Doctor to Private Equity?
Hi I'm in my late 20s and have been working as a doctor and finishing off my surgeon specialty training. I wanted to be a doctor because I was always good academically and was pushed to do something 'rewarding and selfless' in society.
Unfortunately being selfless doesn't have the glamour of high prestige in my social circles and many young professional social circles. I know a few people in private equity and other similar areas of high finance and that seems to be the best, most desirable professional career path out there.
At parties everyone seems to be in awe of the PE guys. My friends in IB are desperate to move over to PE despite already getting paid great money on IB. Everyone looks at the PE people like they're mini celebrities who have made it already in life working for the most prestigious firms and seeing their buyouts on CNBC taking the headlines.
I feel quite inferior as a doctor (as strange as that is to say especially given how I used to think becoming a doctor was prestigious) compared to people I know in private equity. I think about the kids I help in the hospital and it just doesn't feel as 'glamorous' as the people I know in PE. No one at parties and in my general social circles seems to be as interested when I talk about the patients I'm helping, but PE seems to have all the craze and everyone gravitates towards my friends in PE and wants to associate with them.
Being a doctor is hard and idk I just feel like I'd be far better off financially and get the 'social validation' and satisfaction from being in PE which everyone seems to agree is the pinnacle of elite careers.
I have top tier academics and have been considering the healthcare management MBA to pivot into healthcare investing. If I can't make the switch to PE directly I'd move into healthcare IB then look to switch to a smaller PE fund later down the line. My legacy Gmat score is 750.
I'm also considering the usual finance schools like NYU, Columbia, Booth, and Cornell. I think Harvard/Stanford are unrealistic because of how unorthodox my profile is having committed to being a doctor since I was young.
Are there any other schools I should consider?
Posted Dec 10, 2025, 2:56 PM UTC