Leaving tech for medical school?

You're not crazy, it's great to follow your passion. I have many other interests that I would like to pursue but am working in tech until I have enough of a monetary safety net to take the leap. You should definitely consider that the grass isn't always greener though. The medical profession can be extremely stressful and is a huge time investment.

Bump. Dont do this. Takes a “LOOOONG” time to settle down as a doctor... where settling isn’t just about money, but life. You might be around 40 when you feel settled. A lot changes in those years. It’s great you have that passion. But you’ve built some potential in yourself in tech. Don’t ignore that you will be losing that when changing careers. Good luck!!

I would not recommend becoming a doctor for anybody, no matter how passionate you are. My justification is based on residency. Residency is a brutal, inhumane and soul crushing experience. You will work 80+ hour weeks as the norm, never the exception. Your TC will be $40-50k. No negotiation. You have almost no control over your vacation, time off, or schedule. You will be bossed around by incompetent nurses and higher up attendings, talked down to, and treated like a child despite the fact you went through med school. Why? Because you are considered an intern. It is a highly political environment. You have to do this for 3-5 long, unrewarding and physically damaging years. Yes, physically damaging because you will never have time for sleep or regular meals. Resident doctors are some of the unhealthiest people out there. Say goodbye to your social life, to being able to take vacations when you want, to even just enjoying a quiet Friday evening with a movie and a friend because you have to get up at 4am the next day. And the next day. And the next. Meanwhile you get out at 6pm if you're lucky. And after one day off every two weeks you then have to pull a 30 hour shift carrying pagers for 10 other units and literally being everyone's bitch. It's slave labor and they know they have you under their control because of the opportunity cost of quitting. You can't take a year off or transfer to another program because that ruins the whole program schedule for all the other residents. I am not exaggerating the above at all. Source: my wife did this and I experienced it with her every step of the way, though I do work in tech. Her experience is validated by her dozens of doctor friends that I know intimately and have spoken with at length about this. If you have a burning desire to help people, try volunteer work or something. If you really want the medical satisfaction, try being a physician's assistant or something like that. Hope you found this helpful.

I know this feeling all too well as I was heading into medicine before diverting to tech years ago. There are days I wish I could go back or even change my current life around it, but... The harsh reality is that medicine is one thing, the healthcare industrial complex is another entirely. Practicing medicine isn't really about the patient - it's about the medical group/hospital, insurance company/Medicare, regulators and lawyers.

You may be able to get into medical tech or even supporting clinical studies without an becoming an MD. There are plenty of high paying jobs helping people without taking Medical school and residency. Take on a side gig or move to med tech while you stack cash. You have time to decide.

As a former Healthcare Provider believe me when I say this...YOU WILL HATE YOUR LIFE in medicine. All the comments are spot on. Ive seen Doctors cry and state that they wish they never went into medicine and now they can’t leave because of the student loans. I left medicine and came to tech. Couldn’t be happier.

I know someone who made the transition to health care (albeit pharmacy, which is a slightly easier road) from tech, and who seems much happier there, and my wife is an RN. For all that it's easy to over-glamorize the medical profession, you will be able to help people directly (although you may have to choose between higher-impact patient care and earning better money) and you'll have a degree of job security you'll never have in tech. 26 isn't really that old to go back although depending on how close to the premed requirements your undergrad classes are, you might have a couple of years of that before you can even apply to med school. If you're interested in primary care, you might also look at the (already mentioned) Physician Assistant or (similar but not the same) Nurse Practitioner routes; the exact scope of practice varies for each (in part by the state you'd be licensed in), but they're both an increasing part of the primary care picture and would get you working actively in patient care a bit to a lot sooner than a medical degree + residency. As an alternative, have you looked into whether there are ways you could apply your current skill-set to helping people be well? A lot of "tech for wellness" seems to be pretty hokey, but there is also some really interesting stuff out there in the bio-tech and technology for medicine world. Definitely not the same as one-on-one patient care, though. One other thought: look into whether there's a school program you could take part time while working that would get you some indirect exposure to that sort of work and possibly look good on a medical school application. The coursework towards an EMT license is pretty easy, for example.

Thanks for all answers so far! Many have confirmed that medical tech may be a better move, such as applying to Stryker (near Seattle) or some other medical technology company. I would only require 2 undergrad classes before applying to med school, but it seems that med school may not be worth it.

Is your salary 220 or does that include everything? You wont be making 220 base unless you are in specialty