I'm stuck between going the med school route vs cardiac perfusion, has anyone else been in this situation?

Hey everyone,

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I'm stuck between going the pre-med route or working towards perfusion. I'm sure others have been in this situation before and would like to hear you guys advice. I'll breakdown the two.

Med School

This is the ultimate clinical freedom route. Oppurtunites are endless with so many different routes I can take, academics, private practice, research, all the clinical specialties. On the other hand, in my current situation it's going to be at least a 10 year road to this (finish bs, medschool, residency/fellowship). It's a long road ahead of me and I'm not sure if I want to be in the student capacity for the next 10 years. Also not sure if my academics are on par for med school.

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Perfusion

I like the idea of being a expert in my field. I find the heart to be absolutely fascinating and I think this job would be very interesting to me. As a paramedic we spent a decent amount of time learning about this kind of stuff and I know I have only scratched the surface and would love to learn more. I haven't had a chance to shadow yet, but watching some youtube videos I think it's something I would enjoy. A mix between clinical and working with high tech devices. With this route within 5 or so years I could be a working in the field and completely done with formal education.

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I didn't mention anything about pay or loans, in the grand scheme of things loans are no big deal, debt is a part of life. As far as pay, as someone that has been making less than 50k their whole life, the idea of making 100k regardless is fantastic. At the end of the day, what's the difference between making 120k vs 200k? Either way is plenty to have a comfortable living.

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