i posted to a similar question on reddit a while back:
"Listen man, I was in an incredibly similar position as you were. I took a gap year where i taught the MCAT and lived (somewhat) in the city. After I got accepted to medical school, I backpacked through South America for 3 months and met some incredibly interesting and beautiful people from all walks of life. In the summer I worked a 40hr/week job as a Kaplan instructor where i met other Instructors. Some where in medical school, some where about to start, and some quit medical school. I had this amazingly fun experience of working with fun people but also having a robust life outside of my job.
Then i went to medical school. I don't want to insult anyone here but the atmosphere in medical school is not inspiring. First, it has the same vibes as law school.. you're going to meet a lot of people who are clearly there because of the prestige and respect the career brings. Second, medical school is a bubble. There is very limited time you have to spend outside of those who you're doing medicine with. Third, and this one is personal, you're not going to meet too many fun creative, wildly free spirited people there; most will be type A personalities that are largely concerned with their grades (which is understandable, just something to consider.) You'll also notice that medical school just becomes this constant circlejerk of "our lives are so tough because we're in med school/ we get no sleep/these tests are so hard" and it gets pretty fucking annoying.
I realized going to medical school is deciding that your life will revolve around your career. The first day I was there, they told us you have a minimum of 7 more years of schooling, and that's if you do something like pediatrics.
You sound just like i did when i was about to start. I sucked it up, thinking how bad could it be? It can be pretty fucking bad, man. I ended up quitting within a few months of starting because i immediately knew this was not a culture that would allow me to grow in the direction i wanted to grow.
Lastly, I also went to a DO school. I'm not sure how MD schools are but I can say for certain that many schools are clearly just doctor making factories that are trying to squeeze as much money out of you as possible.
Lastly, you should very carefully consider why you want to do medicine. Medicine nowadays has become more of an assembly line process so the rewarding nature of the healing someone and bringing them back to health has been hugely diminished. Also keep in mind that your paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to lose your twenties for a career. The material is definitely fascinating (which is why i went to medicine) but the beuracracies of this old profession will likely drain you.
Please pm if you've got any questions at all."
As a side note, I have succesfully transitioned into a career as a software engineer. It brings a lot of the freedom and quirkiness that i was seeking (:
"Listen man, I was in an incredibly similar position as you were. I took a gap year where i taught the MCAT and lived (somewhat) in the city. After I got accepted to medical school, I backpacked through South America for 3 months and met some incredibly interesting and beautiful people from all walks of life. In the summer I worked a 40hr/week job as a Kaplan instructor where i met other Instructors. Some where in medical school, some where about to start, and some quit medical school. I had this amazingly fun experience of working with fun people but also having a robust life outside of my job.
Then i went to medical school. I don't want to insult anyone here but the atmosphere in medical school is not inspiring. First, it has the same vibes as law school.. you're going to meet a lot of people who are clearly there because of the prestige and respect the career brings. Second, medical school is a bubble. There is very limited time you have to spend outside of those who you're doing medicine with. Third, and this one is personal, you're not going to meet too many fun creative, wildly free spirited people there; most will be type A personalities that are largely concerned with their grades (which is understandable, just something to consider.) You'll also notice that medical school just becomes this constant circlejerk of "our lives are so tough because we're in med school/ we get no sleep/these tests are so hard" and it gets pretty fucking annoying.
I realized going to medical school is deciding that your life will revolve around your career. The first day I was there, they told us you have a minimum of 7 more years of schooling, and that's if you do something like pediatrics. You sound just like i did when i was about to start. I sucked it up, thinking how bad could it be? It can be pretty fucking bad, man. I ended up quitting within a few months of starting because i immediately knew this was not a culture that would allow me to grow in the direction i wanted to grow. Lastly, I also went to a DO school. I'm not sure how MD schools are but I can say for certain that many schools are clearly just doctor making factories that are trying to squeeze as much money out of you as possible.
Lastly, you should very carefully consider why you want to do medicine. Medicine nowadays has become more of an assembly line process so the rewarding nature of the healing someone and bringing them back to health has been hugely diminished. Also keep in mind that your paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to lose your twenties for a career. The material is definitely fascinating (which is why i went to medicine) but the beuracracies of this old profession will likely drain you. Please pm if you've got any questions at all."
As a side note, I have succesfully transitioned into a career as a software engineer. It brings a lot of the freedom and quirkiness that i was seeking (: