Author Topic: Pursuing Electronics as a Med Student: Seeking Guidance and Advice  (Read 3450 times)

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Offline osmax_brTopic starter

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Hi EEV Blog Community,

I am currently a medical student and will be starting my surgery classes in four years. While I deeply love medical studies, a few years ago, I discovered a passion for electronics. I've been learning about ESP32s, MCUs, and various electronic components through youtube videos here and there

This newfound interest led me to assist my engineering friends with their projects and even sell some ESP-based projects to local businesses, give Arduino and esp courses to first year engineering students . Now, I'm curious if it's possible for someone who isn't in an engineering school to become a professional in the electronics field.

Do you know anyone with a similar background who could offer some advice?
maybe recommend any courses or resources that provide proper information on electronics (not just hobbiest stuff)?
Or maybe your experience on how you balanced two different things while being good (especially in both hard fields)
Thank you a lot for your help and for sharing your experience !
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Offline osmax_brTopic starter

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Re: Pursuing Electronics as a Med Student: Seeking Guidance and Advice
« Reply #1 on: January 26, 2025, 11:26:02 am »
Here is an example on a project I worked on before : https://github.com/Osmax-Br/time_keeper_esp32
I am some what good in software but horrible at hardware
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Offline tggzzz

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Re: Pursuing Electronics as a Med Student: Seeking Guidance and Advice
« Reply #2 on: January 26, 2025, 11:35:39 am »
Good for you, but be aware that engineering is as difficult and time consuming as medicine. I think you are likely to find it difficult to learn both simultaneously. I'd concentrate on doing one thing well rather than two things poorly. Have one as a career and the other as a completely different hobby that you can "escape" into.

I did know a lovely person that took biophysics (IIRC) as an undergrad, then a masters in electronics, and became a very innovative engineer. It may or may not be of relevance that two of his ancestors had Nobel prizes :)

As for becoming a professional in the electronics field, be aware of the important differences between technicians and engineers. Neither is better and both are needed - the same is true for nurses and doctors.
There are lies, damned lies, statistics - and ADC/DAC specs.
Glider pilot's aphorism: "there is no substitute for span". Retort: "There is a substitute: skill+imagination. But you can buy span".
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Offline NE666

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Re: Pursuing Electronics as a Med Student: Seeking Guidance and Advice
« Reply #3 on: January 26, 2025, 12:28:31 pm »
Have one as a career and the other as a completely different hobby that you can "escape" into.
I think surgery as a hobby would be frowned upon. Your need to 'escape' may then be from state incarceration.


It's an unfortunate fact that in life, binary choices have to be made sometimes. However, that is not to say that all choices are irreversible when you have youth and time on your side.

I left medical school without graduating. I wouldn't describe myself as being academically gifted but I could focus and I worked hard throughout my school and college years. I'd never intended to study medicine or pursue that career path but as my schooling progressed, I found that I was more successful in the biological and chemical sciences, than in maths (and hence 'A' level physics). There's always a tendency to gravitate to where we achieve the greatest successes, and when young, the most recognition and praise. In that way, I was encouraged to apply to medical school and willingly did so.

I found medical studies all consuming but initially, I loved them and everything about them. Looking back, I think that was because what I really enjoy is systems, and the ability to diagnose their operation. And that continued right up until the moment I wasn't interested any more, because my head had been turned. That started when I was introduced to some CS students, and I learned of their studies and got to see their labs and their projects. It reignited in me the interest that I had from early childhood in electronics and computers, and the genie wouldn't go back in the bottle again. I dropped out of university, and pursued a technical career, starting in IT support and working my way up 'on the shop floor' to senior management in software development.

Now, would I do the same again? I honestly don't know, based on my overall experiences.

To answer your question, 'can you become a professional in a field of electronics?', I would still say yes. The fact that you've earned entry to a UK medical school shows that you have the aptitude to commit to a long, hard study path.

'Should you?', is entirely another question. For a start, I don't think it will be anything like as easy for you as it was for me to make such as change. The world has changed a lot since I was at medical school (early nineties). The jobs market has changed radically, and I'm not sure what employment prospects will look like for western engineers in the future. In recent years, I've had both roles I've held and the roles of people I've managed outsourced overnight, to cheaper alternatives. I was able to find well paid, rewarding work in computing without a university degree. That's no longer possible. If you want to make the switch, you're going to need a formal education, which means ending your medical studies and re-starting on an engineering path. That of course, has serious financial implications.

