Medicine or finance/consulting

My current position is quite a unique one.

I have an LSE offer to study BSc Management which is an extremely competitive course and a fantastic opportunity. Eg 15 applicants for one place (15:1).Approx. 6.5%

I am currently on a gap year and as i enjoyed biology quite a lot during a-level, I wanted to pursue medicine work experience for a week.
I am on day 2 of work experience and nothing has really put me off and it sounds very interesting.

Just for background, I am quite an entrepreneurially inclined person and love problem-solving.

I am also interested in din biotech entrepreneurship, healthtech and med tech related fields.

From looking at different masters degrees the other day, I could do a masters in a subject such as biotech with entrepreneurship at UCL, Pharmaceutical and biotechnology management at UCL or something such as a masters at imperial in global healthcare management.

I’m also interested in life science consulting but I don’t know why.
I’m very much split on entrepreneurship and the finance side of biology and then biology and medicine themselves.

I’m trying to navigate this.

I am scared if I get to the end of the week and I decide that I am interested in pursuing Medicine.
Even though that may not be the case, I still wouldn’t have the guts to decline an LSE offer.
I am definitely interested too in the course at LSE too.

Can anyone give me some words to think about, opinions, anything that would be helpful.

I also got AAA in my A-levels and if I was to apply for medical school, I’d only be satisfied getting into a ‘mid-tier or high-tier’ med Schl such as Southampton/exeter/st George’s and the list goes on, but personally I only see myself at a top institute as it’s what aligns with me as a person the most. For example UCL and Imperial.
I am very much attracted to LSE’s challenging environment, where people push each other one and I can surround myself with some of the best academics.
I personally see myself as a leader so also want a challenging environment if it turned out I’d want to go to medical schl.

Reply 1

TSR Hippocrates

Hey there, thanks for posting a question in the Medicine forum. :biggrin:

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Reply 2

dx7

totally different person as I'm older, but if you want to chat privately can get at me. I guess I would be one of the few people to have taken the GMAT, MCAT, and UCAT for graduate business (ie MBA), graduate medicine (ie MD) and undergraduate medicine (ie MBBS) and had competitive offers both in the UK as well as Stateside for each. admissions report data has 15.3% offer rate for LSE's Management with avg AAA (ie par), but now attending one of the better London med schools currently the avgs I see online for all them are A*AA [assuming you didn't take things like bio or chem they usu require] [and could you take them now, idk how this system works as an intl…]? true MBB-level consulting or the level of finance I think you'd aim for is not "problem solving" at all imho, its my girlfriend doing powerpoint slides and meetings all day plus pouring over excel and reports inbtwn. whilst both are competitive in a 'getting into programs' sense, actual medicine is more akin to problem solving but then in the UK doesn't pay what you might make across the pond, which is ballpark consultant/finance figures. defo accept the LSE offer, and maybe spend time inbtwn or over summer [idk when y'all take A-levels, know very lil about UK school systems plus my girl is Scottish] shadowing physicians whilst more importantly hardcore prepping UCAT. sit maybe late June–early Sept and you'll get results as you walk out–if you score insane and find medicine genuinely interesting at the cost of possible future income, then just call up LSE and tell them. I'm sure they'd rather you not show up before it starts so they can rush fill a spot than drop out if those are their options, but biz and med two very diff currencies let alone sides of the same coin. still have this printout attached below from maybe 2020? filed at my desk when i was in real estate investing considering biz transition / going "back" to medicine which i have done since. hopefully is some useful insight somewhere in there. realistically consider your options sans prayers and move forward with power, all the best.
Adobe Scan Apr 4, 2025.jpg

Reply 3

spicy toast.56

Original post

by ah-13

My current position is quite a unique one.
I have an LSE offer to study BSc Management which is an extremely competitive course and a fantastic opportunity. Eg 15 applicants for one place (15:1).Approx. 6.5%
I am currently on a gap year and as i enjoyed biology quite a lot during a-level, I wanted to pursue medicine work experience for a week.
I am on day 2 of work experience and nothing has really put me off and it sounds very interesting.
Just for background, I am quite an entrepreneurially inclined person and love problem-solving.
I am also interested in din biotech entrepreneurship, healthtech and med tech related fields.
From looking at different masters degrees the other day, I could do a masters in a subject such as biotech with entrepreneurship at UCL, Pharmaceutical and biotechnology management at UCL or something such as a masters at imperial in global healthcare management.
I’m also interested in life science consulting but I don’t know why.
I’m very much split on entrepreneurship and the finance side of biology and then biology and medicine themselves.
I’m trying to navigate this.
I am scared if I get to the end of the week and I decide that I am interested in pursuing Medicine.
Even though that may not be the case, I still wouldn’t have the guts to decline an LSE offer.
I am definitely interested too in the course at LSE too.
Can anyone give me some words to think about, opinions, anything that would be helpful.
I also got AAA in my A-levels and if I was to apply for medical school, I’d only be satisfied getting into a ‘mid-tier or high-tier’ med Schl such as Southampton/exeter/st George’s and the list goes on, but personally I only see myself at a top institute as it’s what aligns with me as a person the most. For example UCL and Imperial.
I am very much attracted to LSE’s challenging environment, where people push each other one and I can surround myself with some of the best academics.
I personally see myself as a leader so also want a challenging environment if it turned out I’d want to go to medical schl.

