Just a confused Medical student.

[ElixirOfLife]

Let me just get this straight out of the way: This isn't me asking for someone else to make my life choices for me, I'm ultimately responsible for my own future.

I'm a second year med student (UK) on a nice cushy career path that leads to a sweet job making £XXX,XXX after a few years of practice.

I'd just like some insight from anyone who's been/is in a similar position to me (''vocational'' jobs, i.e. medicine, law etc), about whether it's worth sticking out the remaining few years and getting some juicy credentials, experience, connections and exposure (my lovely mind rationalising why I should stay) and then pursuing a fastlane enterprise with start-up capital from my garaunteed job, or would it be more 'fastlane' to aggressively focus on something entrepreneurial now and sideline my medical career?

My end-goal is the same of course, financial freedom. However I've thought about it a crap-tonne and I keep rationalising this and that. Would just like some fresh perspective from anyone really as to whether it's more beneficial to have a useful degree, life experience and some money behind me when I make the plunge.

Would be eternally grateful for some helpful responses.

 

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[Hackdroot]

You could do both. Use your experience in the medical field to find a need for your business.

But, this is a forum for entrepreneurs. You're going to get the same canned answers that will usually not support the notion of a) jacking up student loans with the hopes of a career b) working for someone else.

.... from my garaunteed job.....

By the way, there's no such thing as guaranteed income when you have a job. It can disappear with little to no notice. As long as someone else has control of your income, you are are at their mercy.

You have only one question to answer and NOBODY else here can answer it for you.

Do you want to be an entrepreneur or a doctor? Pick one and start working towards that goal.

 

[Solrac]

I'd just like some insight from anyone who's been/is in a similar position to me (''vocational'' jobs, i.e. medicine, law etc), about whether it's worth sticking out the remaining few years and getting some juicy credentials, experience, connections and exposure (my lovely mind rationalising why I should stay) and then pursuing a fastlane enterprise with start-up capital from my garaunteed job, or would it be more 'fastlane' to aggressively focus on something entrepreneurial now and sideline my medical career?

My end-goal is the same of course, financial freedom. However I've thought about it a crap-tonne and I keep rationalising this and that. Would just like some fresh perspective from anyone really as to whether it's more beneficial to have a useful degree, life experience and some money behind me when I make the plunge.

Well the biggest question to ask is, do you see any value in it? You don't need to be an MD for financial freedom. If you are disliking everything I would stop, even though it seems insane. If you enjoy it, why not continue? I'm in College cause I enjoy it and see value in it. But college isn't stopping me from any of my goals. If it were I would stop immediately.

So yeah i think it comes down to, how sane are you continuing it?

My start up capital comes from odd jobs. So generally they all cost me less than $100 to stop. I think your making yourself think you need a lot of startup capital for your job, when that's not true.

But it's a big decision. Make sure you think it over well.

 

[ElixirOfLife]

You could do both. Use your experience in the medical field to find a need for your business.

But, this is a forum for entrepreneurs. You're going to get the same canned answers that will usually not support the notion of a) jacking up student loans with the hopes of a career b) working for someone else.



By the way, there's no such thing as guaranteed income when you have a job. It can disappear with little to no notice. As long as someone else has control of your income, you are are at their mercy.

You have only one question to answer and NOBODY else here can answer it for you.

Do you want to be an entrepreneur or a doctor? Pick one and start working towards that goal.

Well the biggest question to ask is, do you see any value in it? You don't need to be an MD for financial freedom. If you are disliking everything I would stop, even though it seems insane. If you enjoy it, why not continue? I'm in College cause I enjoy it and see value in it. But college isn't stopping me from any of my goals. If it were I would stop immediately.

So yeah i think it comes down to, how sane are you continuing it?

My start up capital comes from odd jobs. So generally they all cost me less than $100 to stop. I think your making yourself think you need a lot of startup capital for your job, when that's not true.

But it's a big decision. Make sure you think it over well.

Thanks for the insight gents. I'm currently still reading The Millionare Fastlane and learning code on the side.

I'll be working on my entrepreneurial side while at uni and once that amounts to something I'll pursue it full-time.

Will be updating the forum at some point in the future about my progress.

