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I don't think you are nuts at all, sounds like a great idea. I also think that your story will become more common place in the coming years as those who are currently in flight school or are coming on to regionals etc start figuring out that this career is a complete joke. What you are doing takes sack, and you are certainly young enough to recover, and id bet the farm you will never look back except to laugh.
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Don't the railroads pay well? I would imagine you already have the educatuon they require for most of he jobs a rail road would require.
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Well I know I wouldn't do it, because your making it sound way too easy and hopeful. Realistically ask yourself: do you want to be a doctor, paycheck aside. I know I am smart enough, but my heart would not be in it. That and who likes being around sick people all the time? Really I kid though, good luck.
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Originally Posted by splash333
(Post 1114256)
Another idea you might consider is becoming a Physician Assistant, I don't know if your familiar with it but this is something I've been thinking about for a long time. The benefit of this is the program is usually about 2 years, although you must meet prereqs. There is no residency, thus less debt. Also many jobs and you can work in any area of medicine. You won't make MD money, but you would start around 80k and go up to 6 figs. Just something to consider. I like the idea of making money in 2 years as opposed to 4 years of med school, which means 2 less years of paying and 2 more years you are making money,
Med school is even more competitive and the MCAT's are notoriously difficult. |
To answer the OP's question yes I know two pilots who are now doctors and one doctor who is now a pilot.
One of my very good friends started off in life wanting nothing more than to be a commercial pilot. He got as far as the regionals and decided to blow it off. Note, that he already had completed a pre med program and had graduated at the top of his class as in number one, he scored one of the highest scores in history on his MCATS. He then graduated numero uno in medical school and is now a Pulmonary critical care specialist, internal medicine and sleep medicine specialist. He let the Navy pay for his medical school and it was a fantastic deal for him. he stayed in the Navy and is due to retire and go into private practice soon. I have another friend who after spending ten years with me at UAL applied and got accepted to CU Medical School. He is finished with medical school and is a resident but I'm not sure what in. I know a guy who was an ER doctor. He hated it. He is now a corporate pilot. he tells me that he doesn't miss medicine one tiny little bit. |
Originally Posted by BelowMins
(Post 1115071)
Not to burst anyone's bubble I wish you luck, but PA school isn't just something you pay for and complete like flight school is. You need a pre-med or strong science background with your bachelors and proven clinical hours just to apply. My girlfriend is attending now. She had to compete with over 1000 qualified applicants just to get the interview, they interviewed 100 and accepted 35.
Med school is even more competitive and the MCAT's are notoriously difficult. My advice to the OP is this; shadow a PA, even multiple PAs and see if you like it. You can do this by going to your states PA website and they will usually send you a list of PAs who will allow you to shadow. If you like it after shadowing then start searching programs near you and see what the prereqs are. Let me tell you this, there are MANY programs that DO NOT require any health care experience, these are probably where you'll want to apply. Sure its tough and competitive, but you have experience as a pilot and believe me that will impress the interviewers. I don't know where you live, but in cleveland there is a program offered through CSU and Cuyahoga Community College, this is where I'm applying this year, No health care experience required. Total cost of the program is about 30 grand, which I think may be the cheapest program in the country. And remember there are lots of schools all over so even if you don't get in at some schools, you will get in somewhere else if you keep trying. BTW the MCAT is not really the standard for most schools, the GRE is required at the majority. |
I almost forgot to mention this, but another really good option for a pilot interested in the healthcare field is to become a cardiovascular perfusionist. I actually did some shadowing and applied to the program at the cleveland clinic which is the number one program in the country. A perfusionist is basically responsible for running the heart lung machine during cardiopulmonary bypass. The pay is very good and I thought it was a cool job. You literally keep people alive while there heart is stopped. The great thing about this field is it is not very well known, thus not as competitive to get in. I'll be honest when I interviewed at the cleveland clinic 8 interviewed, 6 got in, I didn't. But during the interview the director specifically talked about having the same skills as a pilot, such as performing under pressure. This program is 18 months, the new class just started this Jan. Heres a link Cardiovascular Perfusionist Program Heres a link to all programs Perfusion Training Programs
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One of the old neighbors was a perfusionist. He was on call all the time, but made bank.
