Christian Doctor: Do These 3 Things For Radical Career Impact
4 min read | 17 January, 2024
An AI-generated image of a really cool and impactful Christian doctor.
We recently talked to Jason Dykstra, a board-certified radiologist and trusted CFI mentor who has advised hundreds of pre-med and medical students.
Here are his top tips for Christians looking for a meaningful, impactful career:
1) Consider a broad range of factors:
You’ll want to balance earnings with educational opportunities, time off, and networking.
“I think when we look at our job, it's far more important to look at not just what the work is and whether it's fulfilling, but what does all of the aspects of that job have to offer in regard to our ability to impact others?”
Some key factors include:
1. Money💸
Will you have a paycheck that allows you to give away some of your income to effective charities?
2. Educational opportunities🎓
Will you learn useful skills that can later help you tackle a key global problem? Some employers will even pay for a post-grad degree.
3. Time off🏖️
Will you have enough time outside of your working hours to do some advocacy for the area you care about? For example, many professors have summers off and can use that time to do research, consulting, or other advocacy work.
4. Networking opportunities🤝🏻
Will you have the chance to meet influential people who can guide you toward even more impactful opportunities?
2. Begin a lifestyle of impact through effective giving
A spending limit involves prayerfully discerning an acceptable amount to live on and pledging everything over that to God, His poor and His Kingdom.
Our future rests in God’s hands.
As it says in Proverbs 16:9: “The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.”
So we might plan an impactful future career. But it still might not happen:
“A lot of times you don't have control over what your career is… A lot of times you just got to take the job you're given and then that kind of propels you into a pathway that it's hard to get out of sometimes. So even if you have all the right training for a certain career, it doesn't mean you're going to end up in that job that was going to save all these lives.”
What matters is creating a lifestyle of impact:
“And so I think it's more important to learn how to look at a career in a holistic way that allows you to create a lifestyle of impact. Because no matter where you end up… you will have set the example and built a mindset that will perpetuate that sort of maximizing of resources in any job that you have.”
What does Jason recommend for starting a lifestyle of impact?
Set a spending limit, and give effectively.
This is the single best thing you can do for yourself early career:
“I really do think the best thing you can do for yourself though, early on in your career, no matter what career you go into, is just that intentionality of setting an expenditure limit, learning about high impact charities and getting to them, to your capacity right now.”
Jason saves lives directly as a doctor, but he thinks his giving has an even greater impact than his direct medical work.
Walking the Walk
While still in medical residency, Jason and his wife decided to cap their income, then around $50,000 US, and give away everything above that.
You can read more about their spending cap here.
3. Be very honest with yourself
Self-honesty is key:
“You have to be very honest about what you're realistically going to do and I think there should be some evidence in your life that you're already doing it.”
For instance, if your goal is to earn to give, you should have experience and consistency in giving:
“There needs to be proof in the beginning of that journey that you're already setting aside money and already giving it high-impact causes. And not just for once or twice, but for a couple of years. You need to have evidence yourself that that is going to be a sustainable journey for you.”
Listen to our full episode with Jason, where you can hear more about:
How to know if a charity is impactful.
How and why to give most effectively.
How to pursue any career with a radical impact on God's kingdom.
Jason’s career advice for medical students.
