I'm 32

I've mentioned in previous posts that I am a non-traditional med student.  I'm 32 years old, which by med school standards is quite ancient.  Traditional students graduate from college at 20 or 21 and then go right into med school the following fall.  I am a good 10 years older than the traditional student.  There are several things that this later start time will affect.

The first thing that starting med school at this age brings up is lifetime earnings potential.  Each year I waited I have sacrificed a year of my top income potential.  In other words, if I will be making $200,000 per year when I retire at the age of (65?) I could have made that top income for another ten years thus I am missing out on $2 million in income.  Granted, as a physician I will be making enough money to live comfortably and by that time I should have my $250,000 in student indebtedness paid off by then, so it shouldn't be a matter of necessity.  Alternatively, if I want I could work until I am (75?) (assuming I am healthy until then).

The second thing, and this is more important to me, is reproductive potential.  Being female, my huevos are reaching their expiration date.  At the age of 36 my batch of potential zygotes will decrease precipitously.  If I start school in September I will be hitting the age of 33.  My eggs will be expired before I leave medical school.  If I want to have biological children I should consider making alternative plans.  I could harvest some eggs, freeze them, and hope that in 10 years or so when I am out of residency, that will be successful.  From what I read, lots of women have pregnancies throughout medical school, internship, or residency.  However, it does add another level of difficulty to an already difficult endeavor.  In addition to this, assuming a successful pregnancy, there is the matter of daycare, and how much time will a resident be able to devote to a developing youth? Indeed, there are other alternatives such as adoption or not having children at all.  Both are valid options.  This is something that I still haven't decided about.  A physician I once knew would often say, "Lack of decision is in fact a decision made."