Stackenblochen Posted February 10, 2012 Report Share Posted February 10, 2012 Sometimes I'm prone to mope and start thinking ... "if (a big IF) everything goes to plan ... I'll be entering medical school when I'm 27-28." I know that age is just a number, but it's painful when all around you your friends are starting their careers, getting married, buying houses, and you're still stuck in that first undergraduate degree and waiting to finish it before you even START your second undergrad ... So non-Trads, what keeps you going? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RaVen777 Posted February 10, 2012 Report Share Posted February 10, 2012 Hush now. There are plenty of people in my class over the age of 27. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
astrogirl Posted February 10, 2012 Report Share Posted February 10, 2012 The average age of our class is like 26, which means that there are quite a few of us "older" people around. I don't know how old you are, but I'm 29, and a few years ago I felt a bit like you did - all my friends were getting married, buying houses, etc. Now it seems like all of my friends are getting divorced and defaulting on their mortgages. I do occasionally feel like some people in my life don't treat me like an adult because I'm *still in school*, but I'm doing what I want to do with my life, and I feel good about that. I was going to get old whether I stayed on the career path I wasn't happy with or whether I started all over and did med school, and I'm really happy with what I'm doing. That's really all that matters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psychoswim Posted February 10, 2012 Report Share Posted February 10, 2012 You could always be in QC where the average entering age is 19 Even then, we are about 10 students out of 200 over 30 in my class... though I'm pretty sure I'm the only single one haha. Even with my younger sister buying a house soon and starting work as a lawyer, I'm still very happy with my choice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr.Henderson Posted February 11, 2012 Report Share Posted February 11, 2012 I just got my first interview this year and if I'm successful (*fingers crossed* *lucky rabbit foot in hand*) I will be 27 when starting. If not, I will try again next year and then I'll be 28! Life is long, and life will be good if you can achieve your dream job. I would rather wake up and do something that I love every single day from my 30's on, than be established in a career in my early 20's either wondering what could've been, or just doing something I'm unhappy with. Being a doctor isn't like some other jobs where it'd be painful to work later on in life anyways (not that you'd have to after smart financial planning with a physician's income), I had a family doc who was working mornings only Monday-Thursday into his late 60's simply because he still loved his job- and he was sharp as a tack. Make a long term plan- mine was 5 years (on year 3 right now)- that includes a back-up to medicine that you would ENJOY doing as a job, and then stop worrying about age. I've read this quote many times over the past years: “Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.” ― Confucius Hang in there, there are lots of us who can appreciate your situation <3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Der Kaiser Posted February 11, 2012 Report Share Posted February 11, 2012 I also just got my first interview ever and if successful will be starting at 31. When you are 20 you think that 30 is the end of your life. When you hit 30 you realize you likely have at least another 40 years. Might as well do what you want to do rather than what everyone thinks you should be doing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LostLamb Posted February 11, 2012 Report Share Posted February 11, 2012 *hugs* stackenblochen! Do a search of my posts to give you some perspective. Keep trying if this is what you want to do. LL =) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ondansetron Posted February 11, 2012 Report Share Posted February 11, 2012 I am in the same situation as you. I'm currently into my second semester of my second degree. I have been going through the same because the interview offers have been coming in and I got rejected from both schools that I applied to. Most of my friends are either already in medicine or other programs. I just dislike being an undergrad because of the same feelings. What keeps me going are the grades that I recieved last semester. And the fact that even though times are rough the end reward is TOTALLY worth it and at least I am doing something to pursue my dreams rather than giving up on them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RN-MD Posted February 19, 2012 Report Share Posted February 19, 2012 Although Im not focused on the age issue- I did think- "Three more years of school, and god knows how many of residency? How old am I going to be when I finally feel like a grown up?" But heres the thing, in my work with palliative patients I am often reminded that no one should be racing towards the finish line. If you want to be a doctor, be a doctor- work hard- apply- reapply- study hard, stay up late, be the best damned doctor you can be- enjoy every moment