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Originally Posted by cardiomd
(Post 1114747)
Interesting dilemma - I think you need a lot more exposure to the medical field and what it means to be a physician. It is not sunshine and roses, but clear benefits and drawbacks to the career.
Originally Posted by cardiomd
(Post 1114747)
Your decision is really primarily not about salary, because the lifestyle choice that you are about to make will dominate your whole experience, er.., well, your whole life! If your reasons for becoming a physician are only as enumerated above (primarily financial), you will likely have a huge disappointment. You have to decide first, and foremost, "do I want to become a doctor." Salary will come and go, what may be high paying now may be low paying later. There are a LOT of better ways to earn money at much lower personal cost and work.
First of all, your numbers are way off for the ER doctors... National median salary is probably near to $225k, not "just under 400k". Medicine is weird in that big city salaries are likely lower than those out in "undesirable" areas (supply and demand... people are willing to work for cheap in Boston but not in Fargo, North Dakota.) ER physicians have huge stress, and a very high malpractice / rate of getting sued. Secondly, starting medical school requires prerequisites, including biology, chemistry, physics... have you done these in college? If not, you'd need a minimum 2 year postbac program prior to applying to medical school. If you didn't go to a strong college, getting into a good medical school can be difficult. Schools discriminate a bit against older applicants, meaning it is harder to get in a bit (but if you are still in your 20's that should be ok) as they have less "time" to practice, and residency positions are still subsidized by the government a bit (but not much). If you don't go to a good medical school, getting into a good residency (competitive residency) could also be difficult. Expect to earn $45k when in residency and fellowship, together with budgeting $150k in student loans. Short story is, it can be done, but is a huge commitment, and not something to be taken casually. You shouldn't decide something like this over the internet, but be in touch with doctors, perhaps a school counselor, and talk to people in and out of training. Certainly talking with fellow pilots is useful for the pilot perspective, but also mosey on down to studentdoctor dot net, they will have a lot of information for you and people would be happy to help. Thanks for taking the time to respond. My decision in considering this option is not based solely off "projected salary" but also other perceived quality-of-life attributes that I automatically assumed would come with the life of becoming a physician. I have been reading through studentdoctor and realized that some things are totally different from what I originally thought but I am still continuing to do research and educating myself on what to expect. I took two out of the three courses that you mentioned in college. I did not, however, attend a big name prestigious school so that may go against me. I am not looking to make any drastic decisions anytime soon. I simply brought this question up to APC to see if anyone else has heard of any airline pilots pursuing this route. Introducing me to studentdoctor was probably the best thing that happened so far as it is addressing many questions and concerns. Don't the railroads pay well? I would imagine you already have the educatuon they require for most of he jobs a rail road would require. Railroads do pay well, however, its just something I am not interested in pursuing. Well I know I wouldn't do it, because your making it sound way too easy and hopeful. Realistically ask yourself: do you want to be a doctor, paycheck aside. To answer the OP's question yes I know two pilots who are now doctors and one doctor who is now a pilot. One of my very good friends started off in life wanting nothing more than to be a commercial pilot. He got as far as the regionals and decided to blow it off. Note, that he already had completed a pre med program and had graduated at the top of his class as in number one, he scored one of the highest scores in history on his MCATS. He then graduated numero uno in medical school and is now a Pulmonary critical care specialist, internal medicine and sleep medicine specialist. He let the Navy pay for his medical school and it was a fantastic deal for him. he stayed in the Navy and is due to retire and go into private practice soon. I have another friend who after spending ten years with me at UAL applied and got accepted to CU Medical School. He is finished with medical school and is a resident but I'm not sure what in. I know a guy who was an ER doctor. He hated it. He is now a corporate pilot. he tells me that he doesn't miss medicine one tiny little bit. Its interesting to see a guy that did this after spending time at the majors. It's also interesting to hear about a doctor who went from practicing medicine to flying. All food for thought here....