6730b Posted July 21, 2011 Report Share Posted July 21, 2011 Hi, I am seriously considering a major career change and any feedback from medical students, residents, or attendings would be so helpful. Do you enjoy your job/career? Do you get exicted to go to work? I'm sure there is plenty of negatives to medicine, which I have tried to read about. But, Is it worth the risk for me to leave a stable paying job and take on tons of debt? I beleive money doesn't buy happiness. I am in a job where the hours will be comparable to med school hours and is also is a job with alot of responsibility. So, I believe I can handle the hours and stress. Any thoughts would be great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psychoswim Posted July 21, 2011 Report Share Posted July 21, 2011 Does your current job fit into what you want of your life? That's the most important question. If you are seriously considering changing, then I suspect it does not. So ask yourself, what is it about your current situation that doesn't work, or what is it that you think medicine can give you that your current job cannot? I loved studying computer science, thoroughly enjoyed my masters in computer graphics. But I eventually realized I do not want to work in that field, that I need to be constantly intellectually stimulated and work with people. I'm extremely excited about starting med school, and looking forward very much to finally starting clinical rotations in 3 years and residency in 5. I know there are hardships, but it doesn't bother me as I've done all of that in my training before. Money has nothing to do with my move. It's never easy to really ponder all the information, but it's the only way to know, and even then we can always turn out to be wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lactic Folly Posted July 21, 2011 Report Share Posted July 21, 2011 I'm very happy with my job. Medicine is a broad field that can suit a number of different personalities and interests. But only you can decide if the change is worth it for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NLengr Posted July 22, 2011 Report Share Posted July 22, 2011 The risk from the large debt long term is minimal. You will make enough to pay it back after a few years of practice if you are smart. The question really is are you willing to live somewhat meagerly during training. Nothing major, but you probably don't want to be drinking fancy wine nightly or taking tri-annual European vacations. Similarly, residency can be tight for funds so you need to be reasonable and smart about money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coastalslacker Posted July 25, 2011 Report Share Posted July 25, 2011 I love my job, but the length of training is somewhat oppressive (10 or 11 years when I'm all done). With a young family I really need to get done with this sheet, start paying off my debt, and making some money. The hours shouldn't be an issue - the hours in med school are pretty slack - even most clerkship rotations aren't really that bad, depending on your training centre, I suppose. Residency needn't be that bad either - really depends on what you go into. In the end I can't think of anything more rewarding than operating and fixing stuff. But, if I had to go to clinic every day I would go insane.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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