<p>I guess I'm having one of those all-too-prevalent dilemmas in figuring out exactly what I want to do with my life....I think that I'm the type of person who needs to realize an exact and quite specific goal, thus allowing for me to try very hard to accomplish that one goal (as opposed to exploration and trying to do well at whatever courses or activities are thrown my way). I'm still deliberating between (1) medicine and (2) something else that I truly want to do, which I must say has very little relevance to medicine. Some people will definitely admonish me, then 'medicine isn't right for you'...but I'm under family pressure to pursue medicine, but that's a whole other topic, haha...</p>
<p>Medicine will satisfy certain things: my desire to help others, my desire to explore the unknown and deal with uncertainty and change. Medicine will grant me a deeper satisfaction and happiness with life and allow me to rest peacefully that I am contributing something to life...the stress, depression, and possible family problems concern me a lot.</p>
<p>With my other possible future career, I'll have a lot of fun, but I'll miss the math and sciences that medicine often must incorporate (I'm a fairly big math/science person). I think I'll be happy 90-100% of the time with this career..sorry, bad estimate lol</p>
<p>I feel as though I should have a set goal now (even though I'm a freshman) because premed course schedules are very demanding and inflexible, so I won't be able to explore to the maximum potential the other courses that will help with that second possible career; thus, it's either stick with a premed schedule and not be able to explore...or risk time by putting off the premed schedule and find my true passion first.</p>
<p>Am I just being an obstinate, naive, and impatient freshman by refusing to explore my interests first?
I suppose, I'm looking not for definitive answers, but rather methods and thought-processes that may guide me through this and ultimately find what I want to do...</p>
<p>First off, it's strange that you don't specify the other career. What is it?</p>
<p>Pre-med isn't actually that rigid of a path; ~10 required classes isn't terrible. Have you done any shadowing or volunteering to investigate if the day-to-day of medicine is attractive to you?</p>
<p>The job I plan on pursuing when I graduate wasn't really something I even knew existed as a freshman. Give yourself some space to be open to other options, but if you're enjoying the pre-med track, there's no reason not to stick with that. You're setting up a rigid choice where there doesn't have to be one.</p>
<p>I'm kind of in the same boat. Currently I am pursuing the accounting/finance sector, partly because I am pretty good in the subjects, and of course the other part because of the paycheck, however that field is not what I truly want to do.</p>
<p>I want to become a teacher, preferably a high school teacher, one who can make a difference in kids lives, especially in sending them to college, because I feel like there just aren't enough good teachers out there. I would also like to become a football coach, something I am truly passionate about, and feel that becoming a teacher would give me a good shot at that job. The reason why I don't pursue teaching immediately? My Mom has worked for a school district for quite some time, and from what she says, and from what I see, teachers aren't truly compensated for the work they do.</p>
<p>If MD's weren't paid nearly as well as they really are, I would hesitate in choosing that career path...I don't think I'd disregard it completely, but I'd have to give it some serious thought.</p>
<p>I agree with the shadowing idea. I'll definitely give it a shot, but I don't want to--in the middle of the semester--realize that MD isn't my thing and wonder why the heck I'm still taking intro chemistry and physics...</p>
<p>and @ Pseudonym..my other career path is not conventional; it requires some business and management, but it's still a pretty bold thing, one requiring a lot of risk</p>
<p>Okay, so what exactly is this mystery job? Being bold and risky with a dash of business and management isn't exactly a specific career. Most paths involve some risk. Why does this one appeal to you? What does it offer you that medicine wouldn't? Are there any other careers that use some of the same skills that might be worth looking into?</p>
<p>What about shadowing someone for a few days over your winter break? That way you can at least get a slightly better idea of what exactly your goal is.</p>
<p>The family pressure aspect is hard to get rid of, but if you're pursuing medicine for that reason you will eventually crack. I know one guy who left a BS/MD program in his last year of the MD because he realized he was pressured into it by his parents, and that he'd never escape if he didn't leave ASAP--he told me he didn't realize how miserable he really was until he left and had that burden lifted. I once met someone who was desperately putting off residency after graduating med school, because he'd been pressured into it by family expectations and realized he wanted to explore other options. I know someone else who is currently taking time off before the MD part of a combined BS/MD to try and buy time to convince his parents he won't be destroying his future if he does something other than medicine. He just told his parents he's not going to med school, and his mother cried for 4 hours... but he's happy, because at least it's finally out in the open. Family expectations can be avoided or met in other ways, so set aside that concern as much as possible.</p>
<p>Most people who start college planning to be doctors don't end up going down that road, for a variety of reasons. We enter college having been exposed to a very limited number of career possibilities, and many people understand their options poorly because of that. There are so, so many other ways to contribute to the world and help people. You owe it to yourself to keep an open mind about your future.</p>
<p>"What will you do with your life?" - "I don't know." Because that's the truth. I have some general ideas, but I don't know exactly what I will do. I have a lot of interest and my major (history) opens up many possible doors. I'll take what I can get. Nobody know exactly what they'll being doing with their lives until they get there. Freshman and sophomores shouldn't be asked this question. </p>
<p>"What do you want to do with your life?" - "Preferably something directly involving history, but I know there isn't a huge demand for it. So I'll be happy with any enjoyable career that pays a decent salary." Then I walk away.</p>
<p>If you can, you should plan on spending 5 years in undergrad. I know, I know, but it REALLY lessens the stress and you can spend more time figuring things out.</p>
<p>Seriously, you don't have to decide this now. Take it one semester at a time. Chip away at your premed requirements while you think about it. You don't have to get them all out of the way in the beginning. And there's plenty of value to taking calc and chemistry besides going to med school.</p>
<p>i think you should lighten up on the pre-med and take some of the other courses so you can get a good idea of what you like better. and even if that does make you graduate a year or 2 later...who cares? your going to be working for 20+ years, so what does 1 extra year of college matter, especially if that 1 year allowed you to know for sure that you're doing what makes you happy</p>
If MD's weren't paid nearly as well as they really are, I would hesitate in choosing that career path...I don't think I'd disregard it completely, but I'd have to give it some serious thought.
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<p>MD's aren't paid as well as you think. A LOT of work so the pay doesn't seem as big. If you want to make a lot of money, don't become a doctor. I speak not as a doctor, but as someone who has been surrounded by doctors my entire life and they all tell me the same thing.</p>
<p>If you're really questioning choosing medicine over something else, I'd strongly encourage you to take some time to either volunteer or shadow a few different MDs (since every one practices differently) to get an idea if medicine really is for you. You may want to ask them what they do and don't like about the profession.</p>
<p>If you hate it, that saves you a lot of time and anguish down the road...better than finding that out when you're already in med school and have sacrificed a lot of time and money, plus taken all the premed courses that you didn't really need, like orgo and physics (but as a math/science person, maybe you'd enjoy these courses).</p>
<p>Also, the premed curriculum can be considerably more flexible than your premed advisor may make it appear - I know the advisor at my school makes it seem like you HAVE to take certain courses during certain semesters, but I know plenty of people who took a more laid-back approach to the courses and did just fine.</p>