DS wants to ditches Medicine for Computer Science - should he?

[OneAlertPearlExpert]

DS17 is currently doing his A-levels in Maths, Biology, Chemistry and Physics. He is predicted four A*s. He also spent the whole of summer revising for UCAT (medical entrance exam) and achieved an amazing score. For a long time the plan was Medicine. He has done extensive medical volunteering and would almost certainly secure a place.

He now says his passion has always been technology. He is believer in its potential and constantly gives long monologues about the ways it will transform our lives and the way it is the future of humanity (ai, neural technology, all that jargon). He talks about wanting to be part of the race where biology and technology merge and where tech will undergo extreme advancements especially in AI.

I am advising him to stay with Medicine because of the time and effort already invested and because Computer Science is WAY less secure with AI changing the job market and replacing almost all programmers.

I am seeking advice. Should he continue on the Medicine path for stability, or follow what he feels is his true interest in Computer Science? AIBU to discourage him from changing his mind or at least seriously reconsidering?

He's planning on sending off his application for med (deadline is coming up very soon) but intends on taking a gap year to study a level further maths and apply next year for computer science. I've told him he can apply without FM to many unis but he says he wants to have a shot at Imperial and Oxbridge which essentially require it. I don't know if a gap year is a good idea. It's a huge risk.

If hes very good at Maths and you want him to have a highly paid job he should do the further maths and do a maths (or maybe maths and CS joint degree) as that is where the big money quant etc jobs come from. Esp if he gets into Cambridge, Imperial, Warwick for Maths or Maths/CS. Might not be stimulating enough for him ultimately, lots of clever Maths/Physics/CS kids get pulled into investment banking and hate it, but it would also leave the tech research/Phd angle open.

As a hospital consultant of many years, please don’t push him. If his heart is not in it, it’s likely he will drop out. I am glad my kids didn’t choose Medicine.

And as a patient, I want passionate doctors who want to be there and treat patients! Not a lacklustre dr who ended up in the profession because they felt forced into it!

Don’t push him into medicine if his heart isn’t in it.
Im an anaesthetist and love my job, but it was a slog getting here that needed a lot of sacrifices.

He can probably self teach himself further maths if he really wants.He sounds smart and motivated enough.

A gap year could help him to work out what he wants to do though and if he’s only doing further maths that year could be quite pleasant.

Why do you think a gap year is a "big risk"? All the same opportunities will be there next year.

So far.

What will the state of play be in four or five years' time when the OP's son finishes his CS Masters??? We can't really say, other than that it will be light years ahead of where we are now.

Agreed. Historically, though, the really talented are always needed, as long as they can adjust. That is why I think a CS programme with an emphasis on first principles and how to learn is especially important now.

I work in biotech and we have more and more people with computer science backgrounds joining. The amount of genetic data that can be generated now needs bioinformatics and software development to make it mean anything. He could easily combine these skills with a passion for healthcare.

This is incorrect. The degree has many transferable skills and not limited to just those related to medicine.

That said, many professions are changing and entry levels jobs are at risk - law, finance, accountancy, insurance, actuary, IT/tech

That sounds like very good advice. I was thinking the same. Not that i would ever be intelligent enough to study medicine, but your heart must need to be in it.

This is exactly why I encouraged my son to do a math/CS degree. Always good to have options.

Both degrees give good options and differing transferable skills.
Doing medicine doesn’t mean you have to be a doctor and doing computer sciences doesn’t mean just working in IT.
Certainly some doors will close for both careers paths but there will be new ones that we haven’t even thought of or exist.
Either way, your son will be in a good position and the decision is not yours to make.

Obviously he needs to go for the career he wants. I really think AI and medicine go well together and his medical placements may 🫴 me in handy. Let him follow his heart

Tech companies want the billions they’re investing back. It will always be expensive, they'll
make sure of that. Also when we get to that point we’ll all be screwed job wise, doctors, plumbers all of us.

I agree with this, there are conversion courses for graduates with good science A-levels and they're not that long.