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Ask HN: Moving from tech to healthcare?

1 points by jrowley ↗ HN
Hi HN,

Until recently, I’ve been employed as a software engineer for 2.5 years and am now considering shifting careers into healthcare. Although coding is fun, I’m struggling to enjoy sitting at a desk all day, and I really enjoy interacting with people.

I’m hoping to utilize my technology background (Computer Engineering and Computer Science double major) at least a bit, while still interacting with people, possibly understanding complex diseases or health system issues.

I’m looking for the following:

- ideas for career paths

- advice from people who have gone through similar transitions

- advice from people in healthcare that use an engineering background but aren’t necessarily engineers in their day to day

I’m considering looking into translational medicine master programs (e.g. UCSF MTM), but I think at the end of the day, I still want a more clinical oriented path.

My resume if you want to learn more about me: https://joer14.github.io/JoeRowleyResume.pdf

Thanks in advance for your thoughts!

2 comments

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mooreds
I would run run run away from healthcare (in the USA, at least, unless you are going to be a doctor or open your own practice where you get to be the boss).

My wife has worked in the field for years and the way they treat people is horrific. No respect for the individual worker, big focus on making numbers (including sometimes some shady stuff), a cog in a big machine.

It was very dehumanizing, and every time I told her about how someone at my work indicated their respect for me, she would respond with some story of disrespect. And don't get me started on the IT/software.

Now, she worked at larger organizations in the USA and was a highly trained medical professional, but not a doctor. I'm sure it's different some places, but if you must, I'd shadow as much as you could before making any big moves.

jrowley
Hey,

Thanks for taking the time to respond.

I'm sorry to hear about your wife's experience - no one deserves that. There are few industries with as much intensity as healthcare - when you get the ego of some doctors, pressure from raising costs, combined with very serious healthcare issues, you get a place ripe for abuse and shitty team dynamics. I like to be optimistic and hopeful that this doesn't have to be the status quo.

Does your wife regret her career in healthcare? What do you think she would change if she were able to go back in time?