What should I do with my life? At a crossroads...

[physicist1985]

I graduated college with an EE degree (and lots of chemistry) back in 2008. I went into a PhD program for a year and was somewhat successful in my research and good enough in my classes. However, I had a nervous breakdown that forced me to leave. I looked for a job to no avail and went back to the same grad school with no funding and I took out additional loans. Well, I ended up getting severely depressed and I ended up dropping out. When I dropped out I had a long string my short term jobs and the most recent one I was fired from because I didn't "show enough initiative".

Now I am unemployed and I am unhappy with doing engineering for the rest of my life. I considered becoming a hs teacher but the amount of things required to get a teaching credential turns me off considering the abysmal pay.

Now I would like to become a medical doctor. All I need to take is 2 bio classes with labs and the MCAT (and shadowing/volunteering). However, my parents are against the idea because I would need to take out ~200K in loans and since I have screwed up so many times before they are afraid I will ended up dropping out of med school.

Should I just follow my instincts and try getting into med school or should I continue looking for a job as an engineer even though it doesn't make me happy?

Also, I am not exactly a spring chicken. I am 27 and I will be around 38 by the time I am done with residency and med school.

FYI, my gpa is a 3.44 and I double majored in EE and physics.

Thanks,

PhysicsUG

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[5lippy]

Dude, given your past employment history, it doesn't sound like medicine would be any better. So many people tend to underestimate the rigor of med school and residency. If you are prone to nervous breakdowns in a PhD program, what makes you think that an MD program will be much different? It's school, learning, academics, and research. And you'll have to take out too many loans to make it worth it, IMO. I'd suggest a different route, but that's my opinion.

 

[Hemorrage]

I agree with the above poster, you should pursue medicine if you truly think its your calling, however, its not something you should due just because you want a stable job. The pre-med process is rough and it gets more competitive every year and once you get in to med school thats just the start of a long road

 

[physicist1985]

Dude, given your past employment history, it doesn't sound like medicine would be any better. So many people tend to underestimate the rigor of med school and residency. If you are prone to nervous breakdowns in a PhD program, what makes you think that an MD program will be much different? It's school, learning, academics, and research. And you'll have to take out too many loans to make it worth it, IMO. I'd suggest a different route, but that's my opinion.

I have never been to med school, but I think PhD programs are a lot different than MD programs, and frankly, I think the type of work in PhD programs leads to breakdown more than MD programs. Hours of isolation working on some obscure area of research that often leads to wheel spinning is different than going to medical school and memorizing and regurgitating tons of material with no focus on original ideas/work. I think I could study and memorize a ton of material in an MD/DO program.

And everyone takes out loans to go to med school. Why wouldn't it be worth it?

I might not be able to find a job any time soon due to the fact that I was fired.

Also, I have had 2 yrs of general chem, 2 yrs of orgo, lots of math (I was an EE/physics major) and obviously lots of physics. I'd just need to take 2 semesters of bio plus labs. So the "rigorous premed work" is almost done. I'd just need to get some time shadowing and volunteering in a hospital and study for the MCAT, and of course take the bio classes.

 

[pre med 2014]

I would look at pass fail schools, also I believe that DO schools allow you to retake classes if you fail. So if you are worried about failing I would look into these types of programs to reduce the chance of failure.

 

[physicist1985]

I would look at pass fail schools, also I believe that DO schools allow you to retake classes if you fail. So if you are worried about failing I would look into these types of programs to reduce the chance of failure.

There are pass/fail med schools? How are students ranked within their class?

I was also planning on going to a DO school. I'd like to go to MSUCOM since it's in my state.

 

[matanpucla]

tangent - if you want to become a teacher, you don't necessarily have to have a credential. i have a friend who is in his mid twenties, who recently got hired as a math teacher / basketball coach at a private high school in the LA area, he only has an undergrad degree, no previous teaching experience other than tutoring.

 

[Cambino]

PhD graduate programs are easier to get into than a MD program, but more difficult to finish.

 

[911 Turbo]

PhD graduate programs are easier to get into than a MD program, but more difficult to finish.

Status: Pre-Medical


So how do you know??

 

[Twinnering]

Uhmm, a lot of people do research in medical school as well. Granted it isn't full time, but for certain residencies you need research to be looked upon favorably. The field of medicine also advances with new ideas and original work, which would be stressed in an academic career anyways.

I have friends who have told me portions of medical school consist of studying...in isolation. Yes people study in groups, and you have small group sessions, but a majority of your time might turn into studying alone to get through the mountains of information. Yes there is memorizing of facts, but there is so much comprehensive understanding and application that even goes into diagnosis...its a different skill set than just chowing down on some facts and spitting them out.

Taking out huge loan amounts for med school, on top of loans you may already have doesn't sound appealing. Consider the fact you will not be taking home the "big bucks" people associate with medicine until after residency. Which can be 3-6 years, and even longer than that when you tack on a fellowship. It isn't something to consider likely, and might be something that may increase your stress when you can't defer payments in residency.

Things to think about when deciding to shell out over $200k in loans, and years of investment into your career and life.

 

[Twinnering]

Also P/F is usually for the first 2 pre-clinical years. Some schools still rank internally while being P/F. During your rotations most schools do H/HP/P/F.

