I’m a member of 80 000 hours, a community dedicated optimal career choice. I suspect they are your best bet for trying to answer this question. [Further disclaimer: the subsequent text should not be considered the 80k party line.]
I’m also a final year medical student in the UK, and my hunch is going for medicine is a better strategy, especially if you are trying to hedge against not being an elite scientist. If you go into medicine but it turns out you really are elite at science, transferring to a pure research career is doable (two of the people who taught me at Uni transferred from medical careers to being principal investigators at the LMB). If not, one still tends to make a lot of money, so one can fund other researchers etc. If you lose the gamble as an academic, things are unlikely to turn out so well.
The one big counterveiling factor is motivation. Going through medical school is not easy if you aren’t interested in treating patients. If you dislike/have difficulty with communicating with people, you will likely have trouble getting through the exams. Providing that is okay, though, it should be feasible.
Hello there,
I’m a member of 80 000 hours, a community dedicated optimal career choice. I suspect they are your best bet for trying to answer this question. [Further disclaimer: the subsequent text should not be considered the 80k party line.]
I’m also a final year medical student in the UK, and my hunch is going for medicine is a better strategy, especially if you are trying to hedge against not being an elite scientist. If you go into medicine but it turns out you really are elite at science, transferring to a pure research career is doable (two of the people who taught me at Uni transferred from medical careers to being principal investigators at the LMB). If not, one still tends to make a lot of money, so one can fund other researchers etc. If you lose the gamble as an academic, things are unlikely to turn out so well.
The one big counterveiling factor is motivation. Going through medical school is not easy if you aren’t interested in treating patients. If you dislike/have difficulty with communicating with people, you will likely have trouble getting through the exams. Providing that is okay, though, it should be feasible.