Jobs for the Medical School Graduate?

[prominence]

I have come to think of the MD degree awarded at the end of four years of medical school as standing for "Meaningless Degree".

Besides becoming a manager of WalMart or McDonald's, are there any jobs that would pay the holder of an MD degree a relatively decent salary, despite not completing residency training?

If the answer is yes, in what capacity?

What type of career options do US medical school graduates pursue if they decide to forgo residency?

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[Toofscum]

I know of someone who got the MD, decided not to go on to residency, and could only find a retail job in the interim before starting a whole new grad school.

I am in the same boat, only I have a JD, decided not to take the bar or practice law, and am in the process of trying to find a job, either one that is friendly to the JD or completely non-legal, and am having a very hard time. Like me, you'd likely get employers who are very suspicious of why you went to law/med school but are not "sealing the deal" so to speak by practicing.

I've been looking for four months now, and have found nothing despite my best efforts. I've been on interviews, but employers keep telling me I'm overqualified at every interview and I never get the job.

It's really hard. I don't know what to do, I'm in the same position and I'm working retail right now to keep me financially afloat until I can get something career-related. It really depressed me tonight when I came home after a 5 hour shift (of standing in one place folding and re-folding sweaters) only to realize I made a total of $45 dollars tonight. Ugh.

 

[ramonaquimby]

Besides becoming a manager of WalMart or McDonald's, are there any jobs that would pay the holder of an MD degree a relatively decent salary, despite not completing residency training?

i was able to gain some nice jobs...i had a strong [proven] interest in women's health and health policy, so that may have been why. go for MPH-type jobs and you could be ok!

why aren't you doing residency, if i may be so blunt?

 

[Whisker Barrel Cortex]

You could probably get a position as a pharmaceutical representative. From what I've heard, they get paid pretty well. With your MD, I'm sure they'd love to have you.

 

[JAMMAN]

There are several options for the MD graduate. The pharmaceutical and medical device field would be happy to find an MD. A variety of Healthcare organizations including hospitals, HMO's and other insurance companies also have management tracks for MD's.

It is highly advantageous to become licensed which means that one would have to do an internship and pass step 3. Also, an MBA or MPH would augment a persons resume.

 

[medlaw06]

I was having dinner at a local restaurant and started a chat up with an elderly couple whose daughter is in the army and is now in London....don't ask....anyway, the lady was saying that there is a friend of hers who is an MD but never did a second of his internship/residency...he went straight into selling medical devices and even consulted a lawyer for patenting various instrumentations which although sounds difficult, was not so at all....what he did was take the devices they have now and just "tweaked" (ahh...how I miss Pauly Shore..."Owww...buuudyyy...no whez-zing the ju-uice" ) it a little bit....in any case, he made a boat load of money through the device sales and made even more by just patenting 2 or 3 "new" instruments....he now has a house in the Poconos and at the Jersey shore IN ADDITION to having a mansion in a wealthy neighborhood in New Jersey...(how do I know all this....the lady would NOT shut up!!!...she even told me his daughter is single and looking and I am a very "nice young man"!!!)

on an end note, I came out of that conversation thinking "am I in the wrong field!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!"

 

[prominence]

There are several options for the MD graduate. The pharmaceutical and medical device field would be happy to find an MD. A variety of Healthcare organizations including hospitals, HMO's and other insurance companies also have management tracks for MD's.

any ideas of websites that post such employment opportunities for holders of the MD degree?

It is highly advantageous to become licensed which means that one would have to do an internship and pass step 3. Also, an MBA or MPH would augment a persons resume.

would completion of the first year of an ob/gyn residency program satisfy the "internship" requirement?

or is it necessary to specifically do EITHER a preliminary medicine/surgery year or transitional year?

 

[prominence]

i was able to gain some nice jobs...i had a strong [proven] interest in women's health and health policy, so that may have been why. go for MPH-type jobs and you could be ok!

why aren't you doing residency, if i may be so blunt?

did u have an MPH when you recieved those job offers u mentioned? if u could PM a brief description of what type of jobs u are talking about, as well as rough salary figures, i would really appreciate it.

thanks.

 

[beriberi]

This questions comes up every year (thought usually perimatch). Here are 10 potentially well paying jobs that I can think of without thinking too hard:

1. Illustrate/write/edit medical review texts, MCAT books, etc.
2. Pharm companies as a representative, or training the nurses how to peddle drugs, or creating promotional materials.
3. HMO/Insurance work: there are jobs within these companies where they review protocols and charts and need someone medically minded
4. Reading malpractice cases, researching validity, etc.
5. Medical device engineering/product refinement
6. FBI/state dept, etc. Remember Scully? I don't think she was a liscensed physician.
7. PR for a hospital, drug company, etc.
8. Editing/Writing in mag/newspapers relevant health articles
9. Administration and direction of a Planned Parenthood or other such private clinic.
10. Development/fundraising for a medical foundation (or grant review, etc.)
11. Write novels (a la Perri Klass, Michael Crichton, Robin Cook).
12. Consult for a medical TV show.

