Reply to Has anyone totally re-made their career in their 40s? (e.g., law to medicine)

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]medicine is tough just because of the LOOOONG training track.  I know someone who tried at 40 and didn't make it.  took the prereqs, blew the lid off the MCATs and still couldn't get a medschool to accept her.  They were pretty frank, for the most part, that medical school + residency is really pretty much a minimum  of 6 years, likely more.  if she made it through, she would likely only practice for 10-15 years or less.  that makes it a hard sell for the student AND the school.  they don't get to train but so many people and prefer to train people who are going to work for another 30 years after they finish training. my friend did some research and a LOT of soul-searching and became a nurse.  She likes it!

anyway, career tracks with shorter runways are a better bet than medicine.  plenty of people make late life switches.  I know a few second-career teachers, and LOTS of people who switched tracks within law to do something totally different, an English professor who became a PA, a finance guy who started a food truck, a journalist who went into PR, etc.  Like the PP, I imagine your best bet would be to reinvent your law career.  There are lots of ways to be a lawyer.[/quote]

This is interesting... law school classes have been known to have 60 year old+ half-retired physicians in them (mine had 2) that just want to do some expert testimony or just felt like going to school to entertain themselves or whatever.  You think the reciprocal arrangment would be more welcoming.. [/quote]

Your law school accepted 60 yr olds and retired MDs?? Mine did not have a single one of either of those. The 60 yr olds on campus looking for entertainment were auditing undergrad art history. Medical training is expensive -- not the first 2 yrs of lectures but all the simulations, equipment, standardized patients; plus there are a limited # of residency spots nationally in each field. On top of dr. shortages in rural areas, areas that are not the 95 corridor cities where everyone wants to live etc. and growing dr. shortages in areas like primary care/pediatrics etc. as people take on more and more debt for school and need to specialize so they can make money. So yeah med schools and residency programs are very mindful of taking on people who will be able to work 30+years post residency. That's not going to happen when you finish up your training at 50. Plus have you thought about what it'd be like to keep up with 26-27 year old interns/first year residents at 47? Do you have the same stamina as them to be awake for 36-48 hrs at a time? Did you do biglaw at the start of your career? Do you have the same stamina now that you did as a 1st yr associate billing 3000 hours? If not, why do you presume you'd have that stamina for medicine -- which is much much more on your feet/greater downside risk than being a 1st yr associate doing doc review or diligence?[/quote]

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