Struggling to decide between Medicine and Engineering

I'm in Year 11 and soon will need to make my A-level choices in my school, I'm already planning on doing Maths, Further Maths and Chemistry. But I don't know whether to do Biology or Physics. Because I'm pretty unsure whether I should do Medicine or Engineering.
While I like Medicine because I could help people obviously. I also like how engineering has more elements of being practical [especially during university]. I've seen a lot of strikes and bad elements of the NHS in the UK.
For me, pay isn't the most important thing but rather whether I'd enjoy the job, I could see myself enjoying aeronautics but also enjoying the medical side.
If anyone is able to give me their experiences in Medicine or Engineering, I'd be grateful!

It honestly depends...if you applying for medicine, some uni's accept just a Chemistry A level to study it, or even physics and maths together. For that reason, I would go for Physics- It keeps your options open and you can always change you mind when needed!

If I do medicine I plan on going for oxbridge, and the same for engineering [although I might go for imperial]. But doesn't not having Biology A level put me at a disadvantage for medicine? [Less competitive application, doing worse in interviews related to it]

Yes, it probably will. However, If I was you, I would swap further maths for Biology and do Physics, so you get all 3 sciences and also maths. Further Maths tends to be necessary if you want to pursue maths in uni. However, beacuse you dont want to, I dont see why not dropping it (it is one of the hardest A levels!)
If your not certain with that advice, I would apply to different courses or lecture series for medicine and engineering to see which one you like better. Usually you will get one your more interested and fond in, you still have time as your in year 11, so go explore each fields!

Yeah I'm trying that out, I've applied to do so work shadowing with medicine, I'll see how I'd do the same for engineering. I always just took further maths since it'd keep me as a competitive applicant if I did for engineering [Imperial]. Additionally, if I were to do 4 A levels it'd probably be with FM.

Aaah thats great to hear! Let me know how everything goes, and good luck!

I'm in Year 11 and soon will need to make my A-level choices in my school, I'm already planning on doing Maths, Further Maths and Chemistry. But I don't know whether to do Biology or Physics. Because I'm pretty unsure whether I should do Medicine or Engineering.
While I like Medicine because I could help people obviously. I also like how engineering has more elements of being practical [especially during university]. I've seen a lot of strikes and bad elements of the NHS in the UK.
For me, pay isn't the most important thing but rather whether I'd enjoy the job, I could see myself enjoying aeronautics but also enjoying the medical side.
If anyone is able to give me their experiences in Medicine or Engineering, I'd be grateful!

Hey!
I’m currently studying medicine so I’m happy to answer any questions you may have!
I’d definitely recommend getting some work experience in a caring environment to see if the job is for you!
Whilst medicine is very academic, it’s also really hands on and there are so many specialties that there will be something that suits you!
If you’ve got any questions about med school life I’m happy to answer them for you!
Rebecca, UCLan

I'm in Year 11 and soon will need to make my A-level choices in my school, I'm already planning on doing Maths, Further Maths and Chemistry. But I don't know whether to do Biology or Physics. Because I'm pretty unsure whether I should do Medicine or Engineering.
While I like Medicine because I could help people obviously. I also like how engineering has more elements of being practical [especially during university]. I've seen a lot of strikes and bad elements of the NHS in the UK.
For me, pay isn't the most important thing but rather whether I'd enjoy the job, I could see myself enjoying aeronautics but also enjoying the medical side.
If anyone is able to give me their experiences in Medicine or Engineering, I'd be grateful!

I'm in Year 11 and soon will need to make my A-level choices in my school, I'm already planning on doing Maths, Further Maths and Chemistry. But I don't know whether to do Biology or Physics. Because I'm pretty unsure whether I should do Medicine or Engineering.
While I like Medicine because I could help people obviously. I also like how engineering has more elements of being practical [especially during university]. I've seen a lot of strikes and bad elements of the NHS in the UK.
For me, pay isn't the most important thing but rather whether I'd enjoy the job, I could see myself enjoying aeronautics but also enjoying the medical side.
If anyone is able to give me their experiences in Medicine or Engineering, I'd be grateful!

Hi I would really like to know what the work life balance is as a medicine student and if being a junior doctor is as hard as people say 😭

physics will keep your options open without losing out on many med unis (some need biology i think but most don't)
also, have you ever considered biomedical engineering? sounds like it could be a mix of everthing you like (practical, helping people, medical side to it) without the stress associated with medicine
med is one of the most difficult degrees to apply to imo, don't get into it if you're a bit on the fence because you'll probably lose motivation pretty quickly

You should look at biomedical engineering, or dentistry. They combine both elements. Otherwise, I advise to only to medicine if you are passionate about it. Many other careers also help people so that reason just isn’t enough. Medical school alone is 5/6 years and you are learning forever after that. It is such a long term commitment. You are better off doing engineering as you can always do medicine afterwards as a post grad (some med schools don’t care what undergrad you do).

If you are not 100% committed to Medicine, choose Engineering.
There are a thousand different careers in this area and Biotech is a growing specialism.
Biotechnologist job profile | Prospects.ac.uk
Also - think about - Choosing between Pharmacy and Pharmacology

Most unis require biology I think, especially oxbridge and those sorts. And ngl if I did engineering I'd go in for aerospace only honestly.

ig, but i dont know much people that are 100% committed to any sorts of career at 16, gonna be hard to consider and make sure i'd be happy.

fair enough. but why aerospace in particular? i'm asking because engineering and medicine are quite different career paths.
also, looking at your other replies, i'm getting the impression you've consciously or subconsciously made up your mind to go with aerospace engineering. i personally think you definitely shouldn't go with medicine, just based on vibes alone from everything you've said. physics will complement your chosen subjects really nicely and open you to any engineering degree. i would also personally suggest taking a more general engineering degree than one which specialises in aerospace, allowing you to change your mind in the future about what you'd like to do should you wish to, but that is up to you and might be a decision better made after discussing with family, teachers and friends in year 12.
i wish you the best of luck, whatever you end up doing