You would certainly be a more attractive candidate for some of these positions with a year of internship (yes, OB would count) and a legal medical license.

The common thread between all of these (and I think the reason the question comes up with few satisfactory answers repeatedly on this board): they all require you to have skills outside of medical knowledge.

[As a public service program, we should all take a minute and start a thread in pre-allo entitled: "don't major in biology if you hate it" "pre-med major is for losers" or "major in what you love"]

If you are an M.D. looking for a non-practice job, you are like a PhD in a liberal arts field, i.e. philosophy, english, or Women's studies--without the opportunity to look for teaching jobs. Philosophy PhDs find great jobs making lots of money in the private sector if they have skills and initiative. People respect four years of dedicated learning. Some PhDs fold sweaters at The Gap.

There are lots of jobs out there. By lots, I mean dozens. No one will recruit you. All of them will require significant initiative and aggressive searching on your part. There are probably none in the city where you live. Many will require a lowly entry level position and then slow climb to a position of authority after proving your skill. They will not provide life-long job security.

best of luck to you.

 

[kd]

Don't forget teaching and research. Community colleges, in particular, often need people to teach anatomy and physiology to health professions students, as well as General Biology. Some universities may hire as an adjunct faculty or at least lab instructor. As for research, you can always get a research assistant position and, depending on your background, maybe even a better-paying post-doc position if you have some sort of research background.

 

[Bun]

guess my question is why did you go through med school if you dont want to practice medicine or have a different objective in mind. it costs a lot of money and wastes a lot of time and energy.? im confused. i personally am doing an MD MBA program with hopes of working both sides of the field.

 

[edinOH]

This questions comes up every year (thought usually perimatch). Here are 10 potentially well paying jobs that I can think of without thinking too hard:

1. Illustrate/write/edit medical review texts, MCAT books, etc.
2. Pharm companies as a representative, or training the nurses how to peddle drugs, or creating promotional materials.
3. HMO/Insurance work: there are jobs within these companies where they review protocols and charts and need someone medically minded
4. Reading malpractice cases, researching validity, etc.
5. Medical device engineering/product refinement
6. FBI/state dept, etc. Remember Scully? I don't think she was a liscensed physician.
7. PR for a hospital, drug company, etc.
8. Editing/Writing in mag/newspapers relevant health articles
9. Administration and direction of a Planned Parenthood or other such private clinic.
10. Development/fundraising for a medical foundation (or grant review, etc.)
11. Write novels (a la Perri Klass, Michael Crichton, Robin Cook).
12. Consult for a medical TV show.

You would certainly be a more attractive candidate for some of these positions with a year of internship (yes, OB would count) and a legal medical license.

The common thread between all of these (and I think the reason the question comes up with few satisfactory answers repeatedly on this board): they all require you to have skills outside of medical knowledge.

[As a public service program, we should all take a minute and start a thread in pre-allo entitled: "don't major in biology if you hate it" "pre-med major is for losers" or "major in what you love"]

If you are an M.D. looking for a non-practice job, you are like a PhD in a liberal arts field, i.e. philosophy, english, or Women's studies--without the opportunity to look for teaching jobs. Philosophy PhDs find great jobs making lots of money in the private sector if they have skills and initiative. People respect four years of dedicated learning. Some PhDs fold sweaters at The Gap.

There are lots of jobs out there. By lots, I mean dozens. No one will recruit you. All of them will require significant initiative and aggressive searching on your part. There are probably none in the city where you live. Many will require a lowly entry level position and then slow climb to a position of authority after proving your skill. They will not provide life-long job security.

best of luck to you.

It seems to me that roughly half of these jobs require you to have some real understanding of clinical issues and clinical practice. This is not something you will graduate medical school with. It is one thing to kind of understand how to kind of treat patients in a clinical vingette or based just on pathophysiology, it is quite another to understand the "nuts and bolts" of clinical practice. This is something that can only be gained through residency training.

I would imagine that if you truly didn't want to practice even after completing a residency program you would be a very desirable candidate for much of the above positions once you had your board certification.

 

[kd]

guess my question is why did you go through med school if you dont want to practice medicine or have a different objective in mind. it costs a lot of money and wastes a lot of time and energy.? im confused. i personally am doing an MD MBA program with hopes of working both sides of the field.

