It’s the final days until Sunday’s March 1 deadline for the Postbac Premed Program! Last week, we heard from Amy Zoller about her decision to change careers and pursue medicine. The Postbac program supports many more career paths than just medicine, though. Check out Kevin’s journey from finance to pre-dentistry at the Tufts Postbac program:

Just a few months prior to enrolling in the Tufts Postbac Premed program this spring for pre-dentistry, I was an undergraduate senior at Boston University finishing a business degree in finance and accounting. I had always enjoyed the nature of financial analysis, and so it was a shock to most of my friends that I was considering switching majors.

However, the idea was one that I had reasoned out over time. Throughout my undergraduate years I had interned at several financial institutions and explored different career paths related to finance. From this, I understood that most industry employees seemed to be motivated more by salary and the prospect of advancement within their companies than the nature of their job.

So, I re-considered what I truly wanted out of a career and ultimately decided that I wanted to have a positive personal impact on the greatest number of people. I had to look no further than my parents, who are both dentists, to realize that their profession exactly fit that criteria.

Even with that figured out, the decision was not an easy one. I first had to make sure that I would enjoy being a dentist, so I spent a few months shadowing at a nearby dental practice. There, I got a better sense of the profession (which I liked) and began to transition from a purely analytical to service-oriented way of thinking.

However, I still had some doubts about going back to school for so long and learning completely different subjects. I had doubts about whether or not I would be missing out in the short-term since my friends would be starting their lives as young professionals together. And I also wondered if I had just wasted four years of college. In the end, I decided that my long-term goals were worth the short-term sacrifice, and that I could still utilize the business skills that I picked up as an undergrad when I open a dental practice in the future.

Being part of the Tufts Postbac has been a great experience for me so far. I have really gotten close with other members of the program who are in the same boat, which has made the transition a lot easier.

The classes aren’t overwhelming, since we are only taking two classes a semester (currently BIO14 and CHEM1) instead of the usual four. This allows us to volunteer, shadow, or even work part-time. And there has been an abundance of career and academic support from professors, TAs, tutors, and advisors, so that the material is easier to understand. Although I may have had some uncertainties when I first entered the Tufts Premed Postbac program, they are fading fast as I adjust, and I can truly say that I am looking forward to continuing on this new career path.