Should I apply to Med School just to work in a niche I love?

[notthathonest]

I recently graduated form undergrad and I work as an investment analyst for a large financial services firm. I plan to stay in this line of work and I do not have that much interest in being a physician (except I think surgery is cool). Currently, I make ~120k in a HCOL living city. Salary trajectory is good, with the opportunity to earn 2-300k a year over the next 3-5 years.

In my field, you "cover" an industry sector. This could be software, factories, restaurants, medical devices - pretty much any niche you can think of.

My favorite industry by far is biotech & life sciences. I find it 10x more interesting than anything else. My absolute dream job would be to work at an investment firm covering biotech / pharma / life sciences. The vast, vast majority of people in these jobs who cover biotech have MDs or PHDs (or even both).

I am considering doing a post-bacc, taking the MCAT, and doing clinical volunteering to be able to apply to medical school, and if I get in, recruit for an investment analyst job with biotech coverage. I could be a very strong applicant for these types of jobs as I would be competing with MDs with no finance experience. Total comp for a job like this would be ~200k out of med school and 3-400k after a year or two.

This seems like a very uphill climb, and I doubt adcoms would admit anybody who does not want to be a physician. Also, it does seem crazy to dedicate time to apply + 4 years of intense study simply to get a niche job I want to be in. I have heard the general advice is "You won't make it unless you have a real passion for medicine" but curious to get anyone's view.

4 years is not too long in the context of an either career, but the opportunity cost is huge, and I'd have to put a ton of effort into even applying. Just a question of doing something I like vs doing something I love.

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[LunaOri]

Talk to people at your firm who work in the niche in which you are interested. They will know much more than we do about what you need to do to get hired.

 

[Med Ed]

The vast, vast majority of people in these jobs who cover biotech have MDs or PHDs (or even both).

Are these MDs who completed residency and practiced before transitioning to the financial world? Or are they MDs who couldn't or wouldn't do residency and practice?

Along the same lines, are these PhDs who had productive research careers and decided to make a switch? Or are they PhDs who couldn't otherwise find a job after the second postdoc?

 

[notthathonest]

Are these MDs who completed residency and practiced before transitioning to the financial world? Or are they MDs who couldn't or wouldn't do residency and practice?

Along the same lines, are these PhDs who had productive research careers and decided to make a switch? Or are they PhDs who couldn't otherwise find a job after the second postdoc?

For MDs it is a mix of both - some did residency for a year or two, some went straight after completing MD. Seems like it is MDs who for one reason or another, decided to not practice medicine. However, they seem relatively accomplished, I have seen Harvard/Stanford MDs in these jobs.

Not sure about the PhDs.

 

[Goro]

I recently graduated form undergrad and I work as an investment analyst for a large financial services firm. I plan to stay in this line of work and I do not have that much interest in being a physician (except I think surgery is cool). Currently, I make ~120k in a HCOL living city. Salary trajectory is good, with the opportunity to earn 2-300k a year over the next 3-5 years.

In my field, you "cover" an industry sector. This could be software, factories, restaurants, medical devices - pretty much any niche you can think of.

My favorite industry by far is biotech & life sciences. I find it 10x more interesting than anything else. My absolute dream job would be to work at an investment firm covering biotech / pharma / life sciences. The vast, vast majority of people in these jobs who cover biotech have MDs or PHDs (or even both).

I am considering doing a post-bacc, taking the MCAT, and doing clinical volunteering to be able to apply to medical school, and if I get in, recruit for an investment analyst job with biotech coverage. I could be a very strong applicant for these types of jobs as I would be competing with MDs with no finance experience. Total comp for a job like this would be ~200k out of med school and 3-400k after a year or two.

This seems like a very uphill climb, as I graduated with a ~3.3, and I doubt adcoms would admit anybody who does not want to be a physician. However, I am a URM so not sure how much my GPA would hold me back if I have a solid MCAT. Also, it does seem crazy to dedicate time to apply + 4 years of intense study simply to get a niche job I want to be in. I have heard the general advice is "You won't make it unless you have a real passion for medicine" but curious to get anyone's view.

4 years is not too long in the context of an either career, but the opportunity cost is huge, and I'd have to put a ton of effort into even applying. Just a question of doing something I like vs doing something I love.

No, I can't recommend medical school.

 

[DOVinciRobot]

Total comp for a job like this would be ~200k out of med school and 3-400k after a year or two.

Compared to making 200-300k starting next year basically at your current job? Looks like it based on this:

Currently, I make ~120k in a HCOL living city. Salary trajectory is good, with the opportunity to earn 2-300k a year over the next 3-5 years.

In summary, absolutely not…This would be paramount foolishness. And that doesn’t even cover the financial ramifications of such a detour, not even to begin to mention the whole spending time necessary to make yourself competitive to go to medical school at all, let alone the kind of place you can just leave medicine after getting the MD and do what you want (largely the Harvard, Yale, Stanford types).