And then there's job security. If I'd wanted that (or had known how important that can be), and knowing what I know now, I'd have continued in medicine. It's pretty much a guarantee of a continual source of income and, at least in the UK, a decent pension. There's no such guarantee in private industry.

If you stay in medicine, there's no reason not to keep electronics as a very intellectually rewarding hobby. It's just that when you're able to give it limited bandwidth, it will take you longer to achieve a level of deep knowledge and competence.

Finally, for consideration; given the direction the world seems to be heading in, perhaps learn some programing on the side first, and then decide when you graduate whether you'd rather have a clinical career, or perhaps try to transition into a 'bioinformatics' one.
 
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Offline jpanhalt

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Re: Pursuing Electronics as a Med Student: Seeking Guidance and Advice
« Reply #4 on: January 26, 2025, 01:18:02 pm »
Don't continue in medicine unless that is your passion.  As for other, perhaps unrelated training, I can recommend it, particularly if your plans are more for academic medicine than simply clinical practice.  I was part of small group  (8 or so) of pre-med friends in college.  We had a variety of declared majors including pre-med per se, EE, biology, and chemistry.  The EE and I ended up as roommates in med school.  That was in the mid-60's and the landscape of medicine in the US was changing rapidly with the introduction of socialization, e.g., Medicare.  It was a research oriented school.  So-called "leaves" were not an established thing, except for MD/PHD programs.  The Dean was very generous, though.   We both dropped out for a period at different times in training to pursue another interest and were able to get re-admitted to finish up.  He studied computer science and was one of the founders of teleradiology in the US.  I went into chemistry and pathology.  About half of the rest of that group went into academic medicine at major American universities and the rest took traditional paths into clinical medicine.  Here's my perspective having been through it:

1) The most important thing has already been stated.  Don't continue in medicine unless that is what you really want to do.  Money is not justification. 
2) Don't skimp on math as an undergraduate.  You don't need to go full EE, but at least have calculus and differential equations.
3) You will need to become Board certified (or British equivalent) in some specialty.  That will add significantly to your time in training, particularly for surgery and its subspecialties.
4) Any leave should be during med school, not during or after your specialty training.  Generally, you will go from specialty training to your first full-time position.  Those positions are easier to find while still a resident.  Time off after your residency, except for the military, may raise doubts in the mind of any potential employer/partner.
5) Taking time off to seriously pursue something else is not alway possible, but when it is, remember that you will lose step with the rest of your classmates.  If the first year of med school is like ours was, bonds formed during anatomy are strong.  When you return, you will not have that bonding with any of your classmates.  You may feel a little isolated that first year back.
6) Marriage can be both an advantage and a hinderance.  Consider what profession your spouse might want to pursue.
7) Time moves on.  I built my first radio at age 9 for RC model airplanes.  That was in the early 50's and was pretty primitive. I continued to fiddle with electronics even in grad school, but I didn't devote serious time to it until I was nearing retirement.  Electronics changed a lot over that period.  I am glad I didn't pursue it early on, but today might be a different story.  No one knows how it will be in 20 years.  You can always pick it up as a hobby.  If in doubt, refer to #1.



 
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Offline artag

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Re: Pursuing Electronics as a Med Student: Seeking Guidance and Advice
« Reply #5 on: January 26, 2025, 01:34:30 pm »
Good for you, but be aware that engineering is as difficult and time consuming as medicine. I think you are likely to find it difficult to learn both simultaneously. I'd concentrate on doing one thing well rather than two things poorly. Have one as a career and the other as a completely different hobby that you can "escape" into.

It's true, but also some of the best developments come from mixing disciplines, because we're often too blinkered by having all our knowledge in one field. So a medical student might think of some product that's needed and know enough electronics to see how it could be solved. Art an engineering make a great combination too. If you can't do it all, collaborate with someone who has very different skills.
 
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Offline tggzzz

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Re: Pursuing Electronics as a Med Student: Seeking Guidance and Advice
« Reply #6 on: January 26, 2025, 02:35:15 pm »
Good for you, but be aware that engineering is as difficult and time consuming as medicine. I think you are likely to find it difficult to learn both simultaneously. I'd concentrate on doing one thing well rather than two things poorly. Have one as a career and the other as a completely different hobby that you can "escape" into.

