For all the non-trads, what is your story?

Never knew what I wanted to be. My dad was an electrician, so I knew electricity and started at DeVry in their EET program. That was a clusterfuck and I dropped out during the dot-com boom that also flooded the market with thousands of electronic techs. Proposed an idea to my dad that we should start an electrical construction company, (he had tried, but could not pass the test). I took the test and became qualifying party to our company. This lasted a year or so until his drug addiction started to affect the company, so I left.

With this experience, I landed a job for the local County doing building code inspections. Promoted to plans examiner, got well certified and was on track to eventually become chief building official. Met my wife there and we decided to start a family. Daughter came and my wife quit and started a business processing business permits for local owners and contractors. Her business grew so fast, I had to quit to keep up. This lasted about a year until the housing market crash. FML.

From here, I went to work for one of our consultants, a structural engineer. I have been here for 6 years now, working my way from a meager $18 an hour to well over $60k a year. Not bad, life was good.

Life changing event meant we ended up with a teenage foster kid. The experience was eye opening - such a need for foster parents. We get certified and after our first placement was reunified, we get a sibling group of two young boys (still with us). Such a shame that kids go through this - but our research showed it's often mental issues that cause these separations. I start to research what I could do to help more since as foster parents we are limited to helping one or two children. Apply to volunteer at a local hospital and tried to get in the psych ward. I get emergency department instead.

WOW, this is awesome. I start to research medical professions, aiming for faster degrees - likely nursing I supposed. Start full-time classes at local CC while maintaining full-time work and foster parent duties. Still unsure of future plans, but I had time to decide - the early prereqs for most are similar. From nursing I started to look more into PA...then, if I am going to shoot for PA...why not doctor? I am one year into my volunteering and knew enough doctors that I could easily find one to shadow. Called up a Hospitalist who is respected and scheduled two shifts - one admit, one follow-up. Did two-12 hour shifts (really 14)and they were the greatest 'work' days I have had in years. She happened to also be a client at our office, and when I see her I get all giddy thinking of all the patients we saw and that doing that daily could be my future.

/r/premed Thread