Is this true?

[Doctor_GirL]

if you feel like going through even more school, and are really interested in learning, get an engineering degree and then go into medicine. you'll have a ridiculous advantage over everyone else in medical school; just the problem solving skills you get from engineering alone will give you a major advantage. then there's all the concepts you learn from engineering which can be directly applied to the human body. the lungs depend on the modulus of elasticity (something you'll touch in many engineering disciplines), drug absorption is modeled by differential equations, which is nearly freakin everything in engineering, and so forth.


Is this by any chance true? will engineering degree help me that much?

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[it.]

if you feel like going through even more school, and are really interested in learning, get an engineering degree and then go into medicine. you'll have a ridiculous advantage over everyone else in medical school; just the problem solving skills you get from engineering alone will give you a major advantage. then there's all the concepts you learn from engineering which can be directly applied to the human body. the lungs depend on the modulus of elasticity (something you'll touch in many engineering disciplines), drug absorption is modeled by differential equations, which is nearly freakin everything in engineering, and so forth.


Is this by any chance true? will engineering degree help me that much?

just a lowly preallo here, but i have a strong feeling an engineering background doesn't confer an overall advantage than other degrees in med school

 

[DrBowtie]

I concur...with that said being a physics major is awesome.

 

[Smurfette]

a few things:

1. an engineering degree is a four-year degree just like a bio or pysch degree is. No additional schooling is required unless you are going for a higher degree.
2. my classmates who had engineering degrees did not feel as though they had an advantage, nor were their grades better than other people's.
3. med school is more about memorizing and learning large volumes of material than about "problem-solving", especially during the first two years.
4. you don't need engineering-level math to do well in med school. Most equations that are used commonly are very simple or have commonly used shortcuts; drug absorption equations are more of a pharmacist/pharmacologist thing; med school focuses on mechanisms of action, side effects and type of metabolism.

 

[fun8stuff]

if you feel like going through even more school, and are really interested in learning, get an engineering degree and then go into medicine. you'll have a ridiculous advantage over everyone else in medical school; just the problem solving skills you get from engineering alone will give you a major advantage. then there's all the concepts you learn from engineering which can be directly applied to the human body. the lungs depend on the modulus of elasticity (something you'll touch in many engineering disciplines), drug absorption is modeled by differential equations, which is nearly freakin everything in engineering, and so forth.


Is this by any chance true? will engineering degree help me that much?

hmmm... nope, medical school is more biology than anything (especially first 2 years) that requires memorization, and with that said, i think the stats show that no particular degree provides any real advantage- because medicine is so broad. The people w/ degrees in the one particular area (i.e. PhD in physiology) will do really well in that area, but will not have that same advantage past that one class.

The engineers that I know in medical school (only 3) think that they have it harder because they were never required to memorize so much stuff, but who knows- i think they're actual grades are right around, if not above, average.

 

[espbeliever]

im an electrical engineer. i actually do a job as an electrical engineer right now, that i will quit before i start med school. i have also asked a number of ppl this, engineeers actually. and basically they have all said that engineering is about thinking/logic/problem solving whereas medicine is about becoming a book.

i know repeated in my classes, the teachers would allow us to use our notes or books to do the problems. these problems were things that we had never seen before, and we had to apply what we learned to develope new solutions.

further, it is my understanding that the little if any plus marks the adcoms give an app just because of engineering does not at all make up for the loss in gpa that is typical for engineering majors. the classes are much more difficult than other majors typically. but if you want a challenge, and possiblly something to fall back on, then engineering cant be beat.

i got out of school earning 55k at 22 yrs old. im 25 now and will be getting my PE license, which would on ave make my salary jump to about 75k or more. i could possiblly start my own firm since i was a PE and earn much more. but im quitting so oh well there is a lot of instant respect you command as an engineer. but it comes with a price of tough classes that most ppl couldnt make it through.

good luck.

 

[Sweet Tea]

Agreeing with what the others have said...engineering isn't going to help you. Get your prereqs done, major in something you enjoy and can do well in, and that will be your best preparation for med school.

Is this your "advisor" telling you this? The one who was feeding you misinformation before? Step away from that guy!!

 

[beanbean]

Engineering is a great major if you enjoy the material. The logic and problem-solving skills you learn are cetainly helpful in clincial medicine. However, I wouldn't call it an advantage. Everyone comes into med school with strengths and weaknesses. You may have an easier time understanding fluids and electrical conduction in physiology, but a bio major may know more molecular bio and genetics while the chem major breezes through biochem. Other students have significant clinical experience and excel in the clinical skills portion of first year. It all evens out.