Please don’t do this to yourself lol. Enjoy your life, your future self will be forever grateful

 

[GoSpursGo]

Moving to pre-med

 

[Hollow Knight]

This is a bad idea OP. You’d have to lie your butt off to have any shot at an acceptance, and we can see through that most of the time

Plus, there’s no guarantee you’d get a biotech job.

 

[notthathonest]

Compared to making 200-300k starting next year basically at your current job? Looks like it based on this:



In summary, absolutely not…This would be paramount foolishness. And that doesn’t even cover the financial ramifications of such a detour, not even to begin to mention the whole spending time necessary to make yourself competitive to go to medical school at all, let alone the kind of place you can just leave medicine after getting the MD and do what you want (largely the Harvard, Yale, Stanford types).

Please don’t do this to yourself lol. Enjoy your life, your future self will be forever grateful

• Re: Your point on financials - debt is not an issue here. I have a wealthy relative who is very pro-education and would likely cover the cost of my schooling. It is not likely I would see this money otherwise. My bigger concern is the opportunity cost of attending medical school (not earning $ for 4 years) which I've calculated to be anywhere between 300-500k.
• On pedigree - yes, there are ivy league MDs in these seats, but there are also people who went to no-name medical schools in them as well. For breaking in, just having an MD matters. But of course the school helps.

Curious if this changes your answer at all? I am leaning towards applying as I love biotech and would not likely be able to work in it without an MD, and in the finance industry, your earnings are heavily weighted towards the later stages of your career anyways.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Curious if this changes your answer at all? I am leaning towards applying as I love biotech and would not likely be able to work in it without an MD, and in the finance industry, your earnings are heavily weighted towards the later stages of your career anyways.

You don't need an MD to work in biotech.

So, what's it really like to work in biotech? - PMC

This essay provides insight into the daily life of a scientist in biotechnology, drawing on experience gained from working in companies ranging in size from four to more than 80,000 employees. The basic scientific training in molecular biology ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

The Pros and Cons of Working in the Biotech Industry

Like any field, there are upsides and downsides to working in biotech, and educating yourself can help you make an informed decision if you're considering a career in this industry.

www.biospace.com

 

[karaya]

I am considering doing a post-bacc, taking the MCAT, and doing clinical volunteering to be able to apply to medical school

4 years is not too long in the context of an either career, but the opportunity cost is huge, and I'd have to put a ton of effort into even applying.

It's not 4 years. It's more like 7 years when you add the postbacc, MCAT, and glide year.

 

[DOVinciRobot]

Re: Your point on financials - debt is not an issue here. I have a wealthy relative who is very pro-education and would likely cover the cost of my schooling. It is not likely I would see this money otherwise. My bigger concern is the opportunity cost of attending medical school (not earning $ for 4 years) which I've calculated to be anywhere between 300-500k.

No, the opportunity cost is a LOT higher than that when you factor in growth and investment of your current income….

And it’s more like 7 years and not 4 given how much you would have to put in just to make yourself an adequate candidate for medical school.

Curious if this changes your answer at all? I am leaning towards applying as I love biotech and would not likely be able to work in it without an MD, and in the finance industry, your earnings are heavily weighted towards the later stages of your career anyways.

You do not need an MD to work in biotech.

And no, it doesn’t change my answer at all. I think it would be a disastrous decision for you.

 

[secondariesftw]

am considering doing a post-bacc, taking the MCAT, and doing clinical volunteering to be able to apply to medical school, and if I get in, recruit for an investment analyst job with biotech coverage. I could be a very strong applicant for these types of jobs as I would be competing with MDs with no finance experience. Total comp for a job like this would be ~200k out of med school and 3-400k after a year or two.

4 years is not too long in the context of an either career, but the opportunity cost is huge, and I'd have to put a ton of effort into even applying. Just a question of doing something I like vs doing something I love.

Let me phrase this another way. You want to try to take a seat in a very limited availability field from someone that would actually practice medicine? For context Harvard Law has 550 seats but Harvard Medicine only has 165. Many schools have far less than that.

In order for you to actually get one of these seats, you will have to lie on your application. No medical school would accept you if you even hint at the narrative you have provided. Your PS needs to answer why medicine. I want a medical degree so I can run a biomedical hedge fund is not going to cut it.

Honestly, you would be better off pursuing a degree in health sciences if all you want is the background knowledge so that you can be a better analyst.

 

[jvquarterback]

Find somewhere you can do a one year masters in clinical or transitional medicine.

All you need to learn is how to read preclinical and phase one and two studies.

You don’t need any degree to do what you’re asking. Just get in good with the people you’re already working for.

 

[RunnerDad]

This might be an unpopular take, but the narrative you've outlined above has neon signs flashing "PRIVILEGE" all over it. Students work extremely hard as premeds to gain clinical experience, volunteering, shadowing, and doing all the prerequisite coursework, not to mention studying months for the MCAT. Many can't afford even to apply to med school, much less pay for it. You are blessed with a good job doing something you really like, and you're making quite a bit of money doing it. Med school isn't something you do because you feel entitled to pursue it, or as an extra feather in the cap; it's a commitment to studying medicine and advancing medicine. I agree with others that it doesn't seem in your best interests to seek an MD.