What would you do?

[confusednontrad]

---

Members don't see this ad.

I'm a non-traditional student getting into my later twenties with a current lower six figure career that gives me exceptional flexibility and leisure time. And that's it. No deep gratification, no learning. It makes no difference. The income is not guaranteed and can increase/decrease significantly, but will likely be lower six figs. It is the lazy man's dream job -- little hrs/day but you make a nice living and work when/where you want.

I pursued a post-bac program and have been accepted into a top 20 medical school. Woohoo! Studied hard for classes/MCAT and did research/volunteering all while working.

I'd be happy to grow into an academic M.D. doing teaching or research alongside clinical work, but I'm worried I'm being naive about how good I have it.

Interviewers and friends ask me: why would I give it up? Especially when so many doctors actually dislike their current situations because of it lacks freedom/money.

The answer: my current career doesn't mean anything to me outside of freedom and money (which is a lot but it's not everything), medicine is socially valuable, emotionally and intellectually rewarding in a much deeper way.

Yet, going 8+ years (in med school and residency) making little money relative to what I could make borders on naive when you factor in a desire for time for family (hypothetically) down the road, ability to control your own time, and financial considerations (the cost of medical school versus saving the money, greater earnings potential down the road)

Thanks for any input. I'm really looking for a balanced perspective on this from people with experience.

---> to protect my anonymity I am not comfortable explicitly saying what my current job is.

 

[sunlioness]

I say follow your heart. Even if it doesn't make complete sense to your head (or to your friends).

 

[Long Dong]

Having had money and then adjusting to being a broke a$$ student again is very hard. That's all I have to add.

 

[yaah]

As said, you have to do what you like. But what is your real goal? Medicine is unlikely to be the paradise that you believe. There will be parts of the job that are objectionable and tiresome and very difficult.

Do you really want to do medicine? Or are you just looking for "something" that medicine seems like it might provide.

Salary is not likely to get much better either. If you go into academics, your salary is also going to be low six figures. And the hours will be a lot more serious. You won't have significant time to pursue other things. As it is now, sounds like you have free time to volunteer, etc.

But if it is what you really want to do and it stimulates you intellectually, why not? You don't really have to justify it to anyone (unless you have a family) except yourself. I am in 4th year of residency and I don't regret going into medicine. I actually enjoy going to work every day, believe it or not. Can't really imagine doing anything else.

 

[Doowai]

I was in a similar situation except I waited to go back until I was 40, and went to a Caribbean school. I have had to sit out a while between graduation and residency and in the interim have been teaching high school in a inner city school.

My other job was lower six figures at about 25-30 hours per week of work. 3 hour lunches. Lots of vacation time. Hated it.

As a teacher I am making a paltry fraction of that and love it so much more. I loved clinical rotations in medicine. But I hate being poor. I can remember taking my family (I am married 18 years with 4 children) to do something fun at least every week- but now going to the movies breaks the bank. We went to the mall yesterday just to walk around and had to tell the youngest one not to expect to buy anything before hand so he was not dissappointed, but that we would eat there.

However my family is very happy. My kids thrive in school (9th grader taking 2 college credit classes, 11th grader taking college credit calculus), have lots of friends and do well athletically. All our fun now is at home things like playing cards - usually something simple like Blink so that my 6 year old can play. We don't go to the mall or movies or out to eat every week. We have not taken a cool vacation in years (we use to do lots of cruises, rent beach houses for a week, theme parks like Disneyworld etc). Money makes things much much easier, but we are quite happy during this starvation period. My wife is the most lovely and supportive woman ever created on Gods green earth, and enduring this has formed another memory of how much I appreciate her. I pity all other men who must marry other women. I sometimes am not sure why other guys even bother getting married. I am serious, its sometimes hard for me not to be critical of how other wives are, my wife is so wonderful.

I really look forward to making good money again. I was offered a prematch to residency this year so I am good to go. Just 3 more years of indentured servitude.

My old job I grew to hate so much, it was mind numbingly monotonous. Being poor sucks, but it does not make me unhappy - just sometimes stressed and I sometimes feel bad I cannot do more for my kids.

Medicine was a fun adventure. I loved all my rotations (family, internal medicine, dermatology, rheumatology, etc-except I only liked pedes). I got to inject trigger points, insert a nasogastric tube, cauterize a nose, biopsy a suspicious skin lesion all by myself and suture it up, and all sorts of cool junk. In my old job I literally could think about other things while talking to clients - I had said the same thing so many times for 15 years that it would just roll out of my mouth like a recording while my mind would think about what I was going to do on the weekend. Nothing had really changed in my job in 15 years.

Medicine is constantly changing. If you want to be bitter and unhappy in the field you can, and you can be unexcited and also just be a robot. Many doctors choose to do this. But you can also constantly learn and stay abreast of the rapidly developing technology and be excited if you want. I really did not have a choice in my old career, nothing had changed in decades - I look at others in that field and they too feel the same way. Some can endure it, many cannot. I cannot. Luckily I got into something as dynamic as medicine.

I actually loved studying for boards and learning. On days that I could only devote to study I would get up 4 or 5 AM drink coffee (I began drinking coffee at this time and loved it), listen to Eminems song LOSE YOURSELF and start studying. I loved studying for boards. THere is so much to learn - adhesion factors of monocytes and how cortisone affects it, fibrillin defects and Marfan's syndrome, Whipple procedures and pancreatic cancer, the pH of urine and Renal Tubular Acidosis type 1 which is a defect in the distal convoluted tubule, how Albuterol lowers serum potassium, how Kayexylate exchanges sodium for potassium in the gut....I could go on and on. I found it very exciting.

