Business or PreMed? How do you know what your passion is?

College Majors Business Major
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<p>Ahh I'm super tired right now but am desperate for some sort of advice or objective input from total strangers.
I'm a Freshman in college, almost a Sophomore, and I have no idea what I want to do with my life. What else is new. But to speak frankly, I am not by any means an inept person. I was an Honors/AP student in high school, in the top 10% of my class, and am currently going to a ranked university that offered me about 75% scholarship money off the usual tuition.
I think I have great potential to do well in SOMETHING, some sort of field...I just don't know what! Business or Medicine is basically what I've narrowed it down to. I've tried to list out the pros and cons, and there is a long list for both of them.
In short, what's stopping me from pursuing a Business major/career is that I'm a girl--outdated thought, perhaps, but in reality, the most successful business execs are usually men. Plus, there is less stability job-wise also.
In medicine, I think it's pretty obvious. Being a doctor is extremely hard and stressing; one has to really enjoy and love what he/she does in that sort of field in order to reap benefits. You've got to be committed since it takes years of studying after all.
Both fields are competitive, and for the most part, only few actually become successful (whether or not you get that lucky business job, or accepted into a Med school).</p>

<p>I'm just at lost right now; maybe I'm just lacking confidence. I'm that the type of person that once my mind is made up, I'll follow through entirely, EXCEPT making up my mind is a fickle process :/</p>

<p>In any case, aside from evaluating and analyzing Pro&Con charts, what I really want to know is, how does one find out what their passion in life is? Some people just seem to know that they have an inclination toward a certain subject, and pursue it regardless of salary. For me though, yes, I take future income and stability into account, but what would reassure me the most, is if I actually LIKE or LOVE what I'm doing career-wise. Feeling a little dejected and unfocused right now.</p>

<p>Let me know what your thoughts are. Thank you for reading!</p>

<p>Oh side note: I already volunteer at a Children's Hospital, and really enjoy my time there. I did it to observe the atmosphere of a hospital and to see if I fit in. Idk how I'm suppose to sort of do the same for Business. There are so many branches in Business, and its not like I have a degree yet to even intern. Ahh what to do :(
Sometimes I'm like "oh to hell with it all, I'll just marry someone" .... but even marriage is an unstable job in its own right nowadays.</p>

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<p>Log out. And never come back.</p>

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<p>Oh good suggestion, because that would just resolve all my problems in life.</p>

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<p>If these are your problems in life then you lead a very lucky life. But simply put, no one gives a damn. It’s your choice not ours.</p>

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<p>Well that “problems in life” remark was obviously shrouded with sarcasm. In any case, isn’t the whole reason of posting something on a forum to find some sort of objective input from someone else? Maybe someone else has been in a similar situation, can relate, and provide some of their experiences that may help me in making my decision. I’m not asking someone to make the decision for me; on an online forum? How could I. I’m simply curious as to what sort of paths others have taken given the similar sort of mentality and reasoning I have, since I’m young and obviously lacking the experiences and frame of references to make a decisive choice. </p>

<p>If you don’t care, then simply put, stop reading and posting. Ignore this thread if you consider it so pointless, and use your time to help out someone else.</p>

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<p>You are asking us what your passion is?</p>

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<p>No…just how you, as an individual, found your passion, so to speak. Not mine; if I knew I wouldn’t be so lost. How is it that YOU decided that you wanted to pursue Business or whatever area of expertise it is that you’re currently in.</p>

<p>Whether it was something you always had a fascination with, something you’re particularly talented at, or otherwise.</p>

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<p>Basically what you are saying is “I don’t know if I want to do business or become a doctor, but I’m gonna ask you business majors to tell me that business is better so I can disagree with you and accomplish nothing.” You realize this is the equivalent of posting in the Harvard forum “Should I go to harvard or princeton? I don’t know if i prefer math or the humanities.”</p>

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<p>No no! Not at all! I simply don’t know if business is better for me or if medicine is. I can’t possibly know that now, since I feel like I don’t know enough about business to decide. And I’m not asking anyone else to make the choice for me. I wanted to ask Business majors, and those who are interested in pursuing a career in Business, or already have one, what is it that you drives and motivates you. I like BOTH, which is why if I could, I would pursue both, and initially I was a PreMed and Business major, but then I talked to an advisor at my university today, and they said I couldn’t do that for a long list of reasons. As I said, I’m looking at the Pros&Cons of both, neither discriminating against one or the other; why would if I’m considering one or the other? I guess its hard to detect someone’s tone of voice through written passages online, but really, I’m only curious about the process of how you came to decide, “yes, that is what I’m going to do.” Perhaps there is not definitive answer for that, as it varies irrevocably from person to person. Which led me to ask, and hope, if someone might share their personal experience.</p>