of it- because you are actively working towards a dream and that is never time wasted. You are going to be 30, 40, 50 eventually anyways, not going into medicine wont stop that- so if you spend the time doing what you love and learning then you and the world will be happier and better for it. I just like to think, if I doubt myself, and I feel scared about my future interview- it must mean I have something truly amazing on the line- truly something I want- and I feel reassured. Good luck to all of you on your interviews and congrats! Non-trad support coming from over here big time. In the words of Dory: Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stackenblochen Posted February 19, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 19, 2012 im in the same block OP, starting undergrad now at 24, will be 28 at best when i start med school. sister who is 2 years younger is finishing up a practical nursing diploma, has a boyfriend, will probably move into a house soon, and im sitting here knowing im going to be living at home for a long while to come. also yes, like you said - it definitely shows in the way people treat you. in the end i think being 28 will actually be beneficial for me, placing me in their "non-trad" category. makes me stick out, gives me a story. I feel like I've met my doppelgänger LOL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taiga gal Posted February 20, 2012 Report Share Posted February 20, 2012 I also just got my first interview ever and if successful will be starting at 31. When you are 20 you think that 30 is the end of your life. When you hit 30 you realize you likely have at least another 40 years. Might as well do what you want to do rather than what everyone thinks you should be doing. i love this, so true....i got an interview and if successful will be an MD at 50. i already have a child, home and career. i am going to be 50 one day no matter what i do...so bring on UG degree #3! hoping i can post my story here in May! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
future_doc Posted February 20, 2012 Report Share Posted February 20, 2012 25 years of practice is quite a contribution. I visited a 70+ patient recently and the doctor was in his early 40s. Then a younger doctor appeared on the scene and the older one immediately showed deference. Haha, I then realized the older one was a resident. Things are rarely as they appear. And most importantly, the patient received excellent care. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stackenblochen Posted February 20, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2012 Thanks for the replies. I guess for me it's hard since I've noticed people do tend to be quite condescending when you tell them you're still in school. Wish I had more premed non trads in my lectures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taiga gal Posted February 21, 2012 Report Share Posted February 21, 2012 yes this can be true, when i was doing my nursing degree i took a 'summer student' position one year and travelled around the territory with a 19 year old ( i was 41, 42? it gets hard to remember your age...) and sometimes we were not treated with respect, just because we were 'students'. i do look a lot younger than i am, but it bugged me. i was older than most of my instructors and preceptors too. but really, who cares what others think? just do what you want to do and stay focused. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paloma22 Posted March 19, 2012 Report Share Posted March 19, 2012 I also just got my first interview ever and if successful will be starting at 31. When you are 20 you think that 30 is the end of your life. When you hit 30 you realize you likely have at least another 40 years. Might as well do what you want to do rather than what everyone thinks you should be doing. I agree with Der Kaiser. I just came to terms with my path. I will be 25 in May. I always thought I wanted to be a naturopathic doctor coming from an enviro sci background, i applied last year and was accepted to both, but i always had doubts. i was in denial that what i REALLY deep down wanted, was traditional medicine. I now am sitting on a lousy 3.0 ug GPA and a 3.85 MA in public policy, something i did because it was fully funded/ seemed like a good idea. Im now returning to school in the fall to complete a second undergrad, likely in health science. Everyone around me thinks I'm crazy, and obviously I'm growing concerned about finances, etc. But it IS better to be happy working towards something that will make you happy, then growing old in something that you will never be happy with. I figure medicine is such an evolving dynamic field that you can spend so much time (for me, in my twenties,) working towards it, and ultimately, it will hopefully just make you grow as a person. Who knows if any other job would do that, in making you challenge yourself and fulfill your goals. That's not to say we will all succeed, but I would rather try, then sit in my office cubicle thinking about it for the next 5 years. With that said, I don't expect getting into medicine until I'm minimum 29, and that would be the IDEAL scenario. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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