A colleague just resign today and decide to go to medical school. I only got half of the fact when I heard the news, , I thought he is already accepted by medical school so I went to congratulate him. It turns out he is making a very bold move. He has to study full time for a year to make up some undergrad biology credits before he can even apply for medical schools. He is smart and young, I think he could make the jump from being an engineer to a doctor. However, forgo one year of salary to prepare for application, then spent 5 years studying and many more years further education on specialty practices is a huge investment. I wish him good luck, but I also asked him, touch wood, what if he couldn’t get into a medical school. He said the plan B is come back to PMC and continue to work as an engineer.
Nowadays, no one has life time employment. Switching job is very common, but usually people switch within related industries. Switching career is a lot harder. You have to give up the experience you have accumulate all those years and start from scratch. Unless you really hate your first career or you have great passion for your new career, it is always a though decision to change career. I have friends who tried to move away from engineering but with bad luck end up staying go back to the same place where they starts.
One day, when I am bored being an engineer, I want to back to school to get a philosophy Ph.D. and then be a philosophy professor in university or community college for living. The only problem between me and my dream career is that I can’t afford to let go my salary for a few years to study something that is absolutely useless and does not yield handsome return in the future. Maybe I should be more realistic, study a MBA instead.