Am I Doing Enough Right Now to Get Into Med School?

Session 141

Jay started in the workforce right after college and knew it wasn’t for him. He’s found his way to medicine but is frustrated that he can’t do more, sooner.

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[01:40] OldPreMeds Question of the Week

“I’m currently working on a do-it-yourself postbac and just recently, completed a full year of biology (Bio 1 and 2). I have been working full-time as an applications developer for a large corporation in Pittsburg where I was hired just after completing my CS master’s program back in 2013. I started work just the Monday after graduation and go head first into the workforce only after 2-3 years, to find out that this isn’t what I want.

Through many other experiences and attempts at finding a new career path while working, I’ve landed upon medicine for a number of reasons and I’m extremely excited to make this journey. Here’s my issue:

It doesn’t feel real yet and I don’t feel like I’m doing enough. I’ve always been the type of person that likes to floor the gas pedal once I know my destination. However, I don’t want to do too much and lost control and become distracted.

So I started slowly with Bio 1 and 2 at a community college here and I passed both with A’s. That really boosted my confidence and I enjoyed everything about the class. Now, I want to step on the gas and go back to school full-time, start volunteering, shadowing, and working in health care. But because of bills and living expenses, I’ve been consciously working on paying off debt as fast as possible.

I don’t feel I can leave my full-time job yet, to be a full-time student. But I am 29 and would like to get everything on track as soon as I can. I know that when I get there, I’ll get there.

But I’m starting to feel like work has become a distraction now and it’s starting to reflect in my performance. I think I’m just having a hard time accepting that all I can do is take one or two or three classes this semester and work. I know at some point, I will need to ramp it up but am I doing enough now? I don’t want to get ahead of myself but I don’t want to fall behind in any way if there’s room to get ahead.”

[04:10] It’s Your Situation, Are You Ready to Put in the Work?

You are doing enough for what your situation is. Everybody’s situation is different. You have to do what you have to do. You can’t look at another classmate and think they’re doing all this while you’re not, so you’re not doing enough. It’s your situation so that’s what you have to do.

[Tweet “”Everybody’s situation is different. You have to do what you have to do.” https://medicalschoolhq.net/opm-141-am-i-doing-enough-right-now-to-get-into-med-school/”]

You could figure out a different way but this is something you have to do yourself. Probably, think about moving back in with your parents. You can also consider taking a job as a scribe while taking classes.

The question is, are you willing to put in the effort and put in the work to do it?

Move into a house with five other roommates so you can split the expenses. Sell your car and take public transportation. Are you willing to do that? Most people aren’t and that’s okay. Again, know what you’re willing to put up with.

[06:36] Should You Be Doing More?

Probably. Do you want to sacrifice your classes, coursework, and grades? You have to be very careful with those. But it’s possible to do more. You also have to be careful with work. You mentioned you’re performance there is quite affected. So you don’t want to get into a situation where you’re fired over this.

[Tweet “”Do some soul searching. Everybody needs to do this. How much dirt are you willing to eat?” https://medicalschoolhq.net/opm-141-am-i-doing-enough-right-now-to-get-into-med-school/”]