u/Illustrious-Order980 — reddlx

Hey everyone. I am studying for the MCAT and recently hit a strange wall. I have a constant mental ache that is not exactly painful but always there and worse when I try to study. This started after a two point drop from my post content review baseline.

Since then I feel a strong aversion to studying even when I push through. I stopped listening to music. I started reading books instead. I am struggling to understand questions in the same style I practiced for months with JW and Ufold. I stopped using Ufuel because it started to feel overwhelming.

I also enrolled in a premium tutoring 515 plus guaranteed program and I am on a payment plan so there is good challenging pressure. I took a full day off but the mental ache is still there.

Has anyone experienced something like this and what helped.

I’m 23 and just finished my bachelor’s degree. The MCAT is next, but I’m seriously considering dropping the med school track to go for a permanent Firefighter II position with CAL FIRE instead. To be honest, it doesn’t make sense to me to become a doctor just to live with massive debt for the rest of my life. I don't want a mountain of loans that I need to pay off for 10 years (NSHA).

A huge factor for me is the work environment. I want to be part of a team-based culture. In my experience, studying for medicine is isolating, whereas I’m looking for a crew where you live and work as a unit. I’m being honest about wanting a culture where I feel I’d belong and be taken seriously as part of a team. Medicine, for me, has felt like a bottleneck with not enough med school or residency spots, whereas CAL FIRE actually has enough room for someone to become an Engineer if they stick to the program.

I haven’t even done my clinicals yet, so I’m at a crossroads. I know I can handle the academic side of the schooling fine, but I’m questioning if it really matters at the end of the day. I’d rather have a real career and a crew right now than chase prestige. Am I throwing my life away, or is walking away from the doctor path the right move?