Software engineer to doctor--looking for advice.

[nilkn]

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This will be somewhat long, so I do apologize for that. I just want to make sure the full details of my situation are covered. I don't want to accidentally misrepresent myself or my goals and thereby get inaccurate advice.

I'm graduating from a top 20 US college with a degree in mathematics. I'll be working as a software engineer making good money ($75k with an additional bonus that is predicted to be about 10%).

I realized about a year ago that this wasn't really my dream career, but since I was then an upcoming senior in college I didn't have the courage to really change my path. I felt as though I was stuck on this path and actually fell into a bit of a depression (there were a few other factors in life that contributed to that as well). That caused me to really mess up my grades last semester (an F and a D), which tarnished what was otherwise a pristine academic record (I've had semesters with straight A+s, etc.). My GPA plummeted to ~3.3, which is thankfully not terrible but certainly not what it once was. I bring that up because I am curious what it will look like when I eventually apply to medical schools.

The hitch is that I don't have many of the prerequisuite classes. Why didn't I just take them this year? Because, like I wrote, I wasn't mentally prepared to make such a shift in my life, but I'm realizing that this change will be for the better.

So my current plan was to take online classes in biology, organic chemistry, etc., while working full-time. That brings me to my first question:

* Considering that I will have a degree from a highly ranked institution, will it matter to medical schools if I take the biology and chemistry prerequisites online while working? Of course, the labs would be in-person, but not having to attend in-person lectures every day after work would make this a much more realistic scenario for me.

Now I'm guessing it will take me two years to finish the prerequisites, since I'll need a number of classes and I'll be working at the same time. My second question is this:

* Will I need to shadow under a physician before applying? How is this done while working full-time and taking classes part-time? I apologize if this is an ignorant question. Please understand I really am an outsider in terms of the process of accomplishing this. All I know is that I feel a calling for medicine and have for a while but wasn't prepared to change my life's path.

I have another question regarding finances. My current plan while working was to put at least 10% of my salary into a 401(k) and to also max out an IRA. That would be a total of $7500 + $5500 = $13k/year. If I spend two years preparing for medical school before enrolling, that's $26k from retirement savings. I'm considering not putting this into retirement vessels and instead saving it as cash. This would make it highly liquid so that I could use it to help pay off the eventual debt I'd take on.

I'm not in this for the money, but I understand that certain medical specialties (I'm undecided right now) can pay a considerable amount of money compared to what software engineers are paid, so I feel like it might be a wise financial move to defer the retirement savings until later, when I'm practicing, and to save that extra money now to help with living expenses or debt from school.

Keep in mind I'll also be saving at least $1k in cash every month regardless of what I do with the retirement funds. If I were to save the retirement funds as cash, I'd be looking at $25k/year in cash savings, not including the annual bonus, which could bring that up to $30k. So, I could conceivably have $60k saved up by the time I matriculate.

I'm also hoping to hear from anybody else who has pursued this path. Do you have any general advice for me?

Thanks so much! I really appreciate any time you take to read over this and reply. It means a lot to me. I know this isn't a short post.

 

[Chuchunezumis]

There are some people who work full time while doing all the prereqs in 2 years, but realize how difficult that's going to be to do. Medical schools still like to see volunteering, shadowing, research, etc (though you don't necessarily need to have all of these) in addition to doing well in classes + taking the MCATs.

It might be more reasonable to plan on 3 years, especially since you are quite young (right out of college). I would not give up a $75/year job until I was accepted into medical school, and this seems like an easier way to balance both.

 

[hizziaips]

Hi, nilkn. I also studied mathematics in college and have been working in software engineering and cybersecurity for the past decade. I will be attending medical school this fall.

A few points regarding your plan:


1. Most medical schools, it seems, don't accept online credits. You will want to knock out the prerequisites "in person" at a four-year institution. Some universities offer informal postbacc programs and/or night courses. I'd recommend looking at universities in your geographical area to see whether something like that is available. (This is the approach that I took.)

2a. I'd recommend taking one course per semester at first (especially if you have a lab, as labs are often time-consuming). You can always up your work load in subsequent semesters if you find that you can handle more.

2b. As a corollary to 2a, I recommend that you plan on spending three years taking prereqs, working, volunteering, shadowing, and applying. I'll also echo what Chuchunezumis said: Don't give up your job until you have an acceptance.

3. Yes, you might want to plan on 50 hours or so of shadowing prior to submitting your primary application. Shadow several different doctors in different fields, including primary care.

4. You'll want some clinical volunteering as well. Find a free clinic or a hospital and contribute a few hours per week.

5. There are pros and cons to a 401(k) given what you want to do. As you know, compound interest is a beautiful thing, but on the flip side, you could certainly use that money to pay for medical school. I'd recommend doing a bit of reading and thinking on this one, as it's more or less a personal decision.


If you have any additional questions for me about this path, don't hesitate to shoot me a PM. Best of luck.

 

[Goro]

I have a heard time wrapping my mind around the rigor on online classes. At our own school we don't accept them for pre-reqs, so best to call up a few Admissions deans and find out the policies at particular schools. Definitely call several to get a gestalt of what's out there.

So my current plan was to take online classes in biology, organic chemistry, etc., while working full-time. That brings me to my first question:

* Considering that I will have a degree from a highly ranked institution, will it matter to medical schools if I take the biology and chemistry prerequisites online while working? Of course, the labs would be in-person, but not having to attend in-person lectures every day after work would make this a much more realistic scenario for me.


I'm very glad that you feel Medicine is a calling, because that's exactly what it is. That said, you need to show us that you know what you're getting into, and that you know what a doctor's day is like. So, yes, you're going to need to shadow some doctors. Ideally, iou should aim for at least one in primary care, and one specialist. Try to shadow a DO, so you can compare MDs to DO, as DO programs are far more welcoming of non-trad students such as yourself. Keep in mind that this will leads to the required LOR from a clinician.

You're also going to have to do some patient contact volunteer work. This is that EC stuff that you see all over this forum. After all, would you buy a new car without test-driivng it? Buy a new suit without trying it on??

You need to do this so that you can really see what Medicine is like, and it demonstrates your altruism. We're big on that, because we're more interestd in turning out good doctors than good medical students.

* Will I need to shadow under a physician before applying? How is this done while working full-time and taking classes part-time? I apologize if this is an ignorant question. Please understand I really am an outsider in terms of the process of accomplishing this. All I know is that I feel a calling for medicine and have for a while but wasn't prepared to change my life's path.