Advice Needed: Daughter Torn Between AI Master's and Pre-Med

[Anonymous]

OP Here. I’d like to thank everyone for the thoughtful and sound advice — it’s been incredibly helpful.

I’m realizing that her decision will ultimately be shaped by a combination of factors: financial considerations, her true calling for medicine, family-building timeline, the competitiveness of med school admissions, etc...

She discovered a love for tech relatively late — toward the end of high school — and while she’s good at it and sees it as a powerful tool, she’s never really viewed it as her long-term path.

On the other hand, she’s shown a deep interest in medicine from a very young age. Even as a toddler, she would talk about becoming a doctor, and that passion has stayed with her.

It’s a complex decision, but hearing everyone’s perspectives will definitely helped us think through it more clearly. Thanks again.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP Here. I’d like to thank everyone for the thoughtful and sound advice — it’s been incredibly helpful.

I’m realizing that her decision will ultimately be shaped by a combination of factors: financial considerations, her true calling for medicine, family-building timeline, the competitiveness of med school admissions, etc...

She discovered a love for tech relatively late — toward the end of high school — and while she’s good at it and sees it as a powerful tool, she’s never really viewed it as her long-term path.

On the other hand, she’s shown a deep interest in medicine from a very young age. Even as a toddler, she would talk about becoming a doctor, and that passion has stayed with her.

It’s a complex decision, but hearing everyone’s perspectives will definitely helped us think through it more clearly. Thanks again.

You are welcome.

As long as we are not talking about race or comparing schools, yeah we can be contributing members.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hi everyone — hoping to get some perspective.

My daughter is a rising junior at an Ivy League school, majoring in Computer Science. She just finished an internship at a Big Tech company and got a return offer, which is exciting. Now she’s trying to figure out what direction to take for the next two years. She's considering either:

Going for a concurrent Master’s in AI, which aligns with her current major and internship experience,
or
Shifting gears and completing the requirements for med school, something she’s also seriously interested in.

She genuinely enjoys both fields — tech and medicine — and is having a hard time choosing.
If anyone’s been through something similar or has any advice (as a parent, student, or professional), we’d really appreciate your thoughts. How do you choose between two very different paths?

Thanks in advance!

These are very different fields. Generally, a good doctor has always wanted to be a good doctor, and there's not much that can dissuade them. So I'd be mindful of this kid not having that sense of mission.

Also, if she's going into junior year and hasn't done any of the pre-reqs for a pre-med track, she's probably looking at another year of undergrad.

As for CS, the current employment market is a little bleak. I don't think a Master's changes things too much in this environment.

However, AI is the THING right now. If she can easily pick up a concurrent Masters in AI, it will be ka-ching for her. Right now, FAANG is poaching everyone they can in AI with absolutely ludicrous offers. Start Ups are humming. Venture capital has their wallets open. It is an incredibly lucrative field at this moment in time.

Why would she need another year of undergrad for pre med requirements? I had a friend who decided late she wanted to be a doctor, graduated with a psych major without completing pre med requirements, then took the courses after graduation while she was also working. Worked fine, got into med school, and she's been a doctor for many years now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP Here. I’d like to thank everyone for the thoughtful and sound advice — it’s been incredibly helpful.

I’m realizing that her decision will ultimately be shaped by a combination of factors: financial considerations, her true calling for medicine, family-building timeline, the competitiveness of med school admissions, etc...

She discovered a love for tech relatively late — toward the end of high school — and while she’s good at it and sees it as a powerful tool, she’s never really viewed it as her long-term path.

On the other hand, she’s shown a deep interest in medicine from a very young age. Even as a toddler, she would talk about becoming a doctor, and that passion has stayed with her.

It’s a complex decision, but hearing everyone’s perspectives will definitely helped us think through it more clearly. Thanks again.

I'm curious then why she didn't start out pre med?

