Has anyone gone to med school after working as a SWE?

My eye doctor graduated with EE degree, worked as EE for 6 years for a defense contractor, then went to medical school. He wanted to do things that save people and not kill them.

In reverse, I have a cousin who went to medical school, became a doctor, worked at a hospital for few years, didn’t like the work, couldn’t handle seeing sick people day in day out, decided to do MBA, then joined IT consulting firm, bounced between different consulting companies, later started his own IT consulting firm focusing on healthcare.

Currently a 3rd year student after several years as a SWE. I have found the process to be extremely challenging. All of your income and free time are taken away and replaced by endless studying in an environment that is (comparatively) infantilizing. You are about 9 years away from being an attending physician - 2 years of full time effort just to create a competitive application, 4 years of med school, and 3+ years of residency. Nothing is guaranteed and each step in the process has significant filters. I still feel like I made the right choice. I am looking for personal growth and being challenged along many dimensions.

In germany there are courses, that enable you to work as a first responder in an ambulance. They are just a couple of months long. I want do them when I have a few months of free time to get some insight about the field and learn useful skills.

Maybe there is a similar scheme where you live? This could you give you an insight about whether you like it at relatively low stakes.

Ed Roberts the inventor of the Altair 8800 did just that. He was over 30 when he decided to go to medical school and become a doctor.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_Roberts_(computer_engineer)...

For context I'm interested in going to med school, but I'm also hesitant because of the long commitment to education.