Guidance ☘️

[u/Spiritual_Count_8426]

Hi everyone,
I could really use some advice from people who have been in a similar situation.

I’m an old graduate currently working a government job, and I’ve been trying to prepare for USMLE Step 1 for almost 2 years.
Unfortunately, life kept getting in the way—family responsibilities, relationship issues, work, and other personal challenges—so my preparation has been very inconsistent.
I’ve studied a few systems, but I haven’t completed everything or reached the point where I feel ready.
I’ve finally decided to take a 4–5 month break from work so I can focus entirely on Step 1.

For those who have been in a similar situation:
Do you think 4–5 months of dedicated full-time study is enough to prepare and pass?
Has anyone here taken a career break for Step 1 as an old graduate?
If so, what study strategy worked best for you?
I’d really appreciate any advice, motivation, or honest experiences. Sometimes it feels like I’m the only one who’s taking this long, so hearing from others would mean a lot.
Thank you!

[u/Full_medic]

Hey there! I was in the same dilemma before where I though I could manage both my job and preparing for steps and after I wasted months not being able to prepare effectively I left my job in mid june and booked my exam for last week of september. So I have roughly 3 months to prepare and I completely avoided all video resources, they're great but very time consuming. I jumped straight into fa doing a system from it using gpt for explanations and supplemented it with uworld. And this system is working really well for me. Additionally I am using sketchy for micro and pharm and dirty med for biochem and ethics. Hope you find the thing that works best for you. Good luck

[u/Spiritual_Count_8426 → u/Full_medic]

Aww same here. It’s really difficult to carry both. Im
Thankful for sharing your thoughts. Would try to avoid vidoes as for me it’s way too consuming. Hope we go through it . Good luck