Hey sorry to be jumping on, current Y13 here with 2 medicine offers. Found this quite an interesting read as they are completley different fields (which is what you hear all the time im sure), I had a similar thing this year when applying as I was interested in both Human and vet med (trust me i got some odd comments from teachers and the like given how different they are). The only thing I would say with medicine is make sure you are 100% that is what you want to do, this year where I have applied has been absoloutley draining (UCAT, interviews, etc) so alot goes into getting into medicine alone and then its a 5 year course (assuming you don't intercalate or have to resit a year which are both fairly common). Then you have another 2 years of foundation training, and then another X amount of years speciality training - you're looking at what 10 years alone to become a GP. It is definatley a long-term commitment so its definatley somehting I'd only adivse doing if you are 100% thats what you wish to do (obviosuly every year people graduate from medicine and go into different fields but it's best to avoid if possible). With the finance degree afterf 3 years you'd be employed and climbing the career ladder at your firm and in the same 10 years that you'd only JUST be becoming a GP, you could laready be an established member of staff in your desried field. To help me decide between vet med and human med i did a week of wex at both, and although i didn't mind vet med i absoloutley loved my hospital work experience and it was a no-brainer the career i wanted. Sorry for the long rant I know it isn't explicitly helpful but may be good to hear a different opinion on it. You could always do a finance degree and then a med degree as a grad (grad med is very popular with a handful of unis that offer grad med courses exclusivley)

Reply 4

Uni of Southampton Students

Official Rep

Original post

by ah-13

My current position is quite a unique one.
I have an LSE offer to study BSc Management which is an extremely competitive course and a fantastic opportunity. Eg 15 applicants for one place (15:1).Approx. 6.5%
I am currently on a gap year and as i enjoyed biology quite a lot during a-level, I wanted to pursue medicine work experience for a week.
I am on day 2 of work experience and nothing has really put me off and it sounds very interesting.
Just for background, I am quite an entrepreneurially inclined person and love problem-solving.
I am also interested in din biotech entrepreneurship, healthtech and med tech related fields.
From looking at different masters degrees the other day, I could do a masters in a subject such as biotech with entrepreneurship at UCL, Pharmaceutical and biotechnology management at UCL or something such as a masters at imperial in global healthcare management.
I’m also interested in life science consulting but I don’t know why.
I’m very much split on entrepreneurship and the finance side of biology and then biology and medicine themselves.
I’m trying to navigate this.
I am scared if I get to the end of the week and I decide that I am interested in pursuing Medicine.
Even though that may not be the case, I still wouldn’t have the guts to decline an LSE offer.
I am definitely interested too in the course at LSE too.
Can anyone give me some words to think about, opinions, anything that would be helpful.
I also got AAA in my A-levels and if I was to apply for medical school, I’d only be satisfied getting into a ‘mid-tier or high-tier’ med Schl such as Southampton/exeter/st George’s and the list goes on, but personally I only see myself at a top institute as it’s what aligns with me as a person the most. For example UCL and Imperial.
I am very much attracted to LSE’s challenging environment, where people push each other one and I can surround myself with some of the best academics.
I personally see myself as a leader so also want a challenging environment if it turned out I’d want to go to medical schl.

Hi @ah-13 ,

Firstly, congratulations on the LSE offer, that is a huge achievement! Also, well done on securing the work experience; that is really smart to try and explore medicine practically and see how you feel about it more - how did that go?

Interestingly enough, I was also in a similar position to you where I had narrowed my choices for my degree down to two completely different courses: Medicine or Accounting and Finance. In my case, I had to take a lot of time to think about what I really wanted in my further studies, career, life,... (which is a massive deal!). When it came down to it, despite my different interests, I chose not to study medicine because I, personally, did not want to dedicate such a massive portion of my life to studying - which obviously, some people might love.

It is only up to you to decide whether or not to accept the LSE offer but considering you took all the time and effort to apply for it, you clearly wanted that option available, which it now is! I like what you said about the idea of combining the two and studying something like biotech with entrepreneurship or global healthcare management for your masters. That definitely might be a great way to explore and pursue both of the sectors you want to.

I'd also consider the idea of studying graduate medicine, if you decide to do the undergraduate course at LSE. If you didn't already know, it's a fast-tracked medicine course for graduates of any degree, and is offered by several universities. This could be something to think about if you do the management degree and then realise you are actually more passionate about medicine and want to pursue that for your career. If you are someone who really loves studying and doesn't mind doing several years of university to learn about your deepest passions, then I wouldn't worry so much about the different length of different courses. However, if you do want to start working as a post-graduate as soon as possible, this is definitely something to think about in regards to if the course you want to do takes too many years to complete for your liking or not.

Overall, good luck! - No matter what decision you may take, it will not be easy but I hope you will feel fulfilled and content wherever you land based on your well-thought through decision! I hope this was all helpful and that you follow what you feel is best for you, all things considered.

Rehman, 1st Year Accounting and Finance
Student Ambassador

Reply 5

ErasistratusV

I will say this again as I have trotted out the exact same line before:

Do NOT pursue medicine if you are primarily interested in prestige, respect, money or some other motivator that is actually external to working as a doctor. EVEN IF you become a full blown consultant surgeon or some other kind of consultant who works entirely in private practice and is able to earn 300K a year, that end point is many many many years away as a prospect.

Only study medicine if you genuinely find the content interesting and intellectually stimulating and enjoy caring for people. A doctor is a scientist, a teacher and a leader all in one. Yes, some people are able to earn big money in the realm of private practice but you can't do that until you are a consultant, for some specialties that could be a full decade after graduation.

If you want a big salary then finance/real estate/commerce/sales is the thing to pursue, you just need to identify what sector best fits you and do it.

Medicine is a career that is 95% public service in orientation unless you intend to emigrate and practice abroad. That is the reality of the job and I'll argue vehemently against anyone who genuinely believes otherwise.