Hey spf! Glad to see someone your age posting here. Pretty rad. You should do a journal and let us watch your path. It certainly seems it will be worth watching.
My parents want me to go to medschool
Do what you want. Not what others want for you. That rarely leads to happiness.
If you don't know what you want is, then
take the time to figure it out. A gap year, especially spent gainfully employed in one of the prospective fields, is wildly beneficial.
Do I spend extra time and parents' money to become a doctor, or should I try to go into engineering instead? Assuming I like both of those options equally in terms of how good they make me feel (this I can ascertain only through internships and the like), which would be better for FIRE?
If any of us could answer this question, we'd be sitting on an island we owned sipping mai tais. :) Honestly, both could be fantastic or fail for FIRE. But, the real answer lies in what motivates you. Are you interested in working with people, machines, chemicals, industry, innovation, and on and on. Discover this and you will have a clearer path.
How do I budget when my income is highly variable? As long as I ask for money with legitimate reasons, my parents will probably give it.
You will be a student. Live like you have no money, because you don't. I would warn heavily against relying on your parents. It makes your Mustache muscles flabby and soft. Do it on your own. There's no better way to learn how to be frugal then by being forced to be.
Should I be accumulating wealth in college or defray the costs my parents are paying?
Yes. To both. There are ample opportunities to make money for a college kid. I started a handyman service and could have worked every night and weekend of the year. I also repaired bikes, house sat, acted as a tutor, and on and on.
What DIY/survivor skills, if any, should I try to obtain while in college?
All of them. The more the better. Here's a short list:
- cooking
- finances
- basic repair skills: car, home, bike, etc
- Excel
- coding
- attracting a life partner
- how to be a good human
- making friends
- having as much fun as is possible
I would greatly appreciate any other general tips you guys have about saving/accumulating money while at college or even beyond. If you guys know anything about study abroad, good jobs, free food, good professional development that I can take advantage of while in college, that would be awesome.
Its deceptively simple, and impossibly hard. Just be a bad ass. Work your ass off... both harder and smarter than everyone else. That works in college, after, in retirement, in relationships, in space, whatever. It works. Read as much as you can: books, websites, and this forum - which is enormous and chock full of great, and terrible, advice. If you get stumped, come back here and post a question. Keep your mind engaged, your head up, and all of this will fall in place.
Best of luck, spf! You're going to do great!