I have a mechanical engineering degree and getting kinda bored of the work and the constant threat of being laid off. Human body is something I'm pretty interested in and I feel like I could make a better doctor than some of the ones I've dealt with having to correct them over misdiagnosis. And the medical industry seems to have better stability. Is it worth doing a medical degree and becoming a doctor (either ED or Psychiatry, not interested brutal lifestyle of surgery)? I'm in my mid 30s. Would be moving to Italy for the degree (from Australia) as medical school here costs 5x as much.
>>34597790Why not. Many of the guys responsible for figuring out DNA and microbiology got their start in nuclear physics or whatever. Many past and current greats are renaissance men. You will know more than the rest, about how humans actually operate.
>>34597841Thanks for your encouragement, I didn't really think of it in terms like that.
>>34597790Are you in a position in your life where you can handle not having a salary for 4 years and then making somewhere between mediocre and fuck-all for the next 4?
>>34597790I recommend starting as an EMT, you can likely take the courses at night without quitting your day job and start building out your clinical knowledge and experience. Even though EMTs have a relatively small amount of education it gets you enough background to start learning a ton of in depth medicine on your own. You'll need clinical hours anyways as part of med school and EMS is a great way of doing it. You'll probably want to become a paramedic after that and then apply to medical school. Australia may be different but in the US this is a very flexible and easy path to start the process of getting into medicine without really having to commit to it until you're going to paramedic school.t. physicist/mechE who does EMS on the side and is currently in a 1-quarter pre-paramedic academy that's exposing me to a ton of pretty deep cardiology. All while still working my day job
>>34598059I have 40k saved and my gf said she will help pay for living expenses until residency (she's a nurse)Also its a 6 year undergrad degree in Europe not 4 year postgraduate like some other countries. Inb4 go to UK, no way I can afford to study there, tuition is 30k a year instead of 5k>>34598068Didn't think of that.... Definitely will look into that especially if it will reduce the number of years I need to do in a med degree. Does this work if one does nursing instead of paramedic studies or does it only work for paramedic courses?
I have a few family members who deeply regretted not switching careers in their 30s. I'd go for it. Do what you love. As a psych patient I will say the stigma is strong against psych but it's very necessary. Too many low effort docs see it as a cushy job and just don't take it seriously. Also ED is super brutal
>>34598303The only thing I'm concerned about psych is I don't know how comfortable I'd be about approving sex change on a personal moral basis. Is it something you can advise them against and then refer to another specialist if they insist? I dont think i could ever live with myself if i approved it and then they regretted it. And I'm not sure who I can ask about this as its a sensitive topic. A lot of mental disorders are complex to treat but I feel like having autism and ADHD might help me relate to at least some patients.My last concern would be if I was forced to have to take the covid vaccine, just that one vaccine specifically (the mandate still exists here for all healthcare workers to be quadruple boosted) though I know some doctors opposed it like my gp who was handing out exemptions to anyone who askedDo you mind me asking what careers your family members regretted no switching from/to?
>>34597790I deeply regret not going for medicine after my CS Bachelors and going to grad school instead... So, I know that feeling OP.But why going to Italy though? There're special med schools in Eastern Europe (Hungary, Slovakia, etc.) that offer recognized degrees and cheaper costs of living.
>>34598699Aew you doing a postgraduate in medicine?I know the degrees are all recognised but I've heard a few stories that the eastern European schools can be hit or miss, mainly that the bureaucracy is slow/ineffective, or courses are poorly organised, and that most exams are oral and some professors often show bias towards or against certain students during oral exams. I've heard some good stories about them and some horror stories. But Id rather not risk those headaches for 6 years of my life. Also on wdoms graduation rate for most eastern schools is 20-50% whereas western schools are 70-90% so either students leave for other schools or drop out a lot more.
>>34598955Those dropout rates are probably due to way stricter entrance requirements (e.g. high school grades, assessment center results, entrance exams, or hospital internships) that filter out a lot of unfit students before even attending classes. Most Western European universities have WAY more applicants than available spots in their medical programs, so they only let in the top X percent.To get a spot at an Eastern European university, you mostly "only" need to pay the fees for each semester.
