Can a medical student become a software engineer?

CAN A MEDICAL STUDENT BECOME A SOFTWARE ENGINEER?

Introduction

Today, so many children under their parent’s influence want to become a doctor or a lawyer. Some of the students stand up to their parent’s expectations while some can’t. Now, those who got admission into a medical college after 5 years of hard work suddenly realize that this is not their cup of tea and want to leave the medical field and switch to another subject. Is that possible?

Well, any type of switch is possible at any time but then we should also see when is the correct time. Some students realize it early while some recognize it in the middle of their course and some come to this conclusion in the last year of their course. In this article, we will talk about the course switch from a medical background to an engineering background.

A medical student can become a software engineer without any problem. It depends on the student on how and what they would do to achieve this. If someone asks me, I would suggest that the student must be confident about their decision and later they should not blame their parents or the parents must not force their children to convince them to become a doctor just because it is a more payable job. I would suggest some points both to the parents and the students who want to switch from medical to software engineering.

Consultation

Both the students and their parents should approach a consultancy service provider to know more about their plans and plan of action. Here, I would like to make myself clear that the student is not so small that they do not understand what their parents will go through financially if they would completely switch their course from medical to a software engineer. Indeed, software engineering does not require very professional knowledge but we must note that a university degree definitely increases the value of the resume of the student and the cover letter too has an important role to play. The student might say that they would not go to college and rather learn about the course through online courses. The online courses are okay but they can never replace the classroom environment of the college. 

Knowledge of the financial strain

If the student has completed their five years MBBS course and then they want to become a software engineer, the students who are still pursuing their five years must note that they or their parents had to take a huge student loan for their medical course program. All of us know that the average cost comes to around 100,000 USD after scholarships for the whole course. This sum does not include the student’s daily living expenses. Their costs cross the 10000 USD mark for their 5 years just for living in a shared room or hostel room. The debts associated are high and the students must understand the financial load upon them and their parents and think before they do anything. The debts need to be cleared off because interests are being added up into the original sum of money. 

Think before you act

This step is very important and no student should ignore this step. The student must think about the alternatives to their plan. The student must understand that there are risks involved such as if they want to come back to the medical field then they might have to appear in the tests again for entrance if they left the course incomplete or the hospitals might question them and reject them because of the break-in their practice years after completing their course. There are risks involved so it would be a viable option if the student compares all the situations

Peer pressure

The student might feel the peer pressure that all their friends are coding and doing “cool stuff” so they should also choose that subject. This is a very dangerous reason for leaving the subject of any kind. Not going to a university due to peer pressure sounds absurd. This decision should not be made just because of peer influence, the inner drive is required too along with strong determination and faith within themselves.

What to do next?

My personal opinion to any student leaving their medical course just because software engineering was “ cooler” than medical, I would like to suggest to them to please ignore these feelings and continue with their medical stream because they want to satisfy their frugal primary interests. Those who have completed their course and are practicing can surely go for it because codings are required for research purposes and an extra skill acts as a bonus for you. Those students who feel that they are not interested in this field must immediately leave it and think about their software engineering courses if that is what they want in their life. The financial burden is a strain but to live in a situation where you are financially, physically, and mentally bound is surely going to affect the brain and the student might feel overwhelmed by it and might think about committing life-threatening activities to get rid of the problems they are facing.

Conclusion

A medical student can become a software engineer without any doubt. They must understand the whole issue sincerely and discuss it with their parents, peers, and if possible their professors too. The student must weigh all the options around them and act accordingly. They should understand what their next steps would be, if they want to go to another college, then act according to the guidelines because medical and software engineering is like two parallel rivers which cannot meet.

FAQs
  1. Should the student go to university just for a certificate?

Answer: In my opinion, yes. A student must attend university to learn. Today there are indeed online courses available for the software engineering courses, they would add value to the student’s skills but it would not reflect on the resume.  

  1. IS software engineering an easy course?

Answer: There is nothing hard or easy in this world. It is the human mind which decides whether something is easy or difficult to achieve. If you think you are bad at something then you would never be able to excel yourself in that part. Someone can choose it to fulfill their passion. It is normal to do so and there is no harm in the subject because no knowledge ever goes to vain.

Can a medical student become a software engineer?

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