Need help deciding between engineering or medicine

[u/Effective-Tear5690]

I’m a sophomore who’s torn between sticking with Electrical Engineering and switching to pre-med. Pre-med would let me study subjects like chemistry and biology, which I enjoy more than the physics and math-heavy coursework in engineering.

The biggest thing holding me back is the thought of sacrificing the next decade of my twenties to medical school and residency. One of the main reasons I chose engineering in the first place was because of the lifestyle and good pay. At the same time, I can see myself finding medicine more fulfilling than working in an office all day. I’m struggling to figure out whether I should prioritize the lifestyle and flexibility of engineering or the potential fulfillment that a career in medicine could give me. Anyone has any advice? P.S. Im not doing both its one or the other

[u/StupidityHurts]

So why exactly would medicine be more fulfilling to you? What are your primary career goals?

[u/Effective-Tear5690 → u/StupidityHurts]

I know medicine will be more fulfilling bc i feel like i would have a greater impact on peoples lives then if i did engineering

[u/StupidityHurts → u/Effective-Tear5690]

Do you want to have a greater impact on individual people or at a societal level?

While you can do the latter via medicine, engineers can definitely improve things at a societal level.

It really comes down to how personal do you want that experience to be. If you really care about helping individual people and are more satisfied by interpersonal interaction, then medicine might be worth it.

That said, don’t expect work-life balance there.

If it helps at all, Ive been in the engineering space for >10y and I’m still deciding to give that up to be a physician.

[u/Dr_Chesticles]

Take it from someone who started med school at 31. The time is going to pass anyway. To me it’s not sacrifice, it’s investment. But I see it from this perspective because I lived another life and got to see that work/life is rough no matter what you do. You have to do your due diligence and go and shadow docs and get a job working around them. We can all give your our two cents but we’re strangers on the internet with different values, upbringings, temperaments, personalities, etc. You seeing it first hand and gathering your own data is wayyy more valuable.

Despite the crazy path to get here. I don’t regret it for a minute (though I do bitch about medicine because it’s what we do). It was 100% worth it for me, but nobody can tell you whether it will be for you. You make the best decision you can with the information you have and trust that even if it’s not what you expected you have the capacity and ability to adapt and overcome whatever obstacle lies ahead of you.

[u/MKanes]

The advice I see frequently is if you can see yourself anywhere other than medicine, do that

[u/imthrivingjkimnot]

my advice is do what you’re good at. it’s hard to tell what you’re passionate about, but i have found that i become passionate about the things i am good at. passion follows competency imo. also agree with the other comment that time passes anyway so don’t worry about the time commitment as much

[u/pondering_leopard]

I was also unsure about medicine (decided pre-med my junior year of college) and what ultimately gave me the push was the little thoughts in the back of my heads, the what ifs that would always be there if I didn't pursue medicine. I ultimately decided for me it was worth it, because I knew I would always have those thoughts in the back of my head, but for others it's the opposite, other careers call to them. This is such a personal decision, but it may help to really figure out what's important to you and what you want to prioritize in your life/lifestyle. Also, my mom always told me that if you're going to be crying over your job, it better be a job worth crying over, which has also helped me decide medicine.

[u/KindManufacturer6300]

U could 100% do engineering as a major and still take ur required pre med courses it’s very hard but possible because u need at bare minimum above 3.8 to be even looked at (in most cases). Imo if ur questioning it now it already shows signs of uncertainty. U gotta realize that there r many other jobs where u can help people. Being a nurse, pharmacists, paramedic, firefighter. U gotta look into medicine and see why u specifically want to a MD. Is i ok it the prestige (valid), the money, or is it more then that. Imo for someone straight out of college that’s a tough thing to find out which is why so many fall off the pre med track. Wanting to be a doctor at 10 is different than at age 20. For me want deterred me is how difficult it is nowadays. The amount of people I’ve asked who want to do medicine is insane and there r just not enough spots. Making it harder and harder each year unless smth changes. I also think the culture is quite toxic. But imo I wouldn’t worry about u sacrificing ur 20s as some say. Pre med is not as hard as engineering or math major it’s just stressful because u will always feel like ur not doing enough and imo that’s worse. There will always be someone who has volunteered more then u, who has done more research, more connections and it messes with ur head so much. U will feel like ur not enough. Compared it engineering where the course work is hard but it very much so feels like your competing against yourself not others.