Pre-med is a terrible, terrible grind, and I’m with WOW-you really really have to want to be a physician before starting the whole process.
That said, I couldn’t disagree with JOD more; frankly I think he’s completely wrong. I’ve got two siblings(physicians for 40+ and 35+ years respectively), a spouse(30 years and counting) and a kid in medical school. The physicians have seen it all and still love it, and are glad that they did the grind and with all the hassles-insurance/malpractice/you fill in the blank-are still practicing and have no plans to retire because they still want to practice medicine. For my child-well, premed was a roller coaster, the application process was daunting, and medical school is also a ton of work-but work my kid likes doing.
I know many, many physicians-they all like to complain(all adults do) about work, but they as a group enjoy what they do more than any other group I know.
So if you feel that being a physician is the right fit for you, it’s all worth it. But if you are worried about the “crap” and about making enough money, it’s not for you. Become an entrepreneur, go into tech or IB-there are many fields with a much much higher return on investment. But for someone interested in what it means to be a physician-it’s well worth all the hassles.