It's true, but also some of the best developments come from mixing disciplines, because we're often too blinkered by having all our knowledge in one field. So a medical student might think of some product that's needed and know enough electronics to see how it could be solved. Art an engineering make a great combination too. If you can't do it all, collaborate with someone who has very different skills.

All true, but I don't think it changes my point.
There are lies, damned lies, statistics - and ADC/DAC specs.
Glider pilot's aphorism: "there is no substitute for span". Retort: "There is a substitute: skill+imagination. But you can buy span".
Having fun doing more, with less
 
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Offline osmax_brTopic starter

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Re: Pursuing Electronics as a Med Student: Seeking Guidance and Advice
« Reply #7 on: January 26, 2025, 02:40:31 pm »
Thank you for sharing your advice with me ,  I appreciate it
You are right , job security is nearly guaranteed in medical studies , especially that I am not in the UK or a UK citizen
I now believe more that electronics must be a hobby since people don't accept hobbiest surgeons nowadays :(
Thanks for your advice , again
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Offline osmax_brTopic starter

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Re: Pursuing Electronics as a Med Student: Seeking Guidance and Advice
« Reply #8 on: January 26, 2025, 02:43:21 pm »
I think surgery as a hobby would be frowned upon. Your need to 'escape' may then be from state incarceration.
Thank you for sharing your advice with me ,  I appreciate it
You are right , job security is nearly guaranteed in medical studies , especially that I am not in the UK or a UK citizen
I now believe more that electronics must be a hobby since people don't accept hobbiest surgeons nowadays :(
Thanks for your advice , again
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Offline NE666

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Re: Pursuing Electronics as a Med Student: Seeking Guidance and Advice
« Reply #9 on: January 26, 2025, 02:47:30 pm »
If you can't do it all, collaborate with someone who has very different skills.

If you have a specific venture in mind, I agree. As an individual contributor, being a 'jack of all trades and master of none' with a wide range of deep interests, can be both a blessing and a curse. Whereas, as you say, well-formed multi-disciplinary teams rarely fail to make for a productive and enriching experience.

If the OP has a real passion for electronics and wishes to pursue it professionally, I don't see that being possible without making the hard decision to forgo medicine. Both are highly professional careers which, if they are to be fully realised, are each of such demand that there's no possibility to be a true master of both, nor to do both justice.

Think carefully about what you really see yourself wanting to do for the next 50+ years of your life, and yes, that does include thinking about remuneration, career prospects, family and eventual retirement. Above all, coming from someone now getting closer to the end of the journey than its beginning, think very carefully about what will actually make you happiest, and what you are happy to let take a backseat - 'if you enjoy what you do, you'll never work a day in your life'.

 
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Offline osmax_brTopic starter

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Re: Pursuing Electronics as a Med Student: Seeking Guidance and Advice
« Reply #10 on: January 26, 2025, 02:55:19 pm »
Don't continue in medicine unless that is your passion.
 You can always pick it up as a hobby.  If in doubt, refer to #1.
Thanks for the advice , I am in my early 20s and it is always a good idea to hear advice from someone older
I actually do like medicine and was top ranking in the medical entry exam (100k highschool student competes for 4000 seats in the medical schools in the country and out of these 4000 I placed 80th place)
So I am taking my med studies seriously, I was thinking of EE as a passion , but I think now that EE must be a "hobby" not something else.
I am thinking of enrolling is some courses on Udemy for electronics to just get good at the hobby not to replace medicine
Also I don't live in the UK so the laws are a bit different regarding specialist training (I live in Syria , unexpected I know :) )
I am grateful for your advice , thanks a lot
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Offline osmax_brTopic starter

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Re: Pursuing Electronics as a Med Student: Seeking Guidance and Advice
« Reply #11 on: January 26, 2025, 02:57:31 pm »
I did know a lovely person that took biophysics (IIRC) as an undergrad, then a masters in electronics, and became a very innovative engineer. It may or may not be of relevance that two of his ancestors had Nobel prizes :)
yeah I am sure genetics  plays a role here
Thx for the advice
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Offline tggzzz

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Re: Pursuing Electronics as a Med Student: Seeking Guidance and Advice
« Reply #12 on: January 26, 2025, 03:15:54 pm »
I did know a lovely person that took biophysics (IIRC) as an undergrad, then a masters in electronics, and became a very innovative engineer. It may or may not be of relevance that two of his ancestors had Nobel prizes :)
yeah I am sure genetics  plays a role here
Thx for the advice

Don't neglect nurture and the environment :)

In whatever subject there is a fundamental choice to be made: become a jack of all trades and master of none, or a world expert in a niche. Both are valid choices, both have advantages and disadvantages, but it is a useful way to think about a future path. Personally I chose the jack of all trades route, since I find many things interesting and didn't want to be discarded when my niche vanished.

