While I've enjoyed my last 4 years working in tech, i keep feeling a pull towards a career in medicine. Every day I log into my machine I feel horrible that I'm doing this work to inflate the pockets of others, while the world is suffering. I want to do more and im thinking of taking pre reqs at night, and preparing myself for MCAT. This may be the wrong forum to ask, but i was wondering if anyone can share some words of encouragement, career change success stories, or just some generic tips I'd greatly appreciate it.
Honestly don't have any advice, but this is actually a super refreshing perspective. I hear all the time about people in healthcare that want to/transition into tech but have never witnessed it the other way around. Good luck with everything!
Thank you!
Honestly, I see a ton of burnout and people looking to get out. I’d look for mentors in the medical field who can discuss their daily life and the administrative and emotional burden that the current state of medicine puts on them. I would venture a guess that most of the people you speak with won’t be very idealistic about helping human suffering.
I can vouch that the observation above deserves additional exploring by the original post owner. I've been in health care 15 years and I'd recommend job practice shadowing exactly what you'd like to do in medicine and poll a few people in related fields to hear an honest assessment of what your life could be like. I will say that you'll likely get the residency of your choice given your tech background because most medicine models are decades behind where they should be tech wise and you'd be an instant star with your background and ability to provide immediate tech centered patient care improvement recommendations. Knowing what I know now I wish I earned a CS degree first...
This is the insight I was looking for, so no worries, I want the real stuff so much appreciated!
You should refer the folks who get stabbed repeatedly to a self defence class
I'd recommend looking into physician assistant, nurse practitioner, or accelerated bachelor's of science in nursing programs. A less drawn-out route than medical school to start hands on care of patients in a meaningful way. You could also start off by getting a EMT basic certification or nursing assistant license, volunteering or working weekends/per diem to see if hands-on care is something you are passion about. Best of luck!
Thanks for the recos, while those paths seem attractive,, the main reason why I didn't choose any of them is bc I want to operate. I'm looking into becoming a surgeon 🙂
I think PAs can also operate to some extent.
You could apply to Intuitive or other companies in the bme field. Unfortunately you'll still be filling the pockets of others but it might give you a different perspective towards tech from Microsoft. Otherwise I wish you the best of luck with the journey, I completely relate to the feeling of burn out.
Consider joining a startup thats in the medical field. Could be a nice change of pace
Lots of work in healthcare focus on helping people. You should look into health companies that actually do good. You can work at large non profits, Hospitals, even insurance companies can give you a chance to make a difference somehow. Food for thought.
What about working for a tech company in the healthcare space?
I love this attitude. Good luck making the switch. I don’t know exactly which types of doctors feel the most fulfilled but I know it varies. Some doctors feel trapped in a for-profit healthcare system too. And they don’t have the resources to help patients without bankrupting them. I would just suggest keep digging and taking charge. You’ll find a way to make a difference.
I would maybe avoid the RN-PA route because so many doctors are so cruel to them. Check reddit- you’ll find a lot of bitter MDs.
Thanks a lot raVH71 for the kind words
Have you thought about some combination that might be less of an investment? Perhaps computational biology, or biological data science? You'd be able to fall back to the CS easily, and not lose quite as much in the educational process should you return for a M{S,A,CS}.
Thats a good point. I'll do some research on these options
please share what you found after research