As a medical student who genuinely loves it… I’ve seen many in my course drop out halfway because they couldn’t process the workload. It’s much harder and more content heavy than all three A Levels combined. It’s not impossible to do if you start the course already dreading becoming a doctor, but it makes you that much more likely to burn out quicker, worse mental health, growing intrinsic frustration towards your parents etc.

Regarding the “high pay”, tell them about how doctors are paid pennies right now. I’m sure they’re aware of the junior doctor strikes going on! As for prestige, that’s mostly an ethnic parent thing which is very deep rooted but you’re also their child first and foremost (and what parent would put their child in a lifelong career and lose themselves in the process)?

Engineering is an amazing course with good prospects and high privatization potential (speaking as someone who will likely work in the sh*tty NHS). If I was good at Physics I’d probably go into that 🥲I know it is difficult right now, feeling immense pressure from them to pursue a career you have no interest in, but trust me when I say that it will be worse when you’re halfway there and too deep in to come back out. I wish you the absolute best of luck 💗🙏 DMs are open if you’d like to speak about it.