Saurabh Kumar
Last Activity: 9 Years ago
Well, the great thing about this dilemma is that you can do both! If you pursue your undergraduate degree in engineering, you can then decide if you want to continue on and get a medical degree or if you want to pursue your engineering career. The great thing about an engineering degree is that the field is very, very broad. It's also highly in demand. If you do decide to go for an engineering degree but want to keep your med school options open, then you might have to take a few extra classes so that you have the prerequisites you need, but whatever school you choose should have academic advisers who will help you plan your schedule accordingly.
A good choice for a pre-med student might be biomedical engineering, as many of the classes that you need to get into med school are already in the curriculum. You should be able to choose whatever you want though, and be able to make it work. I personally know several engineering students who are planning on continuing on to med school, and their majors are everything from chemical engineering to mechanical engineering, so you can choose whatever you want to.
As to the benefits of a medical career vs. engineering career, here are my opinions.
Medical: A career in the medical field is highly respected and is generally a great money earner (if you're concerned about that). It can also be very stressful, and can involve long and unpredictable hours. The rewards of helping people, and saving lives can be quite gratifying however.
Engineering: Like I said before, engineering is very broad, and any sort of engineering degree can open up all sorts of jobs. It requires less schooling, as many engineering graduates jump straight into the workforce. Also, if you're smart about it, and wish to continue to grad school, you can often get it paid for by either a future employer or the school. Engineers often have good salaries as well. I also think that engineering is very interesting, you're solving real world problems with math and science!
So my vote would be engineering, but you should be able to get a taste of both if you want to, and then decide what direction you want your career to go.
Good luck!