Give up medicine for ibanking? (Undergrad at Northwestern BS MD)
Hello,
I humbly ask for any advice from anyone who's the least bit knowledgeable or qualified with either subject at hand.
I'm a high school senior matriculating into Northwestern University's accelerated medicine program. The program gets me through undergrad in 3 years and then a direct acceptance into Feinberg Medical School. I applied because I'd always wanted to be a doctor -- specifically a plastic surgeon. However, as I began looking into other careers, and profusely talking with a banker, I realized that investment banking is a stunning world. Unfortunately, the only "target" universities I was accepted into were Dartmouth (which I do not intend to go to, it's me not them), and a waitlist at Princeton which is all but a rejection in disguise.
Is it *worth it *to do everything I can to transfer out of Northwestern BSMD into a "target" university by the time junior internships a.k.a preliminary recruitments occur at top firms?
Is it even possible to get to Wall Street, specifically New York over Chicago firms, as a Northwestern Undergrad? And by possible, I mean a percentage greater than "well there were two guys who came from..."
Here's a breakdown of pros and cons from my vantage point:
Staying at Northwestern BS MD
Pros:
- The EASY EASY path.
- Guaranteed admission to a top medical school, meaning I can do whatever the hell I want (and by that I mean take extra classes in management/econ and eventually make more money as a doctor by opening my own practice or moving up the ranks in hospital management)
- Parents are surgeon and dermatologist, so I have lots of insider info as well as connections.
- It's guaranteed that I'll eventually be a doctor. As a specialist I could make 200K+, if I pursue surgery then income opens up to 400+
Cons:
- Someone remind me why I wanted to do medicine.
- I don't make money until YEARS after my bros who are balling in tech and finance. Or even engineering. This is a sad prospect.
Transition to Finance
Pros:
- Finance is the wholesome path of absolute glory. A James Bond film, but smarter, edgier, and with Sean Connery instead of Pierce Brosnan.
- Money flows in fast, right out of undergrad.
- Diverse exit opportunities, finance and banking lends well to so many other career advents.
Cons:
- Transferring to a target school is far from guaranteed. I have some application hooks like a novel that's going to be published, but even that itself is a crapshoot.
- I have no idea what the shit actually goes on inside the glass skyscrapers nor do I have connections.
PLEASE HELP. I AM DESPERATE for knowledge/info/advice especially because I'm walking in with 0/20 vision when it comes to finance. If any altruistic soul truly wants to give specific advice, message me and I will hook you up with my resume/stats so you can better gauge my position.
I really appreciate it.
Thank you.
First, finance probably isn't as glamorous as you think
Why did you work so hard to get into Medical School in the first place? You do understand that you are fortunate enough alone to be accepted into a prestigious program, that being medicine. It is far from an "easy" path...I am not sure where you got the "easy" part from, crap hits the fan more often...then some say. Also, the steps and board exams alone are tough.
Being a doctor is a privilege, to help those in need. My childhood friend is one, and he still loves doing what he does, but have had options to choose a different path many times..however he sought out to help humanity, which is admirable.
If you want the easy path, go be a pharmacist. Easy hours, six figure salaries, easy money. All you do is count drugs and put it in a bottle...with less debt and crap thrown at you to deal with, literally. If you can walk into a patient's room that crapped themselves and homeless/high on drugs, not a pretty sight...you get the idea.
If you are walking in essentially blind, I would not pursue this at all. Going in envisioning a fictional character of a franchise is...not a good idea, either. Also to mention, the debt involved. You figure that with finance, there is no "GUARANTEED" job at the end of the program. It comes down to your networking skills and if people like you or not.
You have a better chance at paying off the massive debt you build up over the years in medicine as opposed to finance. Many people have failed and sought alternative careers.
You're still a high school senior. At this point you haven't gotten your feet wet yet. I think you are just confused, or that "banker" you are talking to is painting a picture that looks pretty...kind of like "tweaking" that GPA from a 3.46 to a 3.5.
Take a gap year, go find yourself so you don't waste 100k+ in tuition and realized it is not something you want to do.
Good luck kiddo.
You're focused way, way too much on the financial side of the equation and you want it now. Money can only do so much for you and you ultimately just need to be happy with yourself and do something that you are passionate about. I know it sounds trite, but you need to "Do what makes you happy, otherwise you're not going to be very good at it".
So if medicine doesn't make you happy, fine - go find something that does. But don't chase finance just because you want the money/lifestyle. That's a recipe for disaster.