Medical School... a little late and with a LOT of debt

[CurseTheSky]

First, sorry to hear it. Though you may not have made all of the "right" choices, it certainly sounds like you've had your fair share of genuine tough times. $200k or not, don't beat yourself up. It's only money, and health and happiness are worth so much more than that.

Second, do what you honestly love, within reason. Don't take a job or education just because it might or even should pay well. Do it because you want to. That will be the difference between making $100-200k or more a year and hating your life, and making $40-80k a year and loving nearly every moment. Find your passion, put your heart and soul into it, make a name for yourself, and most importantly, put your own health and your family first.

Best of luck.

 

[preCRT]

Even if by some miracle the OP were to gain admission to med school and actually graduate, your chances of finding a residency program that would accept someone of that advanced age is zero.

 

[Imp]

Rule of 70 for doubling of investments... or in this case, debt.

As for medical school, I gave it a few days of thought, then realized I'm just not that motivated. My raison d'etre is to sit on my ass and watch TV even though I managed straight A+ grades in graduate school when I tried. Those days, barely a few years ago, are gone.

There's a certain degree of narcissism and naivete required to go through over a decade of school to earn $200k to $300k AND take on such a tremendous amount of liability and responsibility.

From what I've seen on CNN, you might be better off just starting your own charity. Bunch of charities soliciting money, then only using 5% on charitable business, and pocketing the rest. That's a good $200k a year... Maybe you can be one of the accountable ones and actually use more of it to actually help people.

 

[IAteYourMother]

Where did you go to college, what is your college GPA, and what did you study.

 

[HamburgerBoy]

Seriously op, if you're so smart and motivated now, at least try for computer engineering or something remotely feasible.

 

[Ns1]

First, sorry to hear it. Though you may not have made all of the "right" choices, it certainly sounds like you've had your fair share of genuine tough times. $200k or not, don't beat yourself up. It's only money, and health and happiness are worth so much more than that.

Second, do what you honestly love, within reason. Don't take a job or education just because it might or even should pay well. Do it because you want to. That will be the difference between making $100-200k or more a year and hating your life, and making $40-80k a year and loving nearly every moment. Find your passion, put your heart and soul into it, make a name for yourself, and most importantly, put your own health and your family first.

Best of luck.

40-80k/year is barely going to cover interest on those student loans. If the economy recovers and his rates go up he's fucked. Student loan debt = no discharge except upon death = OP should move to a different country. Hopefully there are no consigners on the loan.

 

[Proprioceptive]

Where did you go to college, what is your college GPA, and what did you study.

University of Missouri
1.8
GIS

Sad, I know. I do appreciate all of the feedback so far. I'm still sifting through the possibilities, but after discussing this with my wife at length tonight, she's not sure this would be a good idea. We'll figure this out.

 

[Sonikku]

40-80k/year is barely going to cover interest on those student loans. If the economy recovers and his rates go up he's fucked. Student loan debt = no discharge except upon death = OP should move to a different country. Hopefully there are no consigners on the loan.

1:Convert government debt to private debt by paying of loans with credit cards.
2: ???????
3: PROFIT

 

[yhelothar]

Seriously op, if you're so smart and motivated now, at least try for computer engineering or something remotely feasible.

I was thinking this. Or you can possibly do programming boot camp. It's a 3 month full time training and you'll have a full toolkit to build anything web related.

https://generalassemb.ly/education/web-development-immersive

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

As others have mentioned, this is not the time to take on any more debt, and med school debt is enormous. The eventual payout for someone in the medical field could be high, but at what cost and at what time horizon?

You're loading yourself up with even more debt for the next decade just for the possibility of maybe making more money only after that decade has passed (it's not guaranteed). By that time your kids will be almost ready for college and your earning potential will be less simply because you'll already be older at that time and won't be able to work as long as someone who did it earlier.

I highly suggest, as others have mentioned, to find a higher paying job that you can get with minimal investment and time. And maybe get skilled in something that you can teach yourself like coding or something.

What are your skills? For example, someone who is good with people could just go out and be a salesperson for a small business or something. No schooling required. Simply learn the product, devise a sales strategy, and go for it.

 

[IAteYourMother]

University of Missouri
1.8
GIS

Sad, I know. I do appreciate all of the feedback so far. I'm still sifting through the possibilities, but after discussing this with my wife at length tonight, she's not sure this would be a good idea. We'll figure this out.

If your GPA was a point higher, I might've said it'd be worth a try, but honestly it's just probably too little too late at this point.

 

[Carson Dyle]

Reality sucks. Sit down with a financial counselor and crunch some numbers. My offhand guess is that if you take this road you'll be lucky to be debt-free some time in your mid-50s. A time when many successful people nowadays are retiring.

Have you considered becoming an RN? I know a lot of people in their late 20s to early 30s who have gone to nursing school. You'll still rack up some student debt, but you'll be through the program in just a couple of years. Make sure you examine the job market, though. RNs are still in demand in some areas, but many parts of the country are overwhelmed with new graduates at a time when health care systems are laying off experienced nurses for cost cutting reasons.

 

[BoomerD]

Dude...you're already $200K in debt for school...that you failed miserably at...and you now want to add that much to the load...or more?

While you MIGHT make it through medical school, (although it sounds like you're just thrashing around for a way out of the hole you're already in) the odds definitely aren't in your favor

Move to North Dakota and get a job in the gas fields...those pay in the $75K to $100K range...for little to no experience.

 

[Fenixgoon]

what about becoming a welder? they are in super high demand if you're willing to go to where the work is.

 

[Greenman]

Cant you go to jail for not paying back student loans ?

There is no debtors prision in the USA.

 

[mikegg]

I was thinking this. Or you can possibly do programming boot camp. It's a 3 month full time training and you'll have a full toolkit to build anything web related.

https://generalassemb.ly/education/web-development-immersive

+1

No offense OP but you've clearly demonstrated that you can't stick to something.

If I were you, I'd learn programming, especially web development, online. There are many sites that offer free courses like codeacademy.com, codeschool.com, etc.

You can get a good job if you study hard and practice hard for a year. You can also do this at home or at a library, unlike medical school.

Good luck. It's good to want to better yourself but be realistic here.

 

[5150Joker]

I just finished medical school and I don't recommend it. Pay isnt that good, hours are long and it's just a miserable process. Get your finances in order and become a nurse like your wife.

Ps that 1.8 gpa won't even get you into nursing. I think higher education just isn't a good fit for you. Best to find a trade and pay your debt off.

Even if by some miracle the OP were to gain admission to med school and actually graduate, your chances of finding a residency program that would accept someone of that advanced age is zero.

Absolute nonsense spoken by someone that obviously has no idea about medical school or residency. Matching is incumbent on his board scores + LORs, not his age. He's not some geriatric.

 

[RossMAN]

I was thinking this. Or you can possibly do programming boot camp. It's a 3 month full time training and you'll have a full toolkit to build anything web related.

https://generalassemb.ly/education/web-development-immersive

Ouch $11,500 in San Francisco, any idea if that's all inclusive includes housing/food?

 

[Doppel]

There is no debtors prision in the USA.

True but can't you get arrested for not paying certain obligations like child support? In a way that can be considered debt.

The idea about looking into truck driving is good. RN if you really like med field and you don't think it will have a glut of new grads which some areas have had.

 

[Hacp]

At this point, your best option is to attend a state university and get an engineering degree in 3 years and be a sales engineer. That is if you have the motivation, smarts, and people skills. I believe companies routinely hire sales engineers with sub 3.0 GPAs IF they have people skills.

 

[jaedaliu]

I just finished medical school and I don't recommend it. Pay isnt that good, hours are long and it's just a miserable process. Get your finances in order and become a nurse like your wife.

Ps that 1.8 gpa won't even get you into nursing. I think higher education just isn't a good fit for you. Best to find a trade and pay your debt off.




Absolute nonsense spoken by someone that obviously has no idea about medical school or residency. Matching is incumbent on his board scores + LORs, not his age. He's not some geriatric.

You're 1 month into your residency. Of course life sucks and you feel like you're underpaid. You'll be able to make more money when you're done with residency, but then again, if you're doing medicine for the money, you'll be miserable for the rest of your working life.

 

[Geekbabe]

OK, This all stopped being about you and your needs the day your first child was born. You have 3 kids, a wife with medical issues? You need to take the quickest, most assured route to increasing your income that you can find. What about your current employer, do they offer any advanced management courses, any program to move up the ladder? Barring that, is it possible for you to take a second, part time job? Have you considered taking your current work experience and applying for a job with another company that might pay you more?

I don't mean to sound harsh but you had your time as a student, you came away from that without getting a degree carrying 200K of student loan debt.You currently reside with extended family because you can't afford to house your brood? Now you are considering imposing on these people for a decade or longer? Not to mention the fact Your 3 kids are going to need some sort of parental assistance in obtaining their own educations at some point.

In my opinion your goal right now should be supporting your wife in finishing her nursing degree, stepping up taking extra care of household and child care responsibilities while looking at ways to increase your income with the skill set you already have.

 

[rudder]

I did not read all the posts just putting in my 2 cents. If you are dead set on a career in healthcare.... See what credits are salvageable. Find a nursing program and get a bsn. With that work on becoming a nurse practioner. IMO they will be in more demand for initial health needs. Being an rn you will need less schooling. You can get a job as a nurse and earn income while going to the next level.

Caveat.... Not sure how the job market is for nurses.

Also have you considered the military? Getting into the medical field that way may be an option.

As for student loans...you will never pay those off. But there are ways to get that stuff discharged. If you work as a teacher for 10 years I think you can get your loan forgiven. Not sure of all the details.

 

[Mursilis]

I have about 70 credit hours... and I was pursuing a BA in Geographic Information Systems... but I completely lost my love for the field.

You're an adult now, with adult responsibilities (wife, children, debt). You're past the point of getting to pick a career field based on "loving it" or not. Millions of adults go to jobs they do not "love" every single day because they have responsibilities to meet.

 

[PricklyPete]

Another suggestion... Head to the Dakotas to work in the oil fields... Although that gold rush may be ending, it seems people were getting paid well with little education.