Thinking of a career change, would love some advice(and encouragement!)

[Trillotrix]

Hi everyone, I've been thinking of starting work into transitioning my career early on into medical school and was hoping to get some advice.

Background
T10 School, 21 years old
Major: Electrical and Computer Engineering, GPA: 3.75
Minor: Biology, Science GPA: 3.80

Currently working at a financial instution.
Why I'm considering the change: I went into engineering because that's what the rest of my family has done. To be honest, I've always been miserable with all my internships and as a result, I decided to take the first offer that came that paid the best, also, perhaps doing a non-engineering job may be a nice change. That obviously didn't happen and I've been struggling with enjoying any of the work I do at all.

I have had a friend taking the UCSD post bacc program and it's caused me to do some serious reevaluating. I took my minor in biology because I love bio and they were some of the only classes I enjoyed at school. Additionally, I've always enjoyed customer facing retail roles compared to any of my cubicle based corporate internships that I've done in college. Although generic, I genuinely enjoy the idea of helping people out in my career rather than crunching numbers all day.

To be honest, I genuinely regret not considering changing my major or career path throughout college. I definitely tunnel visioned into doing well in classes and landing internships, and just believed I would be happy at the end of it all but I ended up being kind of miserable. I've only begun work for about half a year and my family believes I should give the path I've chosen a chance for a year or two and I definitely agree. However, while I continue my full time job, I want to prepare myself for this potential career change.

I've gone to some events and plan on continuing to volunteer at a local blindness prevention society in my area. I also hope on finding a hospital willing to take me on as a volunteer Friday evenings and weekends where after some time, I was hoping to ask doctors there to shadow in order for me to identify if I do want to continue investing in this path. However, I'm not sure where to go from here.

How should I finish my med school pre-requisites? It doesn't seem possible for me to do so while I work, so I think I should likely do so a year or two later in an official post-bacc or DIY -post bacc. However, I'm not entirely sure about which is better for me? Should I even consider night school at a community college? Should I consider studying the MCAT a little early on? Doing a few hours a week of review could help me stay fresh for when I do continue my post-bacc. I would love some input on what I should be working on while working full time for perhaps another year or so. Thank you so much.

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[AJS59]

Let's look at this step by step:

-Classes: How many pre-reqs have you completed, and how did you perform in those? You have a minor in biology so I think you've at least satisfied the introductory biology classes, and given your engineering background you've probably completed physics, math and gen chem. So that'd only leave Orgo, Biochem, Psych/Sociology (not strictly necessary, but recommended for the MCAT), and any additional upper level science classes you'd want to add on. Given your GPA appears solid I think a DIY post-bacc is best, but you may want to go in and calculate both your cumulative uGPA (including any dual enrollment classes) and your AMCAS science GPA (you can look at some guides for what classes should/shouldn't count).
-MCAT: Best left for last, both so that 1. You have mastered the material and 2. MCAT scores do expire after 3 years for most schools. I wouldn't even start studying for it until after you have finished Biochem.
-Clinical experience/shadowing: Your plan sounds solid, but I may recommend that you start shadowing earlier, especially to really get a feel for what doctors do in their everyday lives, since it doesn't sound like you're 100% sold just yet.
-Non-clinical service work: In addition, I'd try to carve out some time when you can to do service work for underprivileged communities. The best recommendation is something in the form of food distribution, shelter work, job/tax preparation, transport services, or housing rehab.

Finally, don't rush this process! It's okay to take some time figuring this out; for most people, it takes years to put together a competitive application. Focus first on if you want to do this 100%, then start on the academics and activities. Finally, give the MCAT a go at the very end before you jump into applying.

 

[Dral]

First and foremost, before you invest a lot more time in it, shadow a few physicians in a few specialties (and primary care) to get a better idea if it is something you might see yourself doing.

 

[Trillotrix]

Hey, thank you guys for replying to my post! It seems like the main thing I should look towards doing in the short term is finding some doctors to shadow then. Is there any advice on reaching out to doctors? Considering I'm working full time in a relatively new area to myself, do I just have to cold email doctors about shadowing on the weekends? Are there certain roles that are more likely to have availability in the evenings or weekends than others that I should focus on?

Here is also some additional information
Classes
-I've taken 5 biology courses.
Bio intro course: A
Genome Tech: A
Three marine bio courses(Was in a marine engineering scholars program): All As
-I've also taken Organic Chemistry 1: B+. I was originally a Bioengineer freshman year.
-For physics, I've done AP Physics C in high school and completed Physics E&M in university with a B+
-I've also taken a Sociology 101 course with an A
It seems I have Biochem, Orgo 2 and Psych at the bare minimum? Would I also need an English course? I was able to skip gen chem and Physics 1 thanks to AP credit and I'm not sure if med schools want me retaking that as well.

Thanks a lot everyone for the responses.