At the end of my first job I realised the key question was "do I want to remain technical or do I want to move into business (sales, marketing, project management)?". That realisation made me seek out a job (mulitidisciplinary contract R&D) where I would try all of those. I chose to remain technical.

As others have mentioned, cross-disciplinary projects can be extremely interesting. You are more likely to encounter them in research rather than production, and less likely to encounter them as a technician/nurse.
There are lies, damned lies, statistics - and ADC/DAC specs.
Glider pilot's aphorism: "there is no substitute for span". Retort: "There is a substitute: skill+imagination. But you can buy span".
Having fun doing more, with less
 
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Offline osmax_brTopic starter

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Re: Pursuing Electronics as a Med Student: Seeking Guidance and Advice
« Reply #13 on: January 27, 2025, 05:05:01 am »

Don't neglect nurture and the environment :)

In whatever subject there is a fundamental choice to be made: become a jack of all trades and master of none, or a world expert in a niche. Both are valid choices, both have advantages and disadvantages, but it is a useful way to think about a future path. Personally I chose the jack of all trades route, since I find many things interesting and didn't want to be discarded when my niche vanished.

At the end of my first job I realised the key question was "do I want to remain technical or do I want to move into business (sales, marketing, project management)?". That realisation made me seek out a job (mulitidisciplinary contract R&D) where I would try all of those. I chose to remain technical.

As others have mentioned, cross-disciplinary projects can be extremely interesting. You are more likely to encounter them in research rather than production, and less likely to encounter them as a technician/nurse.
Yeah you are definitely right , I even asked our professor (head of the research facilities nation wide and genetics researcher in the US before returning to Syria)
He told me that there is an engineer who has medical knowledge (medical engineer) who makes MRIs , XRAYs etc..
and there is a doctor who has electronics knowledge (which is rare since no one in the medical field has passion for electronics) ,you can assist engineers or point out design failures in medical devices while in use + research advantage , so he recommended actually in favour of having electronics as a hobby or a second passion with prioritizing surgery , he said that you would get an edge over your colleagues by doing that
So he basically shares the same opinion with you

I am thinking of maybe watching a course on Udemy about electronics, it is about 100 hours so I can finish it in one or 2 months
https://www.udemy.com/course/crash-course-electronics-and-pcb-design/?srsltid=AfmBOoqQqYJ5FFm37nYGh_e4usrk46oJTJU5JdPoDatrMRw5n5phbBUZ&couponCode=LETSLEARNNOW
« Last Edit: January 27, 2025, 05:08:43 am by osmax_br »
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Offline Smokey

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Re: Pursuing Electronics as a Med Student: Seeking Guidance and Advice
« Reply #14 on: January 27, 2025, 05:55:58 am »
Arduino projects is to Engineering as dissecting a squid in high school biology is to Surgery.  There is a reason you spend years in school for either of those things. 

With that said... find something someone wants to buy and make that thing if you can.  Everything doesn't need to be the control panel of a nuclear reactor. 

but with that said.... manufacturing is non-trivial.  I guarantee if I was a surgeon I would not have enough time or energy to manage BOMs and argue with parts distributors and test production boards. 
 

Offline osmax_brTopic starter

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Re: Pursuing Electronics as a Med Student: Seeking Guidance and Advice
« Reply #15 on: January 27, 2025, 06:48:18 am »
Arduino projects is to Engineering as dissecting a squid in high school biology is to Surgery.  There is a reason you spend years in school for either of those things. 

With that said... find something someone wants to buy and make that thing if you can.  Everything doesn't need to be the control panel of a nuclear reactor. 

but with that said.... manufacturing is non-trivial.  I guarantee if I was a surgeon I would not have enough time or energy to manage BOMs and argue with parts distributors and test production boards.
Yeah you are totally right and I understand that , Arduino is just a beginner thing (even I stopped using it a few years ago in favor of free rtos based esp32)
Of course I wouldn't think of electronics as a job or a career instead of surgery or medicine , but I just want to get good at this subject that I'm interested in , not to design F35 avionics systems , maybe assemble some boards , make a few prototypes here and there , use some arm cpus but nothing critical or serious
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Offline Smokey

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Re: Pursuing Electronics as a Med Student: Seeking Guidance and Advice
« Reply #16 on: January 27, 2025, 07:17:48 am »
Arduino projects is to Engineering as dissecting a squid in high school biology is to Surgery.  There is a reason you spend years in school for either of those things. 