-thanks. Hey I realize getting into PA school is not easy, but neither is med school, and I was suggesting it as an alternative to that. As a PA school applicant I know there are prereqs and interviews and how competitive it is to get in. With that said you do not need a premed degree you can have a degree in anything, sure it helps to have some of the classes done, but what is really important is your undergrad gpa and science gpa. I think PA school is by far a smarter choice than med school, unless you absolutely want to be a doctor. My advice to the OP is this; shadow a PA, even multiple PAs and see if you like it. You can do this by going to your states PA website and they will usually send you a list of PAs who will allow you to shadow. If you like it after shadowing then start searching programs near you and see what the prereqs are. Let me tell you this, there are MANY programs that DO NOT require any health care experience, these are probably where you'll want to apply. Sure its tough and competitive, but you have experience as a pilot and believe me that will impress the interviewers. I don't know where you live, but in cleveland there is a program offered through CSU and CuyahogaCommunity College, this is where I'm applying this year, No health care experience required. Total cost of the program is about 30 grand, which I think may be the cheapest program in the country. And remember there are lots of schools all over so even if you don't get in at some schools, you will get in somewhere else if you keep trying. BTW the MCAT is not really the standard for most schools, the GRE is required at the majority. I almost forgot to mention this, but another really good option for a pilot interested in the healthcare field is to become a cardiovascular perfusionist. I actually did some shadowing and applied to the program at the cleveland clinic which is the number one program in the country. A perfusionist is basically responsible for running the heart lung machine during cardiopulmonary bypass. The pay is very good and I thought it was a cool job. You literally keep people alive while there heart is stopped. The great thing about this field is it is not very well known, thus not as competitive to get in. I'll be honest when I interviewed at the cleveland clinic 8 interviewed, 6 got in, I didn't. But during the interview the director specifically talked about having the same skills as a pilot, such as performing under pressure. This program is 18 months, the new class just started this Jan. Heres a link Cardiovascular Perfusionist Program Heres a link to all programs Perfusion Training Programs You mentioned you were applying to schools as well... are you in the same boat as me? Have you been flying and now you are looking to get out? It's also good to know that this career wasn't a total waste if it assists me in the interview and getting into a program. |
The job market for perfusionists is relatively good I believe. You have to remember there aren't really many schools offering perfusion education, and class sizes and relatively small, like I said at the Cleveland Clinic I think they can take up to 8 students. At the interview I was told that if you are willing to relocate then you would be able to get a job. If I remember correctly there's something like 4000 certified perusionists in the country so it is definitely a small community. It's not like being a PA where you can pick any city and they have tons of jobs.
To answer your question, no I'm not a pilot. I have been considering possibly going that route for a while. I have a degree in health science which honestly ain't worth much. It does qualify me to go to graduate school, which is why I have applied to perfusion and PA school. I am going to be interviewing for PA school at the end of this month, so I am pretty much just waiting for that. Honestly between being a perfusionist or a PA I really like the perfusion thing better. There isn't any patient contact, which is sort of nice, it is really a mechanical job. The Cleveland Clinic perfusion program is also shorter than PA school, 18 months vs 28 months, comparable salary, & the cost was only 18 grand, which is really unbelievably cheap to get world class training. I interviewed for the perfusion program last October, I was really hoping to get in, I believe it is the best program in the country. Your experience as a pilot would be a huge plus for this kind of job, definitely a lot of comparable skills, being confident and decisive decision maker, working under pressure, like I said the director specifically mentioned that. Unfortunately you have to wait a while to apply to this program, but there are others, I don't have much experience with them. This one seems good http://www.midwestern.edu/Programs_a...%20Description |
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