Well, I don't know what the original poster's motivations are, but sometimes things happen during medical school that make us change our mind. In my case, I have two kids with chronic medical conditions and recently lost my MIL, whom we had counted on to help with childcare. Due to their issues, my kids can't just go in any ole daycare, plus it would be an undue burden on my husband to have to deal with the kids alone when I'm on call. Obviously, had I known my kids would turn out to have these issues, I would never have gone to medical school. So that's why I'm looking at other options, myself. It really sucks when you have a 6-figure debt and no prospect of earning anything close to a physician's salary, but we'll just have to find a way to deal wtih it.

 

[backontop]

medzilla is one of those types of sites (careers in health commun., biotech, pharm, etc.)

you should go on there. Like most job searches, networking is best, and most jobs are found thru people rather than web surfing.

they have forums too. people like to complain a lot of job searching. From what i've seen, the job market is very difficult. you do not have the luxury of being matched into a specialty like everyone else. You are on the open market, with a specific target: advanced degree required, yet no experience.

The above poster is right. It is difficult to find, but they are out there.

I do not think board certified helps much. If you have finished residency and have 5-15 years of practicing under your belt, that will open some six figure doors. Of course board certified would make someone more qualified when all things are equal, but it could also pigeon hole them (i.e. they might rather have a new MD working for a pharm company that exclusively deals with psychiatric drugs than a surgeon who just finished a 5-6 yr. residency.)
It's pretty clear cut when you have just finished residency: you should practice since you can now make some money, get a bunch of years under your belt, then you are qualified for big medical director positions.

If people feel that not doing a residency is a mistake, I would have to say that doing a residency and not practicing is a bigger mistake.

Also, with the MD/MBA poster who asked about how someone could not do a residency, I feel that it is nearly impossible to know if you truly want to be a doctor until you have seen third year of medical school. At that point, you are also past the point of no return debt wise. Some people can get frustrated during 36 hr shifts in ob/gyn/surg etc which nearly every medical student participates in. For me, I learned that when weekly work hours are increased to levels as high as 80-100/wk, it can be very taxing on your mental health. That's why i don't like it. I don't care if i'm not being tough or "sticking it out." 80hrs is abnormal to me, final answer. The degree's main purpose was job security. you know that if you fall on your face and suck at everything else you try, you still have a residency in a non-competitive field to fall back on as a reluctant plan B. Hopefully the residency system will be improved by then if that time ever has to come.

best of luck.

 

[prominence]

bump

 

[Radpimp]

My advice. Finish one year of internship and apply for your full medical license which allows you to practice medicine unrestricted, full prescribing rights, and ability to moonlight as a physician. One more year is definately worth the sacrifice to get your license and you can reassess your career plans after that.

There are many physicians who do one year of internship and start a center to do basic things like laser hair removal, botox, and etc.

 

[prominence]

My advice. Finish one year of internship and apply for your full medical license which allows you to practice medicine unrestricted, full prescribing rights, and ability to moonlight as a physician. One more year is definately worth the sacrifice to get your license and you can reassess your career plans after that.

There are many physicians who do one year of internship and start a center to do basic things like laser hair removal, botox, and etc.

do you need more than 1 yr of residency experience to get a full medical license if you are an IMG?

 

[Radpimp]

IMGS have to finish more than one year. I thnk the requirement is 3 years of residency or maybe 2, depending on the state for full licensure.

 

[wizzy001]

My advice. Finish one year of internship and apply for your full medical license which allows you to practice medicine unrestricted, full prescribing rights, and ability to moonlight as a physician. One more year is definately worth the sacrifice to get your license and you can reassess your career plans after that.

There are many physicians who do one year of internship and start a center to do basic things like laser hair removal, botox, and etc.

How can one apply for a one year internship program and do you know of any hospitals that offer that and is easy to get into. Thanks

 

[evilbooyaa]

How can one apply for a one year internship program and do you know of any hospitals that offer that and is easy to get into. Thanks

Through the Match, like everything else. Just a prelim (IM or surgery) or TY year. I imagine there are some spots outside of the match, but I would not recommend them.

That being said, this is a 9 year old post so you probably won't get a lot in terms of responses from those guys.

 

[Siggy]

How can one apply for a one year internship program and do you know of any hospitals that offer that and is easy to get into. Thanks

Lots of hospitals offer prelim-medicine, prelim-surgery, or transitional year programs. On the DO side there is also the traditional rotating internship programs. Alternatively, if you have no morals, you can always match into a terminal program and just decide to not sign the renewal contract.


As an aside, the director of technology at my medical school got 2 years through a neurology residency and then decided to bail.

 

[wizzy001]

Thanks!