With that said... find something someone wants to buy and make that thing if you can.  Everything doesn't need to be the control panel of a nuclear reactor. 

but with that said.... manufacturing is non-trivial.  I guarantee if I was a surgeon I would not have enough time or energy to manage BOMs and argue with parts distributors and test production boards.
Yeah you are totally right and I understand that , Arduino is just a beginner thing (even I stopped using it a few years ago in favor of free rtos based esp32)
Of course I wouldn't think of electronics as a job or a career instead of surgery or medicine , but I just want to get good at this subject that I'm interested in , not to design F35 avionics systems , maybe assemble some boards , make a few prototypes here and there , use some arm cpus but nothing critical or serious

then hell ya.  have at it.  but remember.. you said no F35 avionics... I'm holding you to that! :)
 

Offline Terry Bites

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Re: Pursuing Electronics as a Med Student: Seeking Guidance and Advice
« Reply #17 on: January 27, 2025, 07:44:58 am »
See this interview medic with a keen interest in electronics.


I was married to a medic and we both felt that it was the same "how does that work or not work" mindset in operation.
If you have the problem solving mind then there is no barrier.
You will already have enough biophysics know how to understand networks and control theory and that will serve you well.
Ultimately all electronics is the analysis of flow. Visualisation skills help with theory and practice.

Start with basic analog circuits, amplifiers, oscillators and linear power control. There are many on line courses and books.
Get yourself some basic kit. Become familair with major component manufacturers and suppliers.
Digital is a doddle.

I'm thinking of taking up surgery as a hobby, any tips?

« Last Edit: January 27, 2025, 08:12:45 am by Terry Bites »
 
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Online EEVblog

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Re: Pursuing Electronics as a Med Student: Seeking Guidance and Advice
« Reply #18 on: January 27, 2025, 08:22:36 am »
Do you know anyone with a similar background who could offer some advice?

A mate of mine won a Nobel prize in medicine and is an electronics hobbyist:

« Last Edit: January 27, 2025, 08:24:30 am by EEVblog »
 
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Re: Pursuing Electronics as a Med Student: Seeking Guidance and Advice
« Reply #19 on: January 27, 2025, 08:26:02 am »
This newfound interest led me to assist my engineering friends with their projects and even sell some ESP-based projects to local businesses, give Arduino and esp courses to first year engineering students . Now, I'm curious if it's possible for someone who isn't in an engineering school to become a professional in the electronics field.

Easy answer, yes.
Harder answer is, it can depend on specifics and your country.

 

Offline tggzzz

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Re: Pursuing Electronics as a Med Student: Seeking Guidance and Advice
« Reply #20 on: January 27, 2025, 08:45:54 am »
So he basically shares the same opinion with you

That's gratifying, but all I can do is suggest perspectives and questions that are worth answering. It is up to you to choose the best route for you.

N.B. answering a question correctly is relatively easy. It is much more difficult and valuable to work out which questions are important. Hence the first question should usually be "what are the important questions?". Good questions are those which:
  • are simple, but the answer to which illuminates many aspects of the context in which it is asked. Examples... Electronics: where are the clock domains. Software: what does an address/identifier mean and not mean
  • have answers that highlight whether you should choose this path or that path
A characteristic of some extremely impressive people that I have met is that they reliably ask good questions.

Anyway, it is good to see you are thinking, asking around, and not trusting any one response. Too many people seem incapable of that!
There are lies, damned lies, statistics - and ADC/DAC specs.
Glider pilot's aphorism: "there is no substitute for span". Retort: "There is a substitute: skill+imagination. But you can buy span".
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Offline rstofer

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Re: Pursuing Electronics as a Med Student: Seeking Guidance and Advice
« Reply #21 on: January 27, 2025, 04:22:50 pm »
When choosing a career, all else being equal, pick one that requires you to place YOUR hands on the product.  Those jobs are harder to outsource.  I have read articles where various insurance companies were shipping surgery patients to cheaper markets (than the US) so even medicine isn't immune.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median pay for a physician/surgeon in the US is around $240,000 per year.  I suspect there is quite a range around that median but I doubt there are any professionals living in poverty.  OTOH, $240k isn't what it used to be if you are trying to live in the Bay Area of California.  If you drill down on the BLS page under the State and Area Data tab, you will find cardiologists in California have a median pay of $389,000.  That's more reasonable.  You can just about afford a decent house with that income.

