Prompt
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
Practice this question
Try answering it yourself first. The answer guide is below.
After you practice: what this question tests and how to approach it
What this question tests
- Self-reflection and growth
- Health systems and advocacy
How to approach this question
This question tests whether you have a realistic picture of a medical career and goals that reach beyond getting in. Describe the kind of physician you hope to be in ten years, given the stages of training you'll likely have finished by then. Name the fields you're drawn to, but stay open, since many students change direction during training. Include roles beyond seeing patients, such as teaching, research, advocacy or work in your community, if they genuinely interest you. Tie each goal to an experience you've already had. Avoid naming one specialty as a certainty, and avoid goals built on prestige or income.
Answer guide
A good answer to "where do you see yourself in 10 years" describes the kind of physician you hope to be, the work you'd like to be doing and the community you'd like to serve. It also shows that you're open to change. In a medical school interview, realistic goals tied to your past experience come across better than a fixed career plan.
What the interviewer is assessing
The interviewer wants to see that you understand the path ahead. In ten years you'd likely have finished medical school and residency, and you might be starting independent practice or further training. They're also looking for direction and sincerity. Goals that grow out of what you've already done sound credible. Goals that appear from nowhere sound rehearsed. Finally, the interviewer is checking for flexibility, because training exposes students to fields they hadn't considered.
How to structure your answer
- Start with a short picture of your working life in ten years, such as the setting, the people you serve and the kind of work.
- Name one or two fields that interest you now, and explain which experiences sparked that interest.
- Mention any roles beyond patient care that you hope to take on, such as teaching, mentoring or research.
- Say plainly that you expect your interests to evolve during training.
- Close with what you hope will stay the same, such as the values behind your choice.
Keep the answer to about 90 seconds. When "where do you see yourself in 10 years" comes up in a medical school interview, some practical detail helps. Don't let it become a timeline of every exam and application.
Common mistakes
- Naming a single specialty with total certainty suggests you haven't left room to learn.
- Describing a lifestyle, a salary or a title as the goal raises questions about your motivation.
- Saying you have no idea suggests you haven't thought about the career at all.
- Listing goals with no link to your experiences makes them sound borrowed.
- Describing yourself as the head of a department or an organization in ten years can sound unrealistic for someone just out of training.
Example answer
Here is an example answer from a fictional applicant who studied psychology and has spent three years volunteering with a youth mentorship program.
In ten years I hope to have finished residency and to be working as a physician in a mid-sized city. I'd like to see patients I get to know over years rather than once.
Right now I'm drawn to family medicine and to pediatrics, and that comes from my mentorship work. I've been paired with the same young person since she was eleven, and the most useful thing I've done is show up consistently. The trust took two years to build. I'd like a practice where I can build that kind of continuity with patients and their families.
I'd also like to teach. I've helped train new mentors for our program, and I enjoyed watching them grow confident in their first few months. I'd hope to supervise medical students or residents in some way.
I know my interests will probably change. I haven't seen most fields of medicine yet, and I expect a rotation I haven't thought about to surprise me. What I'd like to stay the same is the reason I'm applying. I want to be a doctor people come back to because they trust me.
More on motivation for medicine
All 13 questions on this topicMock interviews
If you want to practice with a person, we run mock MMI and panel interviews with feedback on every answer.