 

[cuculici1]

I'd probably start by shadowing and taking the bio classes and see if you like both. Medical school is primarily based on the biological sciences, and as such, you kind of have to like biology and have an interest in the human body in order to feel compelled to study the material. Also, shadowing/volunteering would tell you if you would actually enjoy the day to day practice of a doctor.

If both things give you positive feedback, I say take the MCAT and go for it. I wouldn't let the past deter you from changing gears. My philosophy is that if you actually enjoy something, you are far more likely to put in more time/effort into it and far less likely to burnout.

 

[TheShaker]

One thing that you might need to consider is medical school adcoms can be very critical so you should have a VERY good explanation of why you dropped out of grad school twice. There are a lot of qualified applicants and they probably won't have a problem with throwing your application out based on that alone. You've been fired from jobs as well which makes it even worse. Not saying that you're not qualified, but I'm just saying the competition is tough and you should factor this into your plan.

 

[IslandStyle808]

OP in your case you have to show consistency in your academics. This may mean taking 2-3 years of classes and showing that you are capable of the work. By showing this stable trend, it will most likely be your best shot at getting into medical school.

The best option would be to do a formal post-bacc or SMP. There is no other suggestion I can make for you. If you apply to soon, your chances will be lower due to your history.

I wish you well and hope you take the time in considering this route.

 

[5lippy]

OP, I think you ultimately have to answer this question yourself. Try to view all of your choices objectively and try go gain as much HONEST information about each field as possible. Medicine is a long and arduous path, and medical education is expensive and very time consuming. With that being said, it can be an extremely rewarding field if you're highly invested.

What you DON'T want to do is make a decision before knowing all of the ramifications. If you were to go through 1.5 years of school, then have a nervous breakdown while studying for Step 1 or whatever the DO equivalent is (COMLEX?), it won't be worth it for you. You'll have nothing to show for it except for a lot of debt and a lot of unanswered questions. It'll be pretty damn hard to move forward.

 

[deleted303591]

I am a EE major, junior, with a 3.2 cGPA.

I am curious to know why you cannot find a job in electrical engineering.

As for not being satisfied with engineering work, you could always work a few years as a EE, pay off your debt, and then go to medical school. I do not understand why you cannot get a job as a EE.

I am female, which helps. I even was offered a 6 month internship with an employer that any EE would dream about having. I had to turn it down due to health problems (spent 7 weeks in the hospital this year).

I did not like engineering at first, but I stuck with it and I grew to like it.

If you cannot work hard in general, regardless of whether you "like it or not", then you are going to have serious problems with pursuing medical school.

 

[bala1]

DUDE

med school is not the answer for you. If you think you are depressed after engineering phd program. medical school will make you suicidal. Straight up!! Im saving your life, dont do it

 

[weezynation]

I have never been to med school, but I think PhD programs are a lot different than MD programs, and frankly, I think the type of work in PhD programs leads to breakdown more than MD programs. Hours of isolation working on some obscure area of research that often leads to wheel spinning is different than going to medical school and memorizing and regurgitating tons of material with no focus on original ideas/work. I think I could study and memorize a ton of material in an MD/DO program.

And everyone takes out loans to go to med school. Why wouldn't it be worth it?

I might not be able to find a job any time soon due to the fact that I was fired.

Also, I have had 2 yrs of general chem, 2 yrs of orgo, lots of math (I was an EE/physics major) and obviously lots of physics. I'd just need to take 2 semesters of bio plus labs. So the "rigorous premed work" is almost done. I'd just need to get some time shadowing and volunteering in a hospital and study for the MCAT, and of course take the bio classes.

As someone said above, if this is your calling then go for it. If not, this is not the route you should go just to find financial or job stability. You may find you end up hating medicine more than you disliked engineering. Someone above also mentioned studying alone most of the time and this is true. You will spend the vast majority of your time studying alone. Yes I am pre-med but am taking first year med school classes in a SMP right now and I can tell you, if you think the above bolded is what med school classes are like, you are in for a rude awakening. Yes there is plenty of memorization you must do, but if you simply memorize without a deep understanding of the material with the ability to apply it to medically related scenarios for classes expect for maybe cell biology, you will be in trouble. I can't speak on second year classes but I would assume the same is true for that year also.

 

[Spinach Dip]

I think the first thing you should do is find a physician you can shadow for a couple days. As soon as you are done with this, ask yourself "is this what I want to do for the rest of my life?"

Being a doctor is not all roses and happy unicorns. There's some real @#$%$ that goes on in hospitals.

 

[Consigliere]

DUDE

med school is not the answer for you. If you think you are depressed after engineering phd program. medical school will make you suicidal. Straight up!! Im saving your life, dont do it

Ditto

 

[RomanTaylor]

I am a EE major, junior, with a 3.2 cGPA.

I am curious to know why you cannot find a job in electrical engineering.

As for not being satisfied with engineering work, you could always work a few years as a EE, pay off your debt, and then go to medical school. I do not understand why you cannot get a job as a EE.

I am female, which helps. I even was offered a 6 month internship with an employer that any EE would dream about having. I had to turn it down due to health problems (spent 7 weeks in the hospital this year).

I did not like engineering at first, but I stuck with it and I grew to like it.

If you cannot work hard in general, regardless of whether you "like it or not", then you are going to have serious problems with pursuing medical school.

I was wondering this as well. I am a sophmore ChemE major. How are you unemployed? Engineering has been the most in-demand field for YEARS.