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<p>This thread sucks.</p>

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<p>My dad always tells me that no one has just one passion. It it possible to love two things, have two interests, etc. Thats why he went to med school, then law school a few years later (does research at a university right now). I’m not even sure he has ever practiced law (passed the bar exam though), but he had such a passion for it and he wasnt going to be boxed into getting one degree and abandoning the other.</p>

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<p>If you have any doubts about going pre-medicine, then you are not going to make it.</p>

<p>Pre-medicine is going to have you taking 3-4 years of science in undergrad, 4 years of med school, and then probably 2-3 years to specialize. You are looking at a legitimate 10 year educational commitment.</p>

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<p>@FutureVPFinance – thank you for that info :wink: it was reassuring and your dad must be very accomplished! </p>

<p>@goose – I know, it’s because of that I am a little apprehensive. But I’m trying to work out those doubts now so that I don’t find myself in a situation later on. I have doubts in both areas, but as I mentioned, I see pros to both as well. I just wish I had the capability to commit myself to both, but its either one or the other because each subject is on the complete opposite side of the spectrum. </p>

<p>I think at this point I’m just being impatient. I’ll think things through a little more, and hopefully, I’ll find some sort of indication from my experiences that won’t lead me astray. It’s just a little scary is all. Thank your for your time though; I appreciate it :)</p>

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<p>The only way you’ll find out is by exploring and doing. Most people don’t know exactly what they want to do because in reality there’s many good and many bad choices for each individal. Just look at how many times the typical person changes career fields these days. One quote I like to keep in mind is roughly “adulthood is nothing but a series of choices; you can say yes or no but you cannot avoid saying one or the other. Those who are successful are those who adjust and adapt to the decisions they’ve made and learn to make the best of them”.</p>

<p>They can’t give you an answer on passion because business is rarely somebody’s true passion, it is often a safety net for the insecure.</p>

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<p>@inmotion12 Lol what a thought provoking quote; I will certainly keep that in mind. Thank you so much!
Go longhorns ;)</p>

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<p>I always took the medical route as an equivalent of those who pursue art, music, dance, theatre, etc. I thought it was one of those things that you had a feeling for since you were extremely young, and carried that feeling throughout your life. Perhaps it’s a bit exaggerated, but that was my interpretation of deciding the medical route. I guess you could say that what I just described was “passion,” but it could just be an interest, where you also have other interests, as mentioned by another poster. The argument here would be there are people that switch into the medical field (or just switching careers in general) later in their lives. The only thing you should consider is time if you do decide to switch.</p>

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<p>OP, premed is not a major. You can major in anything and still go to medical school. In fact, it is looked at as an asset during the admissions process if you have expanded your horizons a bit beyond biology or chemistry. So, it is quite possible to major in business, and then go on to medical school. You just need to take (and do very well in) the required prerequisits for med school admission. In fact, physicians would be well served by having some business background. Most new physicians have spent years completely focused on science and math, and end up woefully unprepared for dealing with the rather huge part of their lives that is business related.</p>

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<p>If you want to have your cake and eat it too, then be some kind of business major and take the necessary prereq requirements to go to med school as well.</p>

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<p>Thank you for your recent responses, but the whole Major in Business and take pre-med classes-- that was my original plan. But what provoked me to post this thread several days ago was that I had visited with the Pre-Med advisor at my university to make sure that I was on the right track with courses and such, and as it turns out, the College of Business at my university has some stringent rule where I can’t take more than 150+ hours, or else I have to pay out of state tuition (actually that’s a law in Texas for state universities). The degree plans for business majors also do not allow for minors (if they had, I could’ve taken more science classes, declared a science minor, no problem) but rather have a more thorough business core. So along with my 122 hour business degree, plus 40+ credit hours, I would have exceeded the 150 credit hour limit. The only way to bypass this law would have been to finish my degree, then take science classes, but that messes with my desired timeline.</p>

<p>It’s all very complicated. If I could have found a loop hole, I wouldn’t have been so lost.</p>

<p>In any case, I’m taking it a little easier now, and I’ll discuss my plans over with an advisor. </p>

<p>It’s just, aside from Business, I’m not sure what else I’d like to major in.</p>

<p>I hope that all that made sense? It’s difficult to convey.</p>

<p>Still, thank you for your time in reading and posting. I appreciate it.</p>

<p>Best wishes to everyone on their endeavors!</p>

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<p>Actually, I am a junior student but I’m still a little lost. I am an engineering student but I realize I’m more interesting in biz field since I love to communicate to people and enjoy the atmosphere. So I decide to pursue interns in biz and maybe a job after graduation. I think college life will guide you to find out what your strengths are and where your passion is. I remembered a book called what I wish I knew when I was 20 from a stanford professor. She majored in neuroscience in both college and grad school but she turned out to work in business area and really accomplished a lot.
Anyway, you can adjust along the way. Follow your heart but take your brain with you, too.</p>