 

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[Digamma]

I dropped out of med school during my second year. Good times, I loved it!
My opinion: stay in med school if you want to be a doctor, or drop out. Try to do both, you'll be a shitty doctor and a shitty entrepreneur.

 

[Iwokeup]

You've got two practicing physicians on this board, one of whom is a very accomplished coder.

Overall, if you really don't LOVE being a doctor and you KNOW that you're a born entrepreneur then I would leave medical school. Be aware of the sunk cost fallacy.

 

[John the Man]

Being a physician or any top professional job violates the commandments of TIME and SCALE. Look at your own GPs, surely they earn big bucks but they are usually very busy all day and retire very tired after a long day dealing with patients. Yes, it is a JOB where you are being paid hourly (SCALE) and sucks all your time (TIME) in a day when you're supposed to be out there enjoying life under the sun with your family. I was a university degree engineer... worked many years doing engineering works and away from my family most of the time until an online business which used to be my hobby gave me this freedom that I wouldn't have acquired had I focused myself to stay on the job and climb high up the career ladder. I'm not YET rich financially but I'm rich in time because I have freedom. Heck! even my degree and job combined have nothing to do with my online business, they're totally unconnected! JOB REALLY SUCKS! Your entrepreneurship mind is far more valuable than your university education.

 

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[Duane]

I don't know the logistics of all of this, but when I was a kid, my family practitioner owned a few offices in the area. He loved helping people and being a doctor, which he does during the day, and makes tons of extra money through employing other doctors and building doctor's offices. Sounds pretty fastlane to me.

 

[John the Man]

I don't know the logistics of all of this, but when I was a kid, my family practitioner owned a few offices in the area. He loved helping people and being a doctor, which he does during the day, and makes tons of extra money through employing other doctors and building doctor's offices. Sounds pretty fastlane to me.

Duane, your family practitioner turned the opportunity into fastlane through employing more/other doctors and building doctor's offices (SCALE+MAGNITUDE)... just like an ice cream van, only one ice cream is not and will never be a fastlane but owning 100 ice cream vans spread in 100 different locations is definitely a fastlane.

 

[MKHB]

Duane, your family practitioner turned the opportunity into fastlane through employing more/other doctors and building doctor's offices (SCALE+MAGNITUDE)... just like an ice cream van, only one ice cream is not and will never be a fastlane but owning 100 ice cream vans spread in 100 different locations is definitely a fastlane.

Getting a medical degree and saving lives or "sideline it" to focus on a speculative online venture?

Are you kidding?

 

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[fastattack03]

Aggressive route: quit the school and start your fastlane journey. Maybe get a job first to support yourself

Less aggressive and safer route: start your fastlane journey now. Find an idea and validate it first. Then quit school.

Practicing medicine requires a lot of your time and energy. It's not worth pursuing along with your fastlane biz unless you're passionate about the profession.

Imagine this, if you need 10,000 hours to create a very successful business earning 1 million a year, maybe you could do it in 2-3 years.

Doing it while studying a profession you're not really passionate about? Well, it will probably take 4-6 years. Maybe more.

It's up to you man. How badly do you want that success?

My younger brother wants the same but I don't want him to. I want him to realize that it's better to be in the fastlane than having his time exchanged for money. He's still young though. I have a couple more years to convince him.

 

[Vidar]

Let me just get this straight out of the way: This isn't me asking for someone else to make my life choices for me, I'm ultimately responsible for my own future.

I'm a second year med student (UK) on a nice cushy career path that leads to a sweet job making £XXX,XXX after a few years of practice.

I'd just like some insight from anyone who's been/is in a similar position to me (''vocational'' jobs, i.e. medicine, law etc), about whether it's worth sticking out the remaining few years and getting some juicy credentials, experience, connections and exposure (my lovely mind rationalising why I should stay) and then pursuing a fastlane enterprise with start-up capital from my garaunteed job, or would it be more 'fastlane' to aggressively focus on something entrepreneurial now and sideline my medical career?

My end-goal is the same of course, financial freedom. However I've thought about it a crap-tonne and I keep rationalising this and that. Would just like some fresh perspective from anyone really as to whether it's more beneficial to have a useful degree, life experience and some money behind me when I make the plunge.

Would be eternally grateful for some helpful responses.

