanor is perfect for it. Can't think of a better way for my best bud to use his talents while brightening some days!

How did you all feel when you made the decision to quit your job to pursue this? Were you all scared, nervous, anxious, excited, stoked, giddy? I keep going back and forth between feeling excited/positive and scared/nervous. I'm mostly scared about money...but also, a little bit about how hard it will be for me to get into school with my poor initial academic performance as a young man (which I can proudly say I did turn around earning approx. a 3.8-3.9 GPA on the last 90 hours of my engineering degree and getting Summa Cum Laude honors).

Thanks again everyone! The advice here of people that have done it all is amazingly invaluable!

 

[TheDreamingDog]

Oh yeah! Hey, so the general advice here is to not retake prereqs if you earned a C or better. I earned A's already on Phys 1/2 + Labs, Biology 1, Chemisty 1/2 + Labs but that was about 5-6 years ago. I was considering retaking everything just as a refresher for the MCAT since everything was done so long ago and because I need the GPA repair. Does the usual advice still hold in this case? Should I just move on to Orgo, Bio 2, etc. and self-study the other matieral for the MCAT?

Thanks!

 

[DarklingThrush]

Thanks @DarklingThrush and @Forever Geebs! I've read your other thread @DarklingThrush and I've seen a lot of your advice around the forums @Forever Geebs.

I'm glad you mentioned scribing. Part of my plan is to grab a scribing position to both get clinical experience and make a little bit of money with the money being the lesser of the two motivations. I just need to get a resume cleaned up, draft a good cover letter, and start applying to the dozens of positions I've seen around here. I had that on my to-do list for this weekend.

I'll also be getting my Labrador through therapy training and doing some volunteer hours at a hospice center with him. I think that will be a lot of fun for my pup, the patients, and myself and my dog's demeanor is perfect for it. Can't think of a better way for my best bud to use his talents while brightening some days!

How did you all feel when you made the decision to quit your job to pursue this? Were you all scared, nervous, anxious, excited, stoked, giddy? I keep going back and forth between feeling excited/positive and scared/nervous. I'm mostly scared about money...but also, a little bit about how hard it will be for me to get into school with my poor initial academic performance as a young man (which I can proudly say I did turn around earning approx. a 3.8-3.9 GPA on the last 90 hours of my engineering degree and getting Summa Cum Laude honors).

Thanks again everyone! The advice here of people that have done it all is amazingly invaluable!

I'm not entirely sure about retaking pre reqs, so I won't comment on that. In regards to leaving my job, I was terrified. I had only been away from undergrad for a few years, but I had a very solid career start. I had successfully coached two of the best junior teams in the nation for my sport, and I was well compensated. I was set up well to reach my goals of coaching at a collegiate level... in fact I had been offered a few positions at the time I decided to go back to school. I tried to remind myself that I could always come back if I wanted, but that I would never be happy if I didn't try and reach my goals. I also spent an entire year researching this change in career path, so I felt pretty confident in my decision. I think that scribing is a very good idea, and you're very lucky that there are multiple scribing opportunities in your area. Stay away from scribing companies.... you won't make any monney.