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To see clearly through this, first ask yourself: "why is ageism rife in software?" Because, once this very simple question is asked, you pause to consider the reality of software development as a profession, whereby an awful lot of developer roles are meant as cogs. No offense specifically to software developers, it's true for practically any other commodity corporate job, with the caveat that most commodity jobs pay less. Being easily-replaceable by design is the problem. But this is where you, as a medical student, have an edge. Because if you stick it out in your current career path, you're building domain expertise. If you build tech skills along with domain knowledge, you're golden. It's incredibly hard to replace. Whether you choose to go to MedTech, to build your own thing, or to transfer these skills into adjacent territory (consulting, investment banking) - all of these options crop up on the back of having an intersection of technical skills with domain expertise. For context, I've done the exact opposite. I started with CS - entering the market after the bust. You could see very clearly exactly what happens when the money hose shuts, and it didn't look pretty at all for older employees. (Or even, not so old. Less demand meant it became much harder to get a good job.) I didn't want that sort of life, and didn't enjoy coding all that much at the time. Nowadays, I've got my own company, with its own tech (built with a co-founder), in a specialized domain. My only regret is that I waited so many years until I got back to coding. But coding also became a lot more fun (way more than it ever was back then). Mostly because it became a means to an end. |