I'd just like to take a second to address your perception that being a Doc is a "nice cushy career path".

Because it's not.

I have been grateful, on many occasions, that I'm not a Dr. I don't have to pull the call hours, I don't have to be responsible for people's lives, I don't have to worry for hours/days/weeks/months on end about patients, I don't have to deal with having office staff to provide for (and referee ) and the incredible malpractice insurance rates, or the gov't telling me I'm making too much money... the list goes on. However, I am (and we all should be) extremely grateful that there are people out there amazing enough to be so dedicated to caring about people. I've worked with guys that will still do trade for their services if their patient can't afford treatment! @__@ Talk about dedication.

Anyway, onto what I really wanted to talk about.

I've found through 10 years of scrubbing that the Doc's are always lamenting not having started a business instead of going to Med School, like their buddy down the street who does whatever he wants, when he wants... because he can. But then they rationalize not being an entrepreneur themselves by saying that their buddy worked way too hard to get where he is.



Sometimes I'd just like to shake them and throw TMF at them for their homework! Seriously, they're always complaining about not being able to retire until 65+... but they're unwilling to put in some serious hard work (besides being a Dr!) for a couple years so they can retire WAY before that. So they're content to work their guts out, working off their student debt (some figures I've heard tossed around are upwards of $250,000 student loan debt *dies*) paying for big houses that they really can't afford but have to keep up appearances, etc, etc...

So, my intention was to let you know how the Dr's I've worked with (Surgeons and Anesthesiologists) feel about their life choices. I hope that it helps you a little, whatever you decide. Best of luck!

 

[ElixirOfLife]

I'd just like to take a second to address your perception that being a Doc is a "nice cushy career path".

Just to clarify, I very switched on to how draining and time consuming being a doctor is, I was talking about the career path. i.e. Ridiculously high rate of employmeny after uni, then climbing the ladder to be a consultant etc etc.

start your fastlane journey now. Find an idea and validate it first. Then quit school.

Yeah this is pretty much what I am doing and I know being half-in-half-out is a shitty place to be and self-defeating at worst, but I'll be pulling the trigger soon as.

 

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[Vidar]

Just to clarify, I very switched on to how draining and time consuming being a doctor is, I was talking about the career path. i.e. Ridiculously high rate of employmeny after uni, then climbing the ladder to be a consultant etc etc.


Yeah this is pretty much what I am doing and I know being half-in-half-out is a shitty place to be and self-defeating at worst, but I'll be pulling the trigger soon as.

I was just trying to clarify for you that that particular "path" has some huge implications that will affect you for quite some time.

Best of luck.

 

[Writer7]

Let me just get this straight out of the way: This isn't me asking for someone else to make my life choices for me, I'm ultimately responsible for my own future.

I'm a second year med student (UK) on a nice cushy career path that leads to a sweet job making £XXX,XXX after a few years of practice.

I'd just like some insight from anyone who's been/is in a similar position to me (''vocational'' jobs, i.e. medicine, law etc), about whether it's worth sticking out the remaining few years and getting some juicy credentials, experience, connections and exposure (my lovely mind rationalising why I should stay) and then pursuing a fastlane enterprise with start-up capital from my garaunteed job, or would it be more 'fastlane' to aggressively focus on something entrepreneurial now and sideline my medical career?

My end-goal is the same of course, financial freedom. However I've thought about it a crap-tonne and I keep rationalising this and that. Would just like some fresh perspective from anyone really as to whether it's more beneficial to have a useful degree, life experience and some money behind me when I make the plunge.

Would be eternally grateful for some helpful responses.

My son is in the same situation as you are - second year med student in a EU country. He was unsure whether he should go business path or to pursue medical career (in which he is very interested - he found himself in that fied). He decided to pursue medical education and think business later.
My advice to you would be the same. Why?
Because, if you finish your medical education and then start any kind of business related to this, you created an extremely high barrier of entry for the competition. On the other side, if you create business with customers in the medical field, you immediately have high paying customers, not some tire-kickers who would buy your product (physical product, ebook, course, etc.) and ask for a refund later.
As a med professional, you will be on the source of basic human need - to stay healthy. So you will be able to notice and recognize a specific need on which you can base your business, sooner than anyone else.

