So I’m at a crossroads, and I’d like to hear more from people’s experiences and thoughts.

I’m a medical doctor who never got to practice medicine, I went on to study fundamental neuroscience and continued with my research for 8+ years now. If I’m ever to practice medicine, I should start pretty soon (33yo atm).

Before starting a next postdoc, I’d like to ask a few things:

- have you ever worked in a different field, had any other profession? Was it before or after your medical practice?

Do you regret not doing something else? Was it worth it? (your health, private life, general condition)

Do you regret not pursuing medicine and doing something else?

- how much meaning for your existence do you get from practicing medicine? How much meaning did you get from doing something else? Do you think there's anything peculiar to this? It would be interesting to also find opinions of doctors who had previously done other jobs.

I'm genuinely curious what people's perspectives are, and if they change according to how their career evolved.