 

[skypilot]

Some type of Latin or language major might help since the language of medicine is based on a lot of Latin. Otherwise just a huge empty brain would be of great advantage.

 

[Iwy Em Hotep]

The engineers that I know in medical school (only 3) think that they have it harder because they were never required to memorize so much stuff, but who knows- i think they're actual grades are right around, if not above, average.

This has been my experience as an engineer going into medical school. As tempting as it is to try to reduce everything in medical school to a few concepts or equations...it is impossible. You have to memorize stuff.

 

[TrojanDoctor]

after finishing first year up, i would say that the introduction to the material in specific classes (such as human anatomy or physiology) would give you more of an advantage than the general skills found in any major. I doubled in math and bio in undergrad and while i might be able to model biochemical reaction rates or kidney function using differential equations, that didn't help me nearly as much as my undergrad physiology class

 

[chameleonknight]

Interestingly enough, I have noticed that people with an engineering background struggle the most in first year classes. I doubt that it makes much of a difference in the long run, but I really believe that a biology degree is the best prep for your pre-clinical classes.

 

[gerido]

This has been my experience as an engineer going into medical school. As tempting as it is to try to reduce everything in medical school to a few concepts or equations...it is impossible. You have to memorize stuff.

i thought you're a neurobiology major.

 

[Shah_Patel_PT]

if you feel like going through even more school, and are really interested in learning, get an engineering degree and then go into medicine. you'll have a ridiculous advantage over everyone else in medical school; just the problem solving skills you get from engineering alone will give you a major advantage. then there's all the concepts you learn from engineering which can be directly applied to the human body. the lungs depend on the modulus of elasticity (something you'll touch in many engineering disciplines), drug absorption is modeled by differential equations, which is nearly freakin everything in engineering, and so forth.


Is this by any chance true? will engineering degree help me that much?

Do you think going through physical therapy school and then entering med school helps?

 

[YouDontKnowJack]

the best advantage is to take all the med school courses in undergrad.

micro, physio, anatomy, immuno, biochem, etc

do that and kill everyone!

if i could do it all again, i'd do that. design my own major and just take those science courses.

like everyone else, i spent the first 2 years of undergrad doing lowly premed stuff. I wasted the last 2 years on stupid stuff like humanities. .
I could have spent the last 2 years of college studying medical school level material.

f**k being well rounded. I'm no dunce.

 

[tupac_don]

im an electrical engineer. i actually do a job as an electrical engineer right now, that i will quit before i start med school. i have also asked a number of ppl this, engineeers actually. and basically they have all said that engineering is about thinking/logic/problem solving whereas medicine is about becoming a book.

i know repeated in my classes, the teachers would allow us to use our notes or books to do the problems. these problems were things that we had never seen before, and we had to apply what we learned to develope new solutions.

further, it is my understanding that the little if any plus marks the adcoms give an app just because of engineering does not at all make up for the loss in gpa that is typical for engineering majors. the classes are much more difficult than other majors typically. but if you want a challenge, and possiblly something to fall back on, then engineering cant be beat.

i got out of school earning 55k at 22 yrs old. im 25 now and will be getting my PE license, which would on ave make my salary jump to about 75k or more. i could possiblly start my own firm since i was a PE and earn much more. but im quitting so oh well there is a lot of instant respect you command as an engineer. but it comes with a price of tough classes that most ppl couldnt make it through.

good luck.

Pharmacy beats it you can make 100+ straight out of school, make 200 if you work midnights 7/on/7off.

 

[Tx Guy]

if you feel like going through even more school, and are really interested in learning, get an engineering degree and then go into medicine. you'll have a ridiculous advantage over everyone else in medical school; just the problem solving skills you get from engineering alone will give you a major advantage. then there's all the concepts you learn from engineering which can be directly applied to the human body. the lungs depend on the modulus of elasticity (something you'll touch in many engineering disciplines), drug absorption is modeled by differential equations, which is nearly freakin everything in engineering, and so forth.


Is this by any chance true? will engineering degree help me that much?

I studied chemE in college and worked for a short time in the field prior to med school. I agree with above posts that medicine and engineering, in general, are very different. Engineering requires a completely different approach to understanding than does medicine. The aspects of medicine that touch upon advanced mathmatical concpets are few and far between, at least for the MD level of learning (compared to the PhD level). Coming from engineering, I think the advantage I had was that the first two years seemed easier than my undergrad engineering courses, but I was not accustomed to that level of reading and memorizing.