It made me appreciate my life. In a geriatric rotation I sat in the room of an elderly lady with pneumonia. We pretty much knew she was going to die - her life could be counted in hours if not minutes. I thought of my own mortality and I realized I did not want to ever lay on a bed in that position and think DAMN, I wish I had (whatever) before I died. She certainly was not taking one penney of her money with her, only had a moment to reflect if she had lived life the way she wanted to. I am living life the way I want to. I am poor and hate that, but glad I am doing what it is I am doing.

If you have family and they cannot "make do", or going without, then I would not do it. If having tight finances for a few years will be okay then go for it - especially as a top 20 United States medical school grad your path to whatever you want to do will be so much easier.

 

[johankriek]

I'm a non-traditional student getting into my later twenties with a current lower six figure career that gives me exceptional flexibility and leisure time. And that's it. No deep gratification, no learning. It makes no difference. The income is not guaranteed and can increase/decrease significantly, but will likely be lower six figs. It is the lazy man's dream job -- little hrs/day but you make a nice living and work when/where you want.

I pursued a post-bac program and have been accepted into a top 20 medical school. Woohoo! Studied hard for classes/MCAT and did research/volunteering all while working.

I'd be happy to grow into an academic M.D. doing teaching or research alongside clinical work, but I'm worried I'm being naive about how good I have it.

Interviewers and friends ask me: why would I give it up? Especially when so many doctors actually dislike their current situations because of it lacks freedom/money.

The answer: my current career doesn't mean anything to me outside of freedom and money (which is a lot but it's not everything), medicine is socially valuable, emotionally and intellectually rewarding in a much deeper way.

Yet, going 8+ years (in med school and residency) making little money relative to what I could make borders on naive when you factor in a desire for time for family (hypothetically) down the road, ability to control your own time, and financial considerations (the cost of medical school versus saving the money, greater earnings potential down the road)

Thanks for any input. I'm really looking for a balanced perspective on this from people with experience.

---> to protect my anonymity I am not comfortable explicitly saying what my current job is.

all I have to say is.. are you ****ing insane.. you would be the stupidest stupidest stupidest person on the face of the planet to give up your job now.. sounds cush as hell... what do you do? I want that job seriously. you are barking up the wrong tree if you are gonna go to medicine... actually go ahead.. go to medical school. tell me where you work and when you leave they can hire me and I can leave medicine completely

 

[johankriek]

I was in a similar situation except I waited to go back until I was 40, and went to a Caribbean school. I have had to sit out a while between graduation and residency and in the interim have been teaching high school in a inner city school.

My other job was lower six figures at about 25-30 hours per week of work. 3 hour lunches. Lots of vacation time. Hated it.

As a teacher I am making a paltry fraction of that and love it so much more. I loved clinical rotations in medicine. But I hate being poor. I can remember taking my family (I am married 18 years with 4 children) to do something fun at least every week- but now going to the movies breaks the bank. We went to the mall yesterday just to walk around and had to tell the youngest one not to expect to buy anything before hand so he was not dissappointed, but that we would eat there.

However my family is very happy. My kids thrive in school (9th grader taking 2 college credit classes, 11th grader taking college credit calculus), have lots of friends and do well athletically. All our fun now is at home things like playing cards - usually something simple like Blink so that my 6 year old can play. We don't go to the mall or movies or out to eat every week. We have not taken a cool vacation in years (we use to do lots of cruises, rent beach houses for a week, theme parks like Disneyworld etc). Money makes things much much easier, but we are quite happy during this starvation period. My wife is the most lovely and supportive woman ever created on Gods green earth, and enduring this has formed another memory of how much I appreciate her. I pity all other men who must marry other women. I sometimes am not sure why other guys even bother getting married. I am serious, its sometimes hard for me not to be critical of how other wives are, my wife is so wonderful.

I really look forward to making good money again. I was offered a prematch to residency this year so I am good to go. Just 3 more years of indentured servitude.

My old job I grew to hate so much, it was mind numbingly monotonous. Being poor sucks, but it does not make me unhappy - just sometimes stressed and I sometimes feel bad I cannot do more for my kids.

Medicine was a fun adventure. I loved all my rotations (family, internal medicine, dermatology, rheumatology, etc-except I only liked pedes). I got to inject trigger points, insert a nasogastric tube, cauterize a nose, biopsy a suspicious skin lesion all by myself and suture it up, and all sorts of cool junk. In my old job I literally could think about other things while talking to clients - I had said the same thing so many times for 15 years that it would just roll out of my mouth like a recording while my mind would think about what I was going to do on the weekend. Nothing had really changed in my job in 15 years.

Medicine is constantly changing. If you want to be bitter and unhappy in the field you can, and you can be unexcited and also just be a robot. Many doctors choose to do this. But you can also constantly learn and stay abreast of the rapidly developing technology and be excited if you want. I really did not have a choice in my old career, nothing had changed in decades - I look at others in that field and they too feel the same way. Some can endure it, many cannot. I cannot. Luckily I got into something as dynamic as medicine.

I actually loved studying for boards and learning. On days that I could only devote to study I would get up 4 or 5 AM drink coffee (I began drinking coffee at this time and loved it), listen to Eminems song LOSE YOURSELF and start studying. I loved studying for boards. THere is so much to learn - adhesion factors of monocytes and how cortisone affects it, fibrillin defects and Marfan's syndrome, Whipple procedures and pancreatic cancer, the pH of urine and Renal Tubular Acidosis type 1 which is a defect in the distal convoluted tubule, how Albuterol lowers serum potassium, how Kayexylate exchanges sodium for potassium in the gut....I could go on and on. I found it very exciting.

It made me appreciate my life. In a geriatric rotation I sat in the room of an elderly lady with pneumonia. We pretty much knew she was going to die - her life could be counted in hours if not minutes. I thought of my own mortality and I realized I did not want to ever lay on a bed in that position and think DAMN, I wish I had (whatever) before I died. She certainly was not taking one penney of her money with her, only had a moment to reflect if she had lived life the way she wanted to. I am living life the way I want to. I am poor and hate that, but glad I am doing what it is I am doing.

