Undergrad worried about ageism + job security

I'm a current undergrad math major with 2 BB fixed income trading internships (one last year, one upcoming). Recently, I've been talking to some of my friends on the premed track and thinking about the future of S&T with AI + layoffs + ageism has me a bit worried. Doctors have no risk of layoffs/ageism and can work until they choose to stop, whereas traders/salespeople/bankers clearly have more risk on this (e.g. all of the traders on my desk rotations last summer were 45 or younger).

I'm seriously considering a major pivot to take steps towards medical school, but this feels a bit drastic given my experience. Obviously, there's no telling I would actually like medicine and would be miserable as well, but I faced this decision before and chose finance probably because it was more "available" to me (clubs, friends/family in the industry, early recruiting timeline, internship salaries and paying for school).

I think I ultimately want to be reassured that I won't be left unemployed with a mortgage at age 50 and will continue being able to work in a career I love (markets/trading), but this anxiety has been eating at me. Does anyone have any advice on how to approach these thoughts/concerns? Thank you in advance!

3 Comments
 

Bold of you to assume robots won't take the role of surgeons by the time you finish medical school.

The point is it is a bad idea to base your career off of guessing what the world looks like in 15 years.

 
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There are a bunch of cushy but not particularly glamorous roles that having a decade of market experience will help with. Boring stuff like compliance or operations where ageism isn't as prevalent. They won't earn as much as a doctor with decades of experience might, but they are still steady. And hey, if you actually have a multi-decade career in trading and save responsibly, you may not need to work in your fifties. Being a doctor, assuming one can get into and through med school, has always been the most stable upper middle class career. Finance just gives the opportunity to earn big without debt and years of med school/residency first.

 

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