I think it would be a mistake to study engineering in college for the sole purpose of improving your chances of getting into medschool, or for giving you an advantage while in medschool. Engineering is much too hard to try that experiment, anyway. At the same time, I also think it is a mistake to do the same with bio, biochem, etc. The key is to study something you are interested in while in college and do really well. Schools are all about well-rounded applicants these days, and the history major has as good of a shot as the bio major with similar gpa/mcat.

But, to be honest, I think the engineering degree does indeed get looked upon favorably compared to the bio degree, and I don't think adcoms expect the same gpa, knowing by and large engineering is much more difficult to achieve a similar gpa. I also think certain fields, such as ophthalmology, which is what I'll be training in, benefit more from my engineering background than other fields, such as the primary care fields.

Good luck!

 

[espbeliever]

Pharmacy beats it you can make 100+ straight out of school, make 200 if you work midnights 7/on/7off.

cool, if you can pull off pharmacy from undergrad, great. i thought it was a graduate program.

 

[YouDontKnowJack]

yes. you gotta go to pharm school. but there is no residency.

I'd rather spend an extra few years, take my chances and go with high paying $300-400k specialties.

 

[fun8stuff]

Pharmacy beats it you can make 100+ straight out of school, make 200 if you work midnights 7/on/7off.

200? that's a killer deal... my pharm friends were making between 80-100k starting at retail pharmacies, and the guys doing 7on/7off were making like 110-130k. I think one was making like $150k living in chicago. i started out as pharm, even worked in pharmacy as a tech, but couldnt stand the work... and 4 years ago the salaries were more around 80k here on west side of MI... of course, i believe walkgreens had a deal where they would pay your tuition and i had even heard of some pharmacies down south giving like 3 yr lease BMWs as sign on bonus.

 

[fun8stuff]

cool, if you can pull off pharmacy from undergrad, great. i thought it was a graduate program.

my school had a program where you did pre-pharm for 2 years, then pharmacy school for 4 years. however, you could cut the pharmD down to 5 years if you went through one or two of the summers.

 

[minou_minou]

Hey,
I went from engineering to med school and was overwhelmed by the sheer volume of what I needed to know - I approached it the wrong way. How did you study your first two years?

 

[thackl]

To the OP..... I don't think there is any magic bullet. It may be just a random occurrence, but at my school, the engineers are doing exceptionally well. Then I hear about people on here struggling. I was involved with 3D modeling (CAE) and I felt that really helped with gross and neuro anatomy. The toughest physiology concepts seem very simple..... then again, we may just have a bunch of engineers who are also good memorizers.

 

[njbmd]

Hi there,
The is no one particular major that confers any advantage over other incoming medical students. Major in what you love and do well. Good undergraduate students are good medical students unless you have very poor study skills. You need to acquire any study skills that will allow you to master a large volume of information in a short period of time.

A useful class to take as an undergrad might be histology so that you can reach a higher level of scope work faster but you can do very well if you have never taken histo. Performance in medical school is very individual and generally individuals who are able to adjust to the volume do better. Performace has very little to do with "smart" or "intelligence" and more to do with study habits and discipline. Every student who walks into orientation is dead even and starts with a clean slate. Some do better than others in the pre-clinical years but ace the clinical stuff. In the end, you will all become physicians.

Hints for doing well in medical school:

Keep up! If you have to play "catch-up" do it on the weekend.

Prepare for class. Anything said in lecture, in the text and in the syllabus is fair game for testing purposes.

Review your notes as soon as possible after lecture and correct any mistakes.

Refuse to listen to your classmates who say that they NEVER study. They are lying and trying to let off steam at your expense. Find out what study strategy works for you and stick with it.

Ask for help as soon as you do not understand something. The best source of help is the person who gave the lecture. Go to office hours and get help.

Make adjustments as soon as you do not get the results that you need. If you fail a test or just did not do very well, get some help and get it often. You are paying thousands of dollars for this degree so make it work for you.

Realize that everyone is NOT going to graduate at the top of the class and be realistic about your performance especially when it comes to the MATCH. If you are not in the top 10% of your class, you are probably not going to be able to match into a very competitive specialty so set your sights on something a little less competitive and match. Get good clinical faculty advice to help you with this process when the time comes.

Just because your father, uncle etc is something, it does not mean that you have to follow in their footsteps exactly. Do what your love and you will be good at it. The number one graduate at my medical school went into family practice and he is doing extremely well. Do what you love because this job is hard enough without doing something that you don't.

Medical school goes by so quickly so enjoy your time and respect your colleagues no matter what.
njbmd