If you have family and they cannot "make do", or going without, then I would not do it. If having tight finances for a few years will be okay then go for it - especially as a top 20 United States medical school grad your path to whatever you want to do will be so much easier.

this is one of the cheesiest most naive posts i have eve read/ Medicine is the most boring profession in my opinion.. you are just following protocols and guidelines..

 

[skypilot]

this is one of the cheesiest most naive posts i have eve read/ Medicine is the most boring profession in my opinion.. you are just following protocols and guidelines..

Just think twice before you make the leap. You don't have to throw the baby out with the bathwater. Maybe there are a few small changes you could make in your current career that would make it more satisfying. You could serve on charitable boards or become a philanthropist. Also definitely consider the PA and NP pathways. If you have any talent for surgery you could make six figures as a PA with a lot less schooling and no residency.

Good luck.

 

[Doowai]

Just think twice before you make the leap. You don't have to throw the baby out with the bathwater. Maybe there are a few small changes you could make in your current career that would make it more satisfying. You could serve on charitable boards or become a philanthropist. Also definitely consider the PA and NP pathways. If you have any talent for surgery you could make six figures as a PA with a lot less schooling and no residency.

Good luck.

That is a good point. Being a PA is under rated.

 

[johankriek]

Just think twice before you make the leap. You don't have to throw the baby out with the bathwater. Maybe there are a few small changes you could make in your current career that would make it more satisfying. You could serve on charitable boards or become a philanthropist. Also definitely consider the PA and NP pathways. If you have any talent for surgery you could make six figures as a PA with a lot less schooling and no residency.

Good luck.

ummm im a physician already and it sucks

 

[Doowai]

this is one of the cheesiest most naive posts i have eve read/ Medicine is the most boring profession in my opinion.. you are just following protocols and guidelines..

I am guessing you are an average traditional twenty something. Meaning you are spoiled ;have had no real responsibility, experience or job in life and probably lack any real self-discipline.

Growing up never knowing what life is like without a microwave, video games etc - you have no idea what boring is. Your teens years :eating microwaved popcorn on your parents couch, while playing video games and complaining you are bored. You are probably in your twenties and could not do more than 10 pull ups or 75 push ups if you tried.

Medicine at its most boring allows alot of thinking, decision making and there are always numerous choices in regards to treatment - HMO's considered. Try working on a car assembly line for awhile if you want to know monotony, or a coal mine, or bailing hay for a living.

Saying that you consider medicine " the most boring profession" tells me without any doubt, you have very little experience (if any) in the working world. You have no taste of various professions or you would not say something that obviously ignorant.Your opinion means less than squat.

 

[mlw03]

just to give my 2 cents to the original poster: if i were in your shoes i probably would NOT leave that job to start a medical career. i happen to like what i do, but it's not everything, and i certainly wouldn't start on this path later in life, although i respect people who do. if your job is boring you, add more extracurriculars, which you seem to have time to enjoy. fish, restore a car, participate in your church/shull/mosque/etc, becoming civically involved - whatever turns you on!. those things can stimulate your search for meaning and activity without the harsh demands of medicine. the financial hit you'll take by leaving a well-paying job for 8 years is also massive when you consider potential income in versus loans and a low residency salary. combine that with lost investment opportunity, and you're losing a ton of money at the time when all the financial experts on tv say we should be trying to save as much as possible to take advantage time and compounding interest. as much as i enjoy what i do, i can't recommend that someone with your situation embark on this path. in my opinion, you simply give up more than you get back.

 

[fang]

You sound like me 5 years ago. I started med school at 29, after a brief stint as an engineer. I never made low 6 figures, and I had always wanted to go to med school, so I finally made the leap. Now that my friends have all pretty much married, bought a house, and are having kids, it's tougher (I feel like I'm not quite as advanced as they are). That said, I would make the same choice if I had to do it over, but I think I could have been happy/fulfilled either way with some creativity and passion for a cause unrelated to work. I definitely think I would be more emotionally centered if I had *not* pursued this path. With your extra time you could volunteer with people who need help, and probably have more direct impact than as a physician. I definitely don't go into work every day thinking "I'm off to save a life and generally help people today!!", I'm usually thinking "I'm so insanely tired I don't care about anything today, and I really hate that nurse on 7W who is always gossiping behind our backs, and hey, there goes the guy I just admitted with DKA drinking a milkshake (true story)". But, if you can't imagine yourself doing anything else, then go for it.

 

[Doowai]

ummm im a physician already and it sucks

Oh sorry, just bitter about your choices. Sorry, whole different scenario. Ugh, I am sure he next few decades are looking bleak for you for sure.

 

[Doowai]

ummm im a physician already and it sucks

Just out of curiosity , are you a traditional med student - going from home to college to med school to residency. Or have you ever worked any other job before - other than summer jobs at BK etc. When you compare it to other professions, do you have any real working knowledge of any other profession?

 

[MSI-Scrub]

I'm a non-traditional student getting into my later twenties with a current lower six figure career that gives me exceptional flexibility and leisure time. And that's it. No deep gratification, no learning. It makes no difference. The income is not guaranteed and can increase/decrease significantly, but will likely be lower six figs. It is the lazy man's dream job -- little hrs/day but you make a nice living and work when/where you want.

I pursued a post-bac program and have been accepted into a top 20 medical school. Woohoo! Studied hard for classes/MCAT and did research/volunteering all while working.

I'd be happy to grow into an academic M.D. doing teaching or research alongside clinical work, but I'm worried I'm being naive about how good I have it.