Keep in mind nothing is set in stone. She can take the pre med courses after she graduates, and she can also get a masters after she graduates.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A CS major with a job offer.

The sky isn't falling! 🙂

Ivy League

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hi everyone — hoping to get some perspective.

My daughter is a rising junior at an Ivy League school, majoring in Computer Science. She just finished an internship at a Big Tech company and got a return offer, which is exciting. Now she’s trying to figure out what direction to take for the next two years. She's considering either:

Going for a concurrent Master’s in AI, which aligns with her current major and internship experience,
or
Shifting gears and completing the requirements for med school, something she’s also seriously interested in.

She genuinely enjoys both fields — tech and medicine — and is having a hard time choosing.
If anyone’s been through something similar or has any advice (as a parent, student, or professional), we’d really appreciate your thoughts. How do you choose between two very different paths?

Thanks in advance!

These are very different fields. Generally, a good doctor has always wanted to be a good doctor, and there's not much that can dissuade them. So I'd be mindful of this kid not having that sense of mission.

Also, if she's going into junior year and hasn't done any of the pre-reqs for a pre-med track, she's probably looking at another year of undergrad.

As for CS, the current employment market is a little bleak. I don't think a Master's changes things too much in this environment.

However, AI is the THING right now. If she can easily pick up a concurrent Masters in AI, it will be ka-ching for her. Right now, FAANG is poaching everyone they can in AI with absolutely ludicrous offers. Start Ups are humming. Venture capital has their wallets open. It is an incredibly lucrative field at this moment in time.

Why would she need another year of undergrad for pre med requirements? I had a friend who decided late she wanted to be a doctor, graduated with a psych major without completing pre med requirements, then took the courses after graduation while she was also working. Worked fine, got into med school, and she's been a doctor for many years now.

There are more required courses currently compared to “years ago.”

[Anonymous]

I had two kids during medical training. Med school was actually fun and not bad at all- I had my first during that - though rotations were hard. Residency sucks but I also had my second during it (doable)

If you can help your daughter when she has kids in training with childcare etc. I’d HIGHLY suggest the MD/PhD route. As most have said AI research is hot in medicine now. She could easily work towards a flexible academic career in this area. Pay isn’t as good as tech (probably low 200s) but it’s a steady job.

I’m in academic medicine and work very part time clinically now. It’s an amazing lifestyle and also meaningful, which is hard to find.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hi everyone — hoping to get some perspective.

My daughter is a rising junior at an Ivy League school, majoring in Computer Science. She just finished an internship at a Big Tech company and got a return offer, which is exciting. Now she’s trying to figure out what direction to take for the next two years. She's considering either:

Going for a concurrent Master’s in AI, which aligns with her current major and internship experience,
or
Shifting gears and completing the requirements for med school, something she’s also seriously interested in.

She genuinely enjoys both fields — tech and medicine — and is having a hard time choosing.
If anyone’s been through something similar or has any advice (as a parent, student, or professional), we’d really appreciate your thoughts. How do you choose between two very different paths?

Thanks in advance!

These are very different fields. Generally, a good doctor has always wanted to be a good doctor, and there's not much that can dissuade them. So I'd be mindful of this kid not having that sense of mission.

Also, if she's going into junior year and hasn't done any of the pre-reqs for a pre-med track, she's probably looking at another year of undergrad.

As for CS, the current employment market is a little bleak. I don't think a Master's changes things too much in this environment.

However, AI is the THING right now. If she can easily pick up a concurrent Masters in AI, it will be ka-ching for her. Right now, FAANG is poaching everyone they can in AI with absolutely ludicrous offers. Start Ups are humming. Venture capital has their wallets open. It is an incredibly lucrative field at this moment in time.

Why would she need another year of undergrad for pre med requirements? I had a friend who decided late she wanted to be a doctor, graduated with a psych major without completing pre med requirements, then took the courses after graduation while she was also working. Worked fine, got into med school, and she's been a doctor for many years now.

