Medical School or Private Equity?

Rich man's dilemma...don't come complaining to me (us).

If you got into medical school now, you'll probably get in when you apply again. If I were you I would keep your expenses low and bank as much as possible with private equity and leave when you have a $2-3 million. Then when you get into medical school and practice you'll have financial less stress. It's not uncommon for people to become doctors in their thirties or forties.

What kind of things have you done that make you think being a doctor is for you? I don't think you mentioned any medical related experiences in your post if I didn't skip anything. If you've done nothing to know what being a doctor is like or if you just know what your parents do, you should just stick to what you're doing.

Most of the people on here that are your age probably make $35k, so buzz off. Nobody cares.

if you do have to retake the mcats, when do you plan on studying for them? in the middle of your 85 hour weeks?

lol, saw this post on studentdoctor.net a couple of days ago.

I say go the private equity route for a while but have a specific plan and time table for when you are going to be re-applying to med school and then beginning.

I'm in my second year of med school. I took 3 yrs b/w undergrad and med school: 1 yr post-collegiate running, 2 yrs doing Teach For America. If I were in your position I would go to med school now, because:

1. It is a long road, and the younger you start the more flexibility you will have with your career. You might find yourself wanting to take 1-2 years at some point to diversify your skill sets as a physician (i.e. research, study abroad, etc.) It seems like you an achiever, in which case you are more likely to choose a specialty that requires a lot of training.

2. The money isn't an issue. You aren't going into medicine to be rich, but you will make enough money that the extra income from working the next 2 yrs is not going to radically affect your lifestyle.

Wish I could write more (and more clearly) but I have boards to study for. I made some assumptions about you, maybe they're correct.

Btw, med school is great. Post-collegiate running and teaching were great, but I wish I had started sooner. In the end, my career as a physician will be my most important accomplishment, my running will be maybe 1/2 a sentence in my obituary.

Good luck

wisco fever wrote:

if you do have to retake the mcats, when do you plan on studying for them? in the middle of your 85 hour weeks?

You quit your job and study for them. If he banks a few million and doesn't pull an Evander Holyfield he could afford to take a couple years off to study and retake prereqs. You could even travel the world for a year. Keep your expenses low man. That also means think carefully about marrying and having kids.

It sounds like you like what you're doing now. But I can understand the desire you have. My grandpa was a doctor and his life was his career. When his career was over his life was basically over. Just be sure to take care of your own health.

Well medschools might not like you getting accepted and then bailing on them. The plus is that you when you apply again you'd be giving up a job that would have a higher income then a doctor. So the schools will know that its not about the money. If you got into a top 20 school you should be able to get back in and would have a unique story, but the school that you got the deferal from will probably blacklist you. If you know you really want to be a doctor then you shouldn't be even considering it. The fact that you are considering it tells me that you like what you are doing. What kind of medical experience do you?

Most of the people who become doctors don't question themselves and don't need to ask for advice like this. They just do it. It may not be the right thing for you.

I have about a year of medschool left...took one year off after undergrad.

If you know that medicine is your thing, then I feel like the sooner the better to start because its a long road.

However, there is advice I'll give that I never thought I'd give when I heard it as a pre-med. If you can find something that you would like just as much as you would like medicine, do the other thing. For me, I love it, and I cannot imagine doing anything else with my life. However, I have spent my mid-twenties in lecture, with my face in the books, and in the hospital. This looks to be a common trend for at least the next 5 years of my life in residency. It is a choice...and I am thankful every day for the opportunity to be in medicine -- even when I'm sitting in the hospital on Sunday morning wasting time on letsrun b/c my whole team is not here to round yet.

Also, I couldn't agree more with one of the previous posters...I see a lot of docs who make medicine their ENTIRE LIFE as opposed to a profession. I would urge strongly against this. We have surgeons who, after becoming too old to perform surgery, go and teach anatomy in the cadaver labs. I know all this is personal preference, but I can't imagine the only life I know being inside the hospital.

We are given a few short years here on earth...there is no sense in living it in a career that you: 1) hate 2) always wonder what would have happened had you chosen something else. In other words, choose wisely and do not look back.

I have a good friend from undergrad who was in a somewhat similar position. Amazingly bright guy. Got into top 20 med-schools out of undergrad but opted for an opportunity with a Silicon Valley VC. While a few of my other friends and myself were going thru med-school and residency he had a earned enough money to retire and live well. After a couple of yrs. of traveling the world and doing whatever, decided his true calling really was medicine, retook the mcats(got nearly perfect scores, again) and went back to med-school. Guy is happy as can be. No stress about paying his tuition, nor worrying about what disciplines are most lucrative. While my friends and myself all started med-school with bright-eyes and the best of intentions, after being in private-practice for a couple of yrs. and dealing with the business side of practice, facing school loans, mortgage, supporting wife and kid(s) etc, myself and my other friends(i assume) would opt to have the financial 'cushion' or savings in our back-pockets. The drawback is that time is a non-renewable resource, and i think it gets tougher to do the school/residency grind the older one gets. Good luck.

I may be a total crackpot, but have you considered dental school or veterinary medicine? These are useful careers too where you can help people/animals. It seems you'll have more of a life outside of your career than you would as a medical doctor. I'm just trying to give you something to think about.

I'm not a doctor.

I'm 47 now but I stayed in school past age 30. I got 2 bachelors, a masters, and went to culinary arts school, and I have five teaching certificates. After 30 I learned building trades (all areas of carpentry, plumbing, electrician). My main regret is that I didn't try to get in the Peace Corps right out of high school. I think I would have entered college 3 years later with all that "growing up" business behind me instead of having to deal with it all while I was in the dorm.

My point is, I am not certain that you need to hop into your career as early as possible. Others above have advised you to jump in, and maybe they're right--I'm not in medicine, what do I know? Life is long. My advice is not to live by anyone else's script, and do not let money be the number 1 reason you decide to do something. A high achieving guy like you will probably never have any real money problems.

Dude,

You are in an unbelievable situation. I am a victim of Wall Street in these horrible times. If I had your situation, I would fully take advantage of your PE offer, go to med school, come out and either do medicine or make even more money on wall street.

Reread "lucky bastard's" post - the first one. Simple, but could be on-the-money - no med school debts. I come in contact w/ numerous physicians on a daily basis, and most acknowledge med school debts. Hey, life is short - enjoy the opportunities of different fields - you're obviously blessed w/ different talents.