Interviewers and friends ask me: why would I give it up? Especially when so many doctors actually dislike their current situations because of it lacks freedom/money.

The answer: my current career doesn't mean anything to me outside of freedom and money (which is a lot but it's not everything), medicine is socially valuable, emotionally and intellectually rewarding in a much deeper way.

Yet, going 8+ years (in med school and residency) making little money relative to what I could make borders on naive when you factor in a desire for time for family (hypothetically) down the road, ability to control your own time, and financial considerations (the cost of medical school versus saving the money, greater earnings potential down the road)

Thanks for any input. I'm really looking for a balanced perspective on this from people with experience.

---> to protect my anonymity I am not comfortable explicitly saying what my current job is.

Just a suggestion...if your job allows you so much free time/flexibility and you're looking for something meaningful, why don't you do some volunteer work. You can do something as simple as volunteering at a hospital/nursing home to starting a volunteer organization to peace corps/something like that. If things take, you could keep your current job/salary in the meantime while transitioning to a more "meaningful" career.

 

[Mad Dog]

Hey OP-

As you can tell by many of these posts, “deep satisfaction” in medicine is on the decline.

Many people in medicine would die to switch places with you. Particularly the good job that didn’t take 4 + 3-8 years out of their life.

Then again, many people in medicine like what they do, very much. I like what I do. Just know that the “emotional and intellectual reward” is not always at the forefront of medical practice and training.

The tough part is that the path doesn’t become clearer until you’re at the end. Once you start practice, only then will you be able to say if its all good, or you just wasted 10 years to do something even less satisfying.

All I can say, when you are pushing 40 another career change is difficult. Then again, you may find that medicine gives you everything you need. The best predictor is how good you are at turning your wishes into reality.

 

[Leukocyte]

Do what you love. Do not, DO NOT, go into medicine thinking it is paradise. Do not go into medicine for the title or the respect. Medicine IS, like any other profession, a job....but is this "job" your passion? If it is, then by all means go ahead. HOWEVER, as a pre-med who has not actually dealt with the crap (and the ungrateful patients) of clinical medicine, you cannot really know what you are going into. It is a dilema.

To find a job/career that you are really passionate about, ask yourself this:

What would I love to do even if it is for FREE?

For me, it is being an Air Force Pilot (or commercial). Not Medicine, hell no. I HATE clinical medicine (acedemic medicine is OK). The main reason that I am still in medicine is because I have a $250,000 loan on my back, AND It is too late for me now be become an AF pilot.

What is your answer?

 

[Tired]

I'm a non-traditional student getting into my later twenties with a current lower six figure career that gives me exceptional flexibility and leisure time. And that's it. No deep gratification, no learning. It makes no difference.

I originally believed that medicine (ie - the business of life and death) would provide me deep gratification, some kind of alleviation of existential angst, a little bit of meaning.

Still waiting.

 

[Geri_Gal]

The answer: my current career doesn't mean anything to me outside of freedom and money (which is a lot but it's not everything), medicine is socially valuable, emotionally and intellectually rewarding in a much deeper way.

Yet, going 8+ years (in med school and residency) making little money relative to what I could make borders on naive when you factor in a desire for time for family (hypothetically) down the road, ability to control your own time, and financial considerations (the cost of medical school versus saving the money, greater earnings potential down the road)

I'm an intern in internal medicine and can't imagine doing anything else. Naive as this may sound, I still have a deep love of clinical medicine and of helping others (mainly the geriatric patients). That is what sustains me through the nonsense of our health care non-system and the drudgery of intern year.

Medicine is only going to grow more frustrating to practice in our country before it improves. You need to ask yourself if there is *anything* else you could do that you would enjoy that would provide the same level of fulfillment and social value (and there are many other careers with high social value!) to YOU. If so, pursue these other fields. If not, that commitment will sustain you too through difficult times.

Medicine will not fill a spiritual void in your life, however, it is only a career...and (sometimes) only a job.

 

[Coastie]

I'm a non-traditional student getting into my later twenties with a current lower six figure career that gives me exceptional flexibility and leisure time. And that's it. No deep gratification, no learning. It makes no difference. The income is not guaranteed and can increase/decrease significantly, but will likely be lower six figs. It is the lazy man's dream job -- little hrs/day but you make a nice living and work when/where you want.

I pursued a post-bac program and have been accepted into a top 20 medical school. Woohoo! Studied hard for classes/MCAT and did research/volunteering all while working.

I'd be happy to grow into an academic M.D. doing teaching or research alongside clinical work, but I'm worried I'm being naive about how good I have it.

Interviewers and friends ask me: why would I give it up? Especially when so many doctors actually dislike their current situations because of it lacks freedom/money.

The answer: my current career doesn't mean anything to me outside of freedom and money (which is a lot but it's not everything), medicine is socially valuable, emotionally and intellectually rewarding in a much deeper way.

Yet, going 8+ years (in med school and residency) making little money relative to what I could make borders on naive when you factor in a desire for time for family (hypothetically) down the road, ability to control your own time, and financial considerations (the cost of medical school versus saving the money, greater earnings potential down the road)

Thanks for any input. I'm really looking for a balanced perspective on this from people with experience.

---> to protect my anonymity I am not comfortable explicitly saying what my current job is.

LOL @ Johan. He's spot on in a lot of his postings above.

Listen, you make low six figures chilling out. If you put in half the work it would take to get through medical school and residency, into your current job, you could start making REAL money.

So, low 6 figures to chill, as a 27,28 year old guy/girl.

Fast forward 8 years: You're a new attending, 36 years old, but the last 8 years of your life have been involved in sleeping very little, losing approximately $1million in lost salary (not including interest), not to mention the saddle of 250k+ in debt.

Did I mention that, depending on specialty, you can increase that 8 years up to 12? You'll also be practicing in an environment of legal hassles, increasing bureaucracy, competition from power-hungry and clinically-inferior mid-levels. Perhaps within socialized medicine, perhaps within a better system, but are you willing to make that bet?

During the next 8 years, you can kiss your favorite hobbies, friends, and family goodbye. Have a wife? How is she going to feel when you stop bringing home the bacon and she needs to get a part-time or even full-time job to fulfill your preset economic appetite?

She has a job already? She'll never see you, and your standard of living will still go down. Don't underestimate how the physical and mental pressures of residency affect a 30 something person who gave up a 6 figure chill job to be poo'd upon by people younger and often less wise than he/she, while working "80 hours a week" 🙂laugh🙂 in a dirty hospital 6 days a week for years.

Enjoy life. The grass is always greener, but believe me, you have a pretty plush field, and it will grow like crazy if you put any passion into your time off. Practicing medicine is one of the last things most doctors are able to do these days. Remember that.

 

[Coastie]

Inner city high school teaching in between medical school and residency? Sounds like you're a glutton for punishment!

How does your family really feel about being put through that ringer? We can't paint a rosy picture for the effect this persons decision will have on their family..

I was in a similar situation except I waited to go back until I was 40, and went to a Caribbean school. I have had to sit out a while between graduation and residency and in the interim have been teaching high school in a inner city school.

My other job was lower six figures at about 25-30 hours per week of work. 3 hour lunches. Lots of vacation time. Hated it.

As a teacher I am making a paltry fraction of that and love it so much more. I loved clinical rotations in medicine. But I hate being poor. I can remember taking my family (I am married 18 years with 4 children) to do something fun at least every week- but now going to the movies breaks the bank. We went to the mall yesterday just to walk around and had to tell the youngest one not to expect to buy anything before hand so he was not dissappointed, but that we would eat there.

However my family is very happy. My kids thrive in school (9th grader taking 2 college credit classes, 11th grader taking college credit calculus), have lots of friends and do well athletically. All our fun now is at home things like playing cards - usually something simple like Blink so that my 6 year old can play. We don't go to the mall or movies or out to eat every week. We have not taken a cool vacation in years (we use to do lots of cruises, rent beach houses for a week, theme parks like Disneyworld etc). Money makes things much much easier, but we are quite happy during this starvation period. My wife is the most lovely and supportive woman ever created on Gods green earth, and enduring this has formed another memory of how much I appreciate her. I pity all other men who must marry other women. I sometimes am not sure why other guys even bother getting married. I am serious, its sometimes hard for me not to be critical of how other wives are, my wife is so wonderful.

I really look forward to making good money again. I was offered a prematch to residency this year so I am good to go. Just 3 more years of indentured servitude.

My old job I grew to hate so much, it was mind numbingly monotonous. Being poor sucks, but it does not make me unhappy - just sometimes stressed and I sometimes feel bad I cannot do more for my kids.

Medicine was a fun adventure. I loved all my rotations (family, internal medicine, dermatology, rheumatology, etc-except I only liked pedes). I got to inject trigger points, insert a nasogastric tube, cauterize a nose, biopsy a suspicious skin lesion all by myself and suture it up, and all sorts of cool junk. In my old job I literally could think about other things while talking to clients - I had said the same thing so many times for 15 years that it would just roll out of my mouth like a recording while my mind would think about what I was going to do on the weekend. Nothing had really changed in my job in 15 years.

Medicine is constantly changing. If you want to be bitter and unhappy in the field you can, and you can be unexcited and also just be a robot. Many doctors choose to do this. But you can also constantly learn and stay abreast of the rapidly developing technology and be excited if you want. I really did not have a choice in my old career, nothing had changed in decades - I look at others in that field and they too feel the same way. Some can endure it, many cannot. I cannot. Luckily I got into something as dynamic as medicine.

I actually loved studying for boards and learning. On days that I could only devote to study I would get up 4 or 5 AM drink coffee (I began drinking coffee at this time and loved it), listen to Eminems song LOSE YOURSELF and start studying. I loved studying for boards. THere is so much to learn - adhesion factors of monocytes and how cortisone affects it, fibrillin defects and Marfan's syndrome, Whipple procedures and pancreatic cancer, the pH of urine and Renal Tubular Acidosis type 1 which is a defect in the distal convoluted tubule, how Albuterol lowers serum potassium, how Kayexylate exchanges sodium for potassium in the gut....I could go on and on. I found it very exciting.

It made me appreciate my life. In a geriatric rotation I sat in the room of an elderly lady with pneumonia. We pretty much knew she was going to die - her life could be counted in hours if not minutes. I thought of my own mortality and I realized I did not want to ever lay on a bed in that position and think DAMN, I wish I had (whatever) before I died. She certainly was not taking one penney of her money with her, only had a moment to reflect if she had lived life the way she wanted to. I am living life the way I want to. I am poor and hate that, but glad I am doing what it is I am doing.

If you have family and they cannot "make do", or going without, then I would not do it. If having tight finances for a few years will be okay then go for it - especially as a top 20 United States medical school grad your path to whatever you want to do will be so much easier.

 

[Coastie]

I hate it point out the obvious, but you're teaching at high school instead of doing a residency, and he's practicing physician. If I was the OP, I'd weigh the opinions accordingly.

I love my job as a resident, and it seems pretty obvious Johan doesn't love his. Regardless, he makes a lot of great points...Points which cannot be refuted by claiming he is......well, whatever you said he was in this post below.

I am guessing you are an average traditional twenty something. Meaning you are spoiled ;have had no real responsibility, experience or job in life and probably lack any real self-discipline.

Growing up never knowing what life is like without a microwave, video games etc - you have no idea what boring is. Your teens years :eating microwaved popcorn on your parents couch, while playing video games and complaining you are bored. You are probably in your twenties and could not do more than 10 pull ups or 75 push ups if you tried.

Medicine at its most boring allows alot of thinking, decision making and there are always numerous choices in regards to treatment - HMO's considered. Try working on a car assembly line for awhile if you want to know monotony, or a coal mine, or bailing hay for a living.

Saying that you consider medicine " the most boring profession" tells me without any doubt, you have very little experience (if any) in the working world. You have no taste of various professions or you would not say something that obviously ignorant.Your opinion means less than squat.

 

[leechy]

I originally believed that medicine (ie - the business of life and death) would provide me deep gratification, some kind of alleviation of existential angst, a little bit of meaning.

Still waiting.

I share the sentiment - chose med school because I thought a medical career would be more meaningful than being a corporate wage-slave.

Boy, was I wrong. It's a long, arduous path, and you feel like an indentured servant much of the time. It is a HUGE committment of time and money - throwing years of carefree life and full nights of sleep down the tubes - and it ultimately can feel like just another job.

I agree with the other posters who recommended that you try to add meaning to your life in other ways.

 

[PeepshowJohnny]

Even if this story isn't true, I like the angle of "with millions of dollars, would you still go into medicine?"

For me, the answer would probaby be an unequivocable "Yes." However, I'm as traditional a med student as you'll ever find. Medicine from me was a straight path from high school to college to acceptance. This is always what I wanted to do, I didn't pursue another interest and then came to medicine because I wanted money or a a career with more "meaning". In this way, I think I'm a little insulated from the phenomenon of some nontrads who come to medicine expecting enlightenment and end up a little underwhelmed. Also, I'm cynical by personality and had enough clinical exposure in school to know that medicine isn't the fairyland traditional premeds dream it to be. All the complaints about patients, nursing, hospital rules, etc. that I heard en masse when clinicals started were all old hat to me.

Now, I only bring this up because it can give you an idea about what path your should pursue. Are your expectations realistic? Medicine is a job. It's a pretty unique, cool job, but it's still a job. Basically, if you're looking for validation, enlightenment, the meaning of life, "to make a difference" etc. there are better fields for that. If you're looking for a job where where you get paid to problem solve medical issues (and plenty of nonmedical too) and work with some cool colleagues, be a doctor.

 

[yippyskippy]

I love medicine. I would still do it if I had millions. That isn't to say that I won't have several miserable years of my life that I wouldn't have otherwise had, but looking honestly at myself, I don't think I would be happy elsewhere. I get bored if I'm not working like crazy, and I feel bummed working in a job where I don't feel like I'm doing anything meaningful. I think that working with patients is often super-frustrating, but there is usually at least one moment in the day that you feel really proud of... or at least I do. I'm a bit cheesy as well. I think life as a resident is pretty unfulfilling, but it does end.

 

[Leukocyte]

...I think that working with patients is often super-frustrating, but.....

It is amasing how you can tell a poster's gender by just paying attention to their choice of words.😀

Sorry yippyskippy, I just find it amazing...the difference between boys and girls. Anyhow, you have a valid point...Pinky-Swear!😉

I am just joking, please do not get mad.

 

[Hockeyguy]

To the OP if you worked hard enough to get accepted to a top med school you must really want it. I will be a voice of dissention and say go for it. I went a more tradional route 4 years college, year off, four years at state med school now about halfway through residency in Anesthesiology and I actually really do enjoy Medicine, Anesthesiology and my job.

I never feel like I missed out on anything. I played hockey in college. Partied a ton went to Cancun for spring break etc. Basically had a normal college experience, probabaly the best four years of my life. Med school was great too. Made some really good friends, 2 or 3 I will be close with the rest of my life I'm sure. Will probably practice with them in the future. Got married in med school had a couple of kids. Did a surgery internship, was hard work but still overall a great year and a great experience. Plus I did some cool s hit. 1st assist on a CABG, emergent chest tubes etc.

My point is not to give you my life story but to make the example you can do medicine and have a life. I feel very fufillied in almost every area of my life. The only area I don't is financially. But I don't owe a ton, we are fine my wife stays home with the kids. Plus in two years I will hopefully be making more. My guess is a lot of these malcontents (sp) on SDN don't realize they would probably be miserable doing just about anything. If you look in your heart and think you would be happy in medicne go for it. You always have your current career to fall back on it sounds like. PM meif you want to chat about anything else. Good luck with your choice man I am sure you will make the best descion for you.

Mario

 

[Doowai]

Inner city high school teaching in between medical school and residency? Sounds like you're a glutton for punishment!

How does your family really feel about being put through that ringer? We can't paint a rosy picture for the effect this persons decision will have on their family..

My wife and kids are very cool with it. I love the school I am teaching at. I LOVE it. I look forward to going to school. Nobody has ever heard me complain about it. We have had 2 gun incidents this year - one a kid got shot in the leg, the other was just intimidation. The kids really like me there and know my love and concern for them. I have broken up a number of fights - I mean brawls of 20-50 people - some are on Youtube. At one 2 security gaurds got beat up, and a teacher got knocked down and kicked repeatedly - although given ample opportunities the students never hit me once.

Today, 3rd hour a kid was so mad because another kid at school put him in danger this weekend and 2 guys put guns to his head - he was in class yelling how he was going to kill this kid. I took him outside and discussed with him how when I was a junior in high school one of my acquaintences since kindergarten murdered this guy and just got out of prison - and not to let his emotions get away with him or he could spend many decades in the slammer and its not worth it - he knows to contact me if he needs to talk or help. Last week 3 of my kids got out of "the Durango hilton" a jail here - 2 for drug charges and one for murder charges. he swears he was only there and did not kill the guy - I believe him. We walked around the track for about 30 minutes and I discussed with him how to avoid the problems he is in. A big part of the trouble is the gang he is in - they are big out here. There are 2 ways out - get jumped out or get killed. If he leaves and they are afaid he will snitch they will kill him. I asked him if there was fmily out of state he could go live with - and he has an uncle in Mexico , but that uncle is a member of this gang too.***

One of my faves is a girl literally born to a crack prostitute, now in a foster home with 25 kids (specially certified). She has had a h-a-r-d life, and I have never seen her without a smile. She is so positive. She kind of bothers some of the kids because she is a bit clingy and needy - and all the kids have needs and have little to give. I love having her run across the common area to give me a high five. One of my goals is to help the kids in class see what a special person she is. She has met my wife and really clings to her when she sees her.

I love it. My upbringing was not too different so it feels like home. many of the kids have stab wounds and the like or have seen a family member killed in front of their eyes.

My wife has been with me during the start up of several businesses - and believe me that can be grueling. She also let me do MMA in the 90's - even though it sometimes resulted in injuries.

My wife grew up very sheltered and privileged. Around alot of wealth in Maryland. One of the Marriots came to our wedding reception in her state. We are sooooooo different. Most of my high school friends are dead or in jail. She has never had an alcoholic drink or cigarette.

She knows what residency will be like, in fact we may not live together the first year so my oldest son can finish high school here. She let me give up a great salary to do this. She let me turn down a certain prematch to wait for more of what I wanted.

Maybe I am a glutton for punishment, but I always enjoy what I do and if I don't I move on. I loved my businesses when I started - then it got old, then I hated it, so then I moved on.


*** Many who grew up privileged may wonder why they just do not stay out of gangs. It is often harder to avoid gangs or get out of gangs than it is for the people on here who have $200,000 of debt to get out of medicine. It still gets cold out here, and many youth do not have coats etc because they can't afford them. Many have no food at home - they get a free lunch at school and that is often the only meal they get that day. If you are in a gang you will not go hungry or without adequate clothes - and neither will your family. It is quite heady when you are 14 and have 4 brothers and sisters and there is no food in the fridge, and no father in the home, and you can fill the fridge and put clothes on everyones back by being in a gang. For some of the kids in gangs, if it was not for them - there would be no food for the rest of the family. It is economic survival as much as anything. They get in to support their families as much as anything sometimes - and once in, knowing you can only get jumped out or killed makes it hard to get out. But they whine about it less than the wussies on here

 

[Doowai]

Medicine is the most boring profession in my opinion.. you are just following protocols and guidelines..

Okay since there was no response to my question let me say this as someone who has worked several full time jobs as an adult including but not limited to :
High school teacher for 2 years now
Paid extra in TV and movies
Owner of my own business 16 years
Ran a martial arts school for 4 years
Bar bouncer/security when in my twenties
On a farm, bailing hay etc
book warehouse, boxing and shipping books
Montgomery Wards shoe salesman


Saying "medicine is the most boring profession" is a naieve superlative. There are many jobs more boring. Bailing hay is more boring - but it was a great job when I did it. Working with friends - walking along a field talking crap, tossing 80 LB bails onto a wagon, - and a beer never tasted better than after bailing hay on a Missouri summer day. Boring but fun.

Security in a bar was exciting at times. Book warehouse was boring as hell - but lots of girls worked there and I dated some real catches. Shoe salesman was boring.

In my teens many other jobs were not so good - worked Burger King for a year, did landscaping, movie projectionist was okay, stapled papers in a business for a summer, sold cokes at the football stadium (Cokes... getcher Cokes here).

Medicine is not THE most boring job. I loved studying for boards. You have a lot of leeway and can do a great many fun things - cut out some skin lesion, stitch someone up, etc etc etc. Someone who thinks medicine is THE most boring job out there is someone who invests NO energy in keeping up to date or trying to take advantage of all the opportunities available to them. Anyone who thinks surgery is boring, or EM, etc is someone who is naieve as to the ways of the working world. Sit and put hamburgers together at BK for an 8 hour shift. Walk up and down football stadium steps for hours yelling "Co-ookes".

Some people are born whiners - I hear some teachers complain in the teachers lounge about the students. Exactly what they hate I love. Talking one kid out of ruining his life and others by killing or even just beating down another kid means so much to me. I saw my teenage friends one by one go to jail or die of heroin overdoses or suicide or car wrecks etc. I got lucky and pulled my head out of my butt when I was 17. To see some of my students end up married, and employed etc when they are my age and escape jail and death means so much to me. I love it. I make a fraction of what I made a few years ago but am very happy.

The same thing is true in medicine. You have the chance to alter lives. Some people , with that great privilege will whine about working X hours per week or ONLY making $100,000 a year. That sort of whining really sickens and angers me. I don't feel sorry for them at all. Seeing a student whose dad just got killed, or one of them put in the hospital after getting jumped by a group of guys with baseball bats etc etc etc - that makes me feel sorry for someone.

To the OP - life is yours, and it goes by very quick - I can remember almost 20 years ago when I was your age - in a blink you will be where I am - what will dissappoint you more; what you miss by not making the money and using your free time as you want, or not being a MD. You can always make money back, you can never get back one day of your life.

 

[maxbaner]

As someone who has done a lot of shadowing I'm still a bit undecided between medicine and pharmacy. With medicine, I am very interested in FM. I met a great FM that I shadowed and could see great enjoyment in doing that. With pharmacy it can get pretty busy, when things slow down it may get boring but there are things that I can do to occupy time. Usually work 5 days/week with some weekends. But for some reason I think that going into pharmacy will give me the time and flexibility to have hobbies and activities. But maybe FM will do the same? With FM, the schedule is nice working 8-5 4 or 5 days a week. The thing is that my stomach turns in knots when I think about the stress and sleep deprivation I will endure in education/residency. I'm just afraid that I will really regret it during the training and seriously quit. Maybe I should do the other and enter medicine afterwards knowing that I can get out, I think that would somehow put my mind at ease and actually go through it w/ no problem.