I'm confused. It sounds like your friend took at least another year's worth of undergraduate courses. Depending on what she's already taken, and how many requirements there are left in her major, OP's kid might also need another year of undergraduate courses. Or, to put it another way, another year of undergrad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I had two kids during medical training. Med school was actually fun and not bad at all- I had my first during that - though rotations were hard. Residency sucks but I also had my second during it (doable)

If you can help your daughter when she has kids in training with childcare etc. I’d HIGHLY suggest the MD/PhD route. As most have said AI research is hot in medicine now. She could easily work towards a flexible academic career in this area. Pay isn’t as good as tech (probably low 200s) but it’s a steady job.

I’m in academic medicine and work very part time clinically now. It’s an amazing lifestyle and also meaningful, which is hard to find.

My son's fiancée is hoping for medical school, and they want kids so I'm curious about this.

If you have kids during medical school, what happens? Do you delay coursework a semester? Or just miss classes? Or work from home during maternity leave? I am just trying to figure out how this works.

Similarly if your residency is 4 years, and you take 3 months off for maternity leave, do you then just do 3 years 9 months of residency, or do you finish later?

[Anonymous]

A Masters in AI sounds like a cash cow with little value (unless it’s at MIT or Stanford).

The best way to work on AI is to get a job at one of the hot AI startups. Or one of the rising stars like Anthropic.

[Anonymous]

⬆️ cash cow for the uni

[Anonymous]

The extra year isn't just about classes, it's about studying for MCAT which can only be done after taking the missing courses and also fulfilling large amounts of hours of research, clinical and volunteer hours. Presumably an Ivy student is also interested in top med schools which also makes all of this even more critical to be top notch.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A Masters in AI sounds like a cash cow with little value (unless it’s at MIT or Stanford).

The best way to work on AI is to get a job at one of the hot AI startups. Or one of the rising stars like Anthropic.

Many offer programs that can be completed within 4 years of undergrad, so not much of a “cash cow”. It is debatable if a Masters offers you much over just a BS if it isn’t part of a PhD program.

You offer some fairly simplistic advice…the best way to work in AI is to get a job in AI. Similar to the best way to be a pro baseball player is to get drafted by an MLB team…the analogies are endless.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

If your DC really love money, go with AI. They paid a ton, even without the Master's degree. To be honest, it's a waste of time to do a Master's degree full time. She can do a part-time master at schools like Stanford while she is working at FANNG.

If she truly loves both tech and medicine, and truly loves research, go with a MD/PhD. The AI medicine research is hot hot hot, plenty of opportunities allowing a combination of two. I believe MD/PhD usually comes with scholarship so that tuition for medical school + graduate school is waived in full (or equivalents thereof). Financial return will come a bit later in life, but she won't regret it.

Thanks for the advice. Just to clarify — the concurrent Master’s program would mean she completes her 4-year undergrad with both a BA and a Master’s degree in Computer Science, with a focus on AI. So the real choice she’s facing is:

Finish with a BA + Master’s in CS (AI concentration)
or
Finish with a BA in CS + complete the Pre-Med requirements

The latter, so she doesn't need to do a postbacc if she chooses medicine later on. Not much benefit to a combined master's in CS - she has the job offer in either case, after all.

My best guess is that she should finish with BA?MA (AI concentration).

But, for the correct response, why not ask AI ?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The extra year isn't just about classes, it's about studying for MCAT which can only be done after taking the missing courses and also fulfilling large amounts of hours of research, clinical and volunteer hours. Presumably an Ivy student is also interested in top med schools which also makes all of this even more critical to be top notch.

Are there guidelines for how many research, clinical and volunteer hours an applicant should have, and what kinds of activities count for each?

Is it realistic that OP's kid could take the course work, and then take a year or two to work in a CS related position while studying, and completing these hours before deciding whether to apply? It seems like that would give them more information to compare the two paths.