Another thing - when I wrote "think business later" I did not think wait for the next 111 years, when you finish all possible med education.
I meant that you can start it even during studying, when you find some time.
Search the web and you will find many stories. I do not have a link, but I read somewhere that two medical students made a medical iPhone app which they were successfully selling for $19.95 (other apps usually sell for $1-2 or are distributed for free). Or you can write an ebook (or a series of ebooks) for fellow students, or sick people (and that could be the start of Mr.ElixirOfLife medical publishing house - a great business). Search the thread of limitup on this forum - he made a fortune with a $39.35 ebook.
Another buss-med story I listened on one of entrepreneurs podcast sites - an internet marketer had a MD in the family (dermatologist, I think), they teamed up and franchised doctors business rising the income from $100k to $800K in a year. They made courses of how to apply botox (another high income stream), etc.

My son had his 21st birthday not long ago. Guess what book I gave him as a present?

Read "The Millionaire Fastlane " and apply it to your life and your situation.

 

[John the Man]

Getting a medical degree and saving lives or "sideline it" to focus on a speculative online venture?

Are you kidding?

Please don't get me wrong here, of course every profession is a vital aspect of the society and being a doctor is a very respectable and elite profession, in fact I can't bear thinking what life is without a hard working doctor or even nurses... but this is a fast lane forum where any kind of job whether life saver or not are all equally sucks as they will never give you the glory of retiring early and enjoy life to the fullest.

 

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[MKHB]

Please don't get me wrong here, of course every profession is a vital aspect of the society and being a doctor is a very respectable and elite profession, in fact I can't bear thinking what life is without a hard working doctor or even nurses... but this is a fast lane forum where any kind of job whether life saver or not are all equally sucks as they will never give you the glory of retiring early and enjoy life to the fullest.

The problem is, you are getting advice from people that will most likely not make it as entrepreneurs, especially those under 30.

Pose your question to a successful surgeon - and ask him if he is kicking himself for not quitting medicine and selling widgets on Amazon.

 

[gi61joe]

Elixir, I am in medicine and made the change from Advertising/Marketing to go into medicine. One thing that I consistently see is that there are many doctors that are good at being doctors. However, there are few doctors that are good/shrewd businessmen. Those who are, tend to live in the Fastlane. They do what they love and then utilize their knowledge of medicine AND business to create a process that allows them to work an 8 hour day (if they want) and run a successful business where they can actually quit at any time, but they don't because they like seeing patients. It's kinda up to you and where your interest lies. Hope this helps.

 

[John the Man]

The problem is, you are getting advice from people that will most likely not make it as entrepreneurs, especially those under 30.

Pose your question to a successful surgeon - and ask him if he is kicking himself for not quitting medicine and selling widgets on Amazon.

I only took advice from a person who has been a millionaire at age 33 with 2 'unused' university degrees, owns a big house, a Lamborghini Diablo and a real living money tree that serves as surrogate for his indentured time. I've listened to his wonderful audiobook almost a hundred times and it was him who has systematically proven that 'any kinds of job or business that violates the 5 fast lane commandments' really sucks. He is the fast lane millionaire who has uncovered the real road to riches that puts Brian Tracy, Robert Kiyosaki, and other slow lane millionaire preachers at bay...

However with respect to surgeons, it really depends... a private cosmetic surgeon who was paid millions by a beauty conscious rich widow in just a couple of operations is already in the fast lane while an EENT surgeon employed in a local hospital will never make it to the fast lane as he is being paid hourly by the government or private entities. Btw selling widgets in Amazon is never a joke... Even if a widget has low magnitude, Amazon has the power of scale... simply put if your simple widget is bought by half a million people around the world, you'll instantly become a millionaire.

 

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[John the Man]

Medicine is generally not a fast lane but it can be a catalyst to a fast lane if a good fast lane process comes with it. Medicine on the other hand is not only a job but also a charity work where some types of people enjoy doing it for free that's why some doctors with successful businesses still doing the doctor jobs because that's what they enjoy doing. J. K. Rowling, the author of Harry Potter, used to write for a living but because of the tremendous result of the Harry Potter series that put her straight to the fast lane, she no longer see writing as a means for a living but an enjoyable hobby that she doesn't care if she's getting an income or not.