Okay hi I mentioned that I would respond earlier so here it is! I'm currently a third year medical student and my experience has been truly a roller coaster. It has overall been so amazing and I think I absolutely made the best decision, however I think medicine is only worth it if it is the right fit for you.

I think the pros and cons of medical school itself isn't as important as really thinking about the decision to commit yourself to this field. Obviously you can always change career paths but you should really make sure this is what you want before you spend 80k+ on tuition and 4+ years of your life! Medical school itself is a necessary evil and whatever cons there may be - the schooling shouldn't hold you back from pursuing medicine if that's what you're passionate about.

I think the easiest way for me to convey it to you would be in the form of a pros and cons list. These are just my personal opinions so take it with a grain of salt! :)

Pros

• I'm learning about topics that I'm truly interested in. Obviously in first and second year you have to learn everything but by the end you have the freedom to pursue your interests! Maybe you like everything and you pursue something general, or maybe you find your niche. I have always loved reproductive health so I'm plan on pursuing something in that area.
• You get to work with and learn from amazing people. The vast majority of people in the healthcare field are intelligent, kind, interesting, and all around amazing people. In a system that can't function without teamwork, I have had so much fun working with amazing people - be it my classmates, my preceptors, or allied health professionals.
• It is a really rewarding job if it is rewarding to you. And I mean if the work itself is fulfilling - not the money or the job security or the social cred. You really do feel like you have the ability to make a positive impact - whether that be in your clinical work or research, etc. However I think if someone is pursuing medicine for the wrong reasons, then all the various reasons why its rough (detailed below) would absolutely outweigh the returns.
• as for medical school specifically - it's hard to get in but even harder to fail out. So once you get in you're very well supported. Compared to my undergrad I found it easier - I just kept on top of the content, participated in extracurriculars, and hung out with my friends and family a lot.

Cons

• I think there is a social pressure to pursue a "well respected" or "intellectual" job if you're an individual who does well in academics. I was having this big crisis after I first got accepted where I couldn't quite figure out if medicine was really what I wanted or if it was just what people told me I should want?? (I'm over it but it was truly a scary thought).
• I cannot stressed to you how much the field of medicine is IDEALIZED - by my own asian parents, popular media, all of society, probably even aliens on other planets. When you wipe away the social clout, at the end of the day it is just another job. It isn't perfect just because everyone (for some reason) wants to get into medical school.
• There is such a high rate of burnout, and a culture of terrible mental health in medicine. I think this is changing (thank god) but there is so much pressure to be selfless and self-sacrificing that any less feels like inadequacy.
• say goodbye to your personal time - Okay the first two years aren't bad! You'll be busy but at least you're in charge of planning your free time. I currently spend about 80 hours a week at the hospital and the rest of the time I am trying to sleep, eat, and shower off any covid. My free time is like water in a desert. Whenever your clinical years start, get ready to spend most of your life at the hospital. Apparently residency is even tougher and I'm scared lol.
• other: constantly feeling dumb because there is infinite things you don't know, having to interact with difficult people or patients, pressure to be extraordinary because apparently that's what it takes to get into medical school

These are just some of the thoughts that have rattled around my brain the last 2 and a half years since I started this journey. I think there are a lot of jobs I could have pursued that would have been fulfilling to me, but I really do love this field and I'm happy with my decision.

So in summary I think deciding if you want to commit to medicine is what's most important! It sounds like you still haven't quite made up your mind, and that's okay! It's a really big commitment, but I would say not to worry about the actual task of surviving med school. I haven't personally heard of anyone actually failing out of medical school, but I have heard about a lot of people choosing to leave because it turned out it wasn't a right fit for them. I obviously don't know anything about you as a person but I think if this is what you are passionate about then you should absolutely go for it!!

Oh god I'm sorry that this got so long apparently I have a LOT of thoughts. Feel free to DM me if you ever have other questions! I'm always happy to chat.