I have also read that math types leading the AI charge get around $300k in the Bay Area but those jobs are easily outsourced.  You need to get an equity position with these companies (stock options).

https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/physicians-and-surgeons.htm

In the end, it is better to make more money.  Go for medicine and keep electronics as a sideline after you are established in the medical field.  To actually get anywhere in electronic engineering, plan to spend a lot of time studying math.  It's the same for AI, of course.  I hated statistics (still do) and it turns out that AI is all statistics and linear algebra.

I have no idea how the salaries would relate to any other country but there is probably a way to find out.
 
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Offline tggzzz

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Re: Pursuing Electronics as a Med Student: Seeking Guidance and Advice
« Reply #22 on: January 27, 2025, 04:31:00 pm »
I have also read that math types leading the AI charge get around $300k in the Bay Area but those jobs are easily outsourced.  You need to get an equity position with these companies (stock options).

Note also that those jobs are niche; while in demand you will be well rewarded, but when the company decides "AI is a solved problem" <cough, splutter> or not of strategic interest, then the rewards will rapidly evaporate.

If going for stock options, beware they can easily bankrupt you; that happened in ~2001. Mechanism is that options vest on day 1 at $X, but they cannot be sold for 6 months. In that six months the shares fall to $X/100. Taxman insists you pay tax on the $X and that is much more than $X/100.
There are lies, damned lies, statistics - and ADC/DAC specs.
Glider pilot's aphorism: "there is no substitute for span". Retort: "There is a substitute: skill+imagination. But you can buy span".
Having fun doing more, with less
 
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Offline rstofer

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Re: Pursuing Electronics as a Med Student: Seeking Guidance and Advice
« Reply #23 on: January 27, 2025, 06:54:06 pm »

If going for stock options, beware they can easily bankrupt you; that happened in ~2001. Mechanism is that options vest on day 1 at $X, but they cannot be sold for 6 months. In that six months the shares fall to $X/100. Taxman insists you pay tax on the $X and that is much more than $X/100.

On miine, nothing happened until I exercised the options and that would involve buying the stock at the grant price and owing tax on the gains (exercise price minus grant price).  Hopefully the exercise price was much higher than the grant price - said profits were considered ordinary income and tax was due for that fiscal year.

The company would make a short term loan to allow me to actually purchase the stocks at the grant price and I would have to repay it as soon as the stock transaction was complete.  In effect, I got a check for the gains, let the brokers figure it out.

There is usually a lag between the grant date and the earliest exercise date - multiple years.  Indeed, the price could go down and at one company it went down by more than 50%.  The company renegotiated the grant price so there was some hope of making a bit of money but it would be like starting over.  Still, better than nothing.

My only interest in AI would be for machine (process) control.  I have little interest in Large Language Models but neural networks can be useful.  I just picked up an NVIDIA Jetson Orin Nano Developer Kit and, apparently, it can run some of the smaller LLMs - on the order of 8 billion parameters.  Just getting it up and running...
 
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Offline Wallace Gasiewicz

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Re: Pursuing Electronics as a Med Student: Seeking Guidance and Advice
« Reply #24 on: January 28, 2025, 12:09:52 am »
I really like jpanhalt's comments.   
I only have 2 years of EE at university.    My Bachelor degree is not in Engineering.
I also realize that the med school system in England is different than in the US.  In US we almost always have a Bachelors Degree before being admitted to med school.     
I went into Medicine and have Several Board Certifications. I also have a Master's Degree.  I am now retired.There are so many things changing in medicine that to treat patient you need to devote so much time to the art that there is really little time for other "scientific" pursuits.I have also known several people here in the states who were successful engineers who subsequently went to medical school. They were OK.       

Here is my advice:  Unless you plan on being a researcher, maybe something in medical electronics,  I would keep as much time and energy for your medical studies.    I took the Calc and Diffy Q as an undergrad.  To understand what is going on in engineering you need some understanding of these things as well as at least College level Physics and Chem.  We will leave out stress and strains on deform able bodies. You do not have the option of getting a four year degree and covering all this material, then attending med school.


 
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