 

[Dral]

I would start at a local hospital. If you live near an academic teaching hospital, then even better.

You could get your foot in the door with some volunteering. You will likely be able to tap into the volunteer staff to help you get in contact with physicians to shadow.

You might want to invest in MSAR or at least think ahead to schools you might apply to down the road with the intent on finding out what their requirements are in terms of coursework. At the very least, you will need to take courses to cover material that is tested on the MCAT. The test format has changed since I took it, so I'm not sure what is needed now.

 

[Trillotrix]

I would start at a local hospital. If you live near an academic teaching hospital, then even better.

You could get your foot in the door with some volunteering. You will likely be able to tap into the volunteer staff to help you get in contact with physicians to shadow.

You might want to invest in MSAR or at least think ahead to schools you might apply to down the road with the intent on finding out what their requirements are in terms of coursework. At the very least, you will need to take courses to cover material that is tested on the MCAT. The test format has changed since I took it, so I'm not sure what is needed now.

That sounds good. This is already the plan on what I hope to do. However, it seems none of my local hospitals are currently taking in volunteers, and have told me applications will open up June-July. Any advice on ensuring I get a position in the hospital?

 

[AJS59]

That sounds good. This is already the plan on what I hope to do. However, it seems none of my local hospitals are currently taking in volunteers, and have told me applications will open up June-July. Any advice on ensuring I get a position in the hospital?

You also don't need to strictly do volunteering...part time work is possible. One role I'm doing right now is acting as a food porter to bring dinner to patients in their rooms. Anything where you are directly interacting with patients works.

 

[Stuaccount]

It doesn't seem possible for me to do so while I work, so I think I should likely do so a year or two later in an official post-bacc or DIY -post bacc. However, I'm not entirely sure about which is better for me? Should I even consider night school at a community college?

Don’t leave your job yet. The process is expensive, the money you make now will serve you well along the way, unless you have another reliable source of financial support. Why is it not possible to do it while you work? DIY post bacc at a 4 year if available (try not to do community college). Do 1 or 2 prereqs a semester and use your other time to volunteer, shadow. Use all available semesters/quarters (fall, winter, spring, summer) to get through it quicker rather than taking more classes at once.

Should I consider studying the MCAT a little early on?

No. Get done with the prerequisites with excellent grades first. You need a better foundation than the one you currently have to tackle the mcat. Studying now will not be efficient because you will be wasting a lot of time trying to learn material that introductory courses will teach you faster and more efficiently.

But if you absolutely want to start studying, download a pre-made anki deck (choose a smaller deck) and do a few cards a day to get a sense of how much material you recognize and how much book studying you may need. People new to the process tend to start with months of self-studying from books and that is not always the best way to do it. Look into mcat forums to learn more about how to study.

 

[Trillotrix]

Don’t leave your job yet. The process is expensive, the money you make now will serve you well along the way, unless you have another reliable source of financial support. Why is it not possible to do it while you work? DIY post bacc at a 4 year if available (try not to do community college). Do 1 or 2 prereqs a semester and use your other time to volunteer, shadow. Use all available semesters/quarters (fall, winter, spring, summer) to get through it quicker rather than taking more classes at once.


No. Get done with the prerequisites with excellent grades first. You need a better foundation than the one you currently have to tackle the mcat. Studying now will not be efficient because you will be wasting a lot of time trying to learn material that introductory courses will teach you faster and more efficiently.

But if you absolutely want to start studying, download a pre-made anki deck (choose a smaller deck) and do a few cards a day to get a sense of how much material you recognize and how much book studying you may need. People new to the process tend to start with months of self-studying from books and that is not always the best way to do it. Look into mcat forums to learn more about how to study.

That's a good question. I found that my local community college offered virtual/night classes for some of the prereqs that I need to take. However, it doesn't seem to me that there's a good way to take a 4-year college course on campus while working a 9-5? Do you know how I could accomplish that? Thanks.

 

[Stuaccount]

That's a good question. I found that my local community college offered virtual/night classes for some of the prereqs that I need to take. However, it doesn't seem to me that there's a good way to take a 4-year college course on campus while working a 9-5? Do you know how I could accomplish that? Thanks.

Virtual classes are a risk because some schools explicitly say they don't accept online classes. But maybe if there is a hybrid component where you do some of the course in-person?

Night classes are the way to go. Many programs cater to working people so they schedule classes to allow for commuting time after leaving work at 5. Does your job often have you staying past 5? How is the traffic from your job to the school at rush hours? Also check if the classes offered as night classes have mandatory lecture attendance in case there are days you don't make it in on time. If the classes are 1 or 2 times a week, plan to use another couple of evenings and a weekend half-day strictly dedicated to completing assignments and studying (full weekends for exams). You are better suited to gauge if such arrangement would suit your lifestyle, learning style and schedule, but if it does, I highly recommend that option for 1 or even 2 classes a semester.