<p>Well, I've been extremely lost and confused for the past few days. About a week ago I found out that I would be registering for my classes in fall 09 (I'm a freshman right now). I already had a paper and test to get ready for, and it was stressful, but now I only have to worry about choosing classes and now I'm reminded about my major again. I get to register tomorrow, but most classes are filled already and a lot of other classes are ones I'm not really interested in. </p>
<p>Anyway, I was trying to browse and look up things for a major, which I have been undecided about for what feels like forever, and I looked at a list that said that doctors were occupations that have good openings in the future. I thought about it and felt that maybe I should try it, "Being a doctor would mean that I could diagnose myself, and help myself and my family if they ever needed it. Knowledge in medicine sounds like a good skill to have in life." Then I read about what it takes to be one... Around eleven years of study for a career I've never took notice for until now? I was decent at physics, biology, and chemistry, but nothing ever came to me with these subjects, or any, that made me think "I really want to study this." SAT score is 1830, and I've never been much for studying (only when I felt that I needed it).</p>
<p>So now I'm at a loss about my major, career, courses, and life! I literally have no idea what I want to do with my future. Can anyone give me some advice?</p>
<p>I was thinking about being a doctor too, but ask yourself this. Are you a truly altruistic person? You shouldn’t just choose it just to “choose”.</p>
<p>Do NOT become a doctor just because you can’t think of anything else or some other obscure reason. It is such a big investment, and costs so much money, requires so much time. 4 years Undergrad, 4 years in Med school, 3-4 years Residency (during which you get paid practically minimum wage - $40K working 80-100 hours a week). Willing to give up your twenties? Work your ass off for a decade? Live, eat and sleep in a hospital? Go through the rigor of Med school?</p>
<p>I’m not trying to discourage you from this path, it’s a very rewarding one, and intellectually satisfying for many people, it comes with respect and is relatively safe. But you’ll have to do a lot more thinking than this. I do wish you the best of luck. And it might be a good idea to sit down with a counselor, advisor or professor and discuss potential career plans/Grad