12/09/2025
The worst career advice I've ever heard: 'You might as well finish...'
š¤ A thought on listening to your gut vs listening to society š
I'll never forget when my med school friend H (she knows who she is š) told us in second year: 'I don't like medicine, I want to quit.'
All of us (myself included), her family, and even her lecturer told her:
'You might as well finish third year, then you'll walk away with a degree which you can use in the job market.'
So she reluctantly pushed herself to complete third year.
Then at the end of third year, she was advised:
'You might as well do one more year, and then the degree will have more weight and you'll be able to get better jobs.'
So she reluctantly continued, and completed fourth year.
Then of course everyone advised her:
'Well you are literally only one year away from finishing medical school, so you may as well just push through and finish! Then you'll have your medical degree and can use it for any job you want.'
So H reluctantly pushed herself to finish medical school.
Then she started working as a foundation year 1 doctor. She absolutely hated it. So she talked to her supervisor about quitting.
To which they replied: 'Well you may as well finish your two foundation years, then you'll have more options.'
I don't know the exact decision process that went through H's mind, but at this point she finally had enough. Despite everyone's advice to continue to the next milestone (and the next, and the next, and the next...), she said ENOUGH, and finally quit medicine.
She has gone onto have a successful career that does not require her to have a stethoscope hanging around her neck.
I haven't spoken to H about this for many years. I wonder though, whether she looks back and thinks about her younger self as a second year medical student. Her intuition was CLEARLY speaking to her from the start. She wanted to leave medicine and pursue something else. But even then, as a young medical student, she experienced tremendous pressure to continue.
H was so brave to make the decision to follow her heart, even if it took a few years.
I know SO MANY PEOPLE (myself included!!!) who keep going with something that doesn't light them up, because it's safe, because there is another milestone to get to, because it gives security, because society expects itā¦ and myriad other reasons.
I belong to Facebook groups where doctors in specialty training are doubting their career choices and they ask for advice. The vast majority of responses go like this:
'You might as well finish your specialty training, then you will have more options.'
It's the SAME advice that H received, but 1 or 2 decades later. The person is unhappy with their career, and yet they are encouraged to continue, to push themselves to finish the next milestone, to reach the next level.....only to find they are still unhappy.
In 2016, I quit my GP specialty training halfway through, despite EVERYONE's advice to 'finish so I would have more options afterwards.'
I am SO GLAD I didn't listen to that advice! I went against the grain (it was an incredibly hard decision to make!) and I left my NHS training post and the NHS altogether. And that was the beginning of the journey that has led me to where I am now ā running a business that I love, and on the brink of relinquishing my medical licence altogether (another decision that is proving incredibly hard, hence why I'm doing so much reflecting).
Yes, I could have had more courage and left sooner. Yes, I could have relinquished my licence a long time ago and followed my heart. On the other hand, I could have caved into fear and pressure back in 2016, forced myself to continue with GP training, finished it, and I could have found myself 10, 20 or even 30 years later still working in a job that I absolutely despised.
So, the moral of the story? Our intuition is ALWAYS right. But we have to learn to listen to it and learn to be able to take action on what is right for us, NOT what everyone is advising us to do.
Have you had a similar experience to this? I would love to know! (If you don't want to share publicly, feel free to DM me, I love connecting).
With love,
Marcela