Please continue to put in opinions and input on what all of you feel about medicine vs. alternatives. Also state what specialty you are doing, thanks.

 

[Blade28]

Maybe I should do the other and enter medicine afterwards knowing that I can get out, I think that would somehow put my mind at ease and actually go through it w/ no problem.

With all due respect, I think going to school to get your PharmD, then working as a pharmacist, THEN going back to finish your pre-reqs and go to med school is a bad plan.

You have to decide for yourself which career appeals more to you. You still have time - that's what volunteering, shadowing, etc. is for. Try to gain a wide variety of experiences in both medicine and pharmacy and see which you prefer. But please don't try to do both! 😱

 

[danzman]

With all due respect, I think going to school to get your PharmD, then working as a pharmacist, THEN going back to finish your pre-reqs and go to med school is a bad plan.

You have to decide for yourself which career appeals more to you. You still have time - that's what volunteering, shadowing, etc. is for. Try to gain a wide variety of experiences in both medicine and pharmacy and see which you prefer. But please don't try to do both! 😱

I second that!

 

[superoxide]

Doowai: I really like your posts. Good luck to you 👍

 

[maxbaner]

Blade you are right, not a good idea to go through both. I'm just so indecisive knowing that what choice I make will affect the rest of my life. I like medicine and would like to try it but I'm afraid I may end up not liking it as much as I thought. I would be satisfied with a PharmD but I wonder if I will continually think of what it would be like to go into medicine. From shadowing,work,etc I found negatives and positives in both fields and still undecided. Thanks for your help and advice! I guess I just need to continually think and look at each possibility and get more input.

 

[Faebinder]

The first thought that came to my mind when i read the OP (is this a CRNA?)


Anyway.... I will add to the pile on. Don't leave the job, find a meaning for your life other than self inflicted torture. If you keep having these masochistic thoughts, consider psychotherapy.

 

[roja]

I was where you are. I went to med school after working in a completely different field. I was very cautious about my decision and made sure that I knew what I was getting into.

If you are aware of the pros and cons (which I imagine that you do), and you still love it, then go for it. I worked a great job, made plenty of money and absolutely hated it.

I love what I do. Even on the days I don't love it. There is nothing else I can imagine doing. Medicine is a great career, when you know what you are getting into. If you thinks its going to be a magical fairly tale of money, love and respect where you swoop in and make everyone feel like they have eaten fairy dust, then you will likely be unhappy. However, if you realize it can be intellectually challenging, satisfying, sometimes annoying but overall it makes you happy, then go for it.

The key is to know what you are getting into but recognizing the pros and cons.

Yup, some days are boring. And that's okay with me. Overall, I like what I do and most people who are miserable doing what they are doing are probably going to be miserable no matter what.

You have managed to figure out something important about yourself. Go with it.

 

[Top Gun]

Okay since there was no response to my question let me say this as someone who has worked several full time jobs as an adult including but not limited to :
High school teacher for 2 years now
Paid extra in TV and movies
Owner of my own business 16 years
Ran a martial arts school for 4 years
Bar bouncer/security when in my twenties
On a farm, bailing hay etc
book warehouse, boxing and shipping books
Montgomery Wards shoe salesman


Saying "medicine is the most boring profession" is a naieve superlative. There are many jobs more boring. Bailing hay is more boring - but it was a great job when I did it. Working with friends - walking along a field talking crap, tossing 80 LB bails onto a wagon, - and a beer never tasted better than after bailing hay on a Missouri summer day. Boring but fun.

Security in a bar was exciting at times. Book warehouse was boring as hell - but lots of girls worked there and I dated some real catches. Shoe salesman was boring.

In my teens many other jobs were not so good - worked Burger King for a year, did landscaping, movie projectionist was okay, stapled papers in a business for a summer, sold cokes at the football stadium (Cokes... getcher Cokes here).

Medicine is not THE most boring job. I loved studying for boards. You have a lot of leeway and can do a great many fun things - cut out some skin lesion, stitch someone up, etc etc etc. Someone who thinks medicine is THE most boring job out there is someone who invests NO energy in keeping up to date or trying to take advantage of all the opportunities available to them. Anyone who thinks surgery is boring, or EM, etc is someone who is naieve as to the ways of the working world. Sit and put hamburgers together at BK for an 8 hour shift. Walk up and down football stadium steps for hours yelling "Co-ookes".

Some people are born whiners - I hear some teachers complain in the teachers lounge about the students. Exactly what they hate I love. Talking one kid out of ruining his life and others by killing or even just beating down another kid means so much to me. I saw my teenage friends one by one go to jail or die of heroin overdoses or suicide or car wrecks etc. I got lucky and pulled my head out of my butt when I was 17. To see some of my students end up married, and employed etc when they are my age and escape jail and death means so much to me. I love it. I make a fraction of what I made a few years ago but am very happy.

The same thing is true in medicine. You have the chance to alter lives. Some people , with that great privilege will whine about working X hours per week or ONLY making $100,000 a year. That sort of whining really sickens and angers me. I don't feel sorry for them at all. Seeing a student whose dad just got killed, or one of them put in the hospital after getting jumped by a group of guys with baseball bats etc etc etc - that makes me feel sorry for someone.

To the OP - life is yours, and it goes by very quick - I can remember almost 20 years ago when I was your age - in a blink you will be where I am - what will dissappoint you more; what you miss by not making the money and using your free time as you want, or not being a MD. You can always make money back, you can never get back one day of your life.

I have a question. Are you still sure you want to do medicine? In two posts, you go on and on about how much you love teaching high school kids. Are you sure teaching isn't your true calling?