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Hi everyone. This is my first MomMD post. I am 28 years old and I currently work in the investment industry. When I was in college majoring in business, I THOUGHT this was what I wanted to do with my life, but now I feel so disillusioned with the whole financial industry. I feel like my job has no impact on the world at all. Lately I’ve been seriously considering a career in medicine, but since I’m a business major with no medical experience I would have to start over from the beginning. This is the plan I’m proposing to myself. I would appreciate any feedback or ideas…
1. Volunteer at a local hospital for a year or two to get clinical experience. This will also give me a little time to pay off some debt that I incurred during my irresponsible early 20’s. LOL.
2. Enroll in a post-bac premed program at a local state university. If possible I would like to do this part time so I can still keep my job and save some money.
3. Study for the MCAT like a maniac and pass!
4. Apply and get accepted to a state medical school. Quit my full time job and take out loans to support myself while in med school.
5. Endure many years of grueling work and sacrifice.
6. Become a doctor!
Can I do this?!
Thanks for your help!
Kim
Such a nice, tidy “TO DO” list. 😀
I think everyone on these message boards is a little bit crazy and a whole lot biased about what you should do with your life, but I switched majors from business to get into the medical field, and I’m glad I did!
Come on, you know you want to be a doctor, all the cool kids are doing it!! 😉
Best of Luck
Audrey
Thanks for the encouragement! I’m still in the earliest stages of deciding right now and I think that volunteering at the hospital will help me see how things really work. At least I hope so! Also, there are a lot of medical students who live in my apartment building b/c it’s close to the local med school, so I may try to meet one of them.
The funny thing is that while I was in college I never paid attention in my science classes b/c I always thought “oh, I only need to know this if I want to be a doctor.” How does that old saying go… If I only knew then what I know now. 😉
Kim
Hi Kim. Wow, your story is almost exactly the same as mine. Even your plan is the same as mine. :rotfl: The only difference is that I work in the editorial field (publishing, always for non-profit groups/associations) and I didn’t think about this as undergrad…only now that I haven’t ever gotten any satsifaction out of corporate life.
We’ll get there eventually. 🙂
Love,
StacyKim and Stacy,
I’m in the same exact boat..leaving finance to pursue medicine. And yes, I took zero science courses in college b/c becoming a doctor never really crossed my mind. I had my mind set on doing finance
Hey Kim, I just had one thought..all that sounds great. I’m just wondering (even though you might not be interested in this) if you started the post bac program now and started volunteering, would you still have to continue paying loans off? I’m just wondering because I thought some loans you don’t have to pay on while you’re in school.
Melissa 🙂Kim, Stacey and Undecided,
Im also in the same boat, 30 years old and a graphic designer. I think I must of re-written my
‘plan of attack’ a million times over now. As you might of guessed I also have 0 of the pre-req’s.
I can’t tell you how encouraging it is to know that I’m not alone, I haven’t received any support from my family about this decision and my sister just lectured me about how old I would be when I graduate. She insists that I should invest in real estate via Carlton Sheets I’ve been seething about it for a week. So happy to have met you all. 🙂Kim,
Your plan sounds good and as you can see, many others have pursued this same path! I wanted to mention that in terms of volunteering you might also consider a smaller setting, perhaps a community-based clinic. Based on my own experience this was more rewarding and satisfying than a large hospital. I first volunteered in a major hospital, and while I did get to see alot of different things, I wasn’t able to get alot of ‘hands on’ experience, and I often felt that I wasn’t being helpful. Then I sought out a clinic for homeless people and it was the complete opposite experience….as a volunteer medical assistant I was able to really be directly involved in the care of patients! This was much more rewarding for me.
Best of luck.
You can add me to the list – my story is the same (and my name is Kim too)! I worked in investment banking for 4.5 years and just never felt that I was doing anything that would benefit anything other than my bank account. I finally got out – my husband and I bought a small bakery – but I’m still feeling as if I haven’t made enough of my life. I really want to help people. I have one pre-req from college 13 years ago (I’m 31) and I’ve signed up to take General Chemistry II this semester. I am going to start volunteering in January at our local hospital. I’m pregnant with my second child, so all this may take awhile, but will certainly be worth it if this is my true calling. Thank you all for sharing your stories – they offer much encouragement!
Ditto here! Did my MBA then almost 5 years in investment banking….felt I was just pushing paper around and not really contributing anything worthwhile to the world. Pay was good though 😮 😉 . Moved across country with my dh and tried a few other things until I finally decided to go for it. Went back to school for prereqs and now am playing the waiting game. I am 38 and have 3 kids aged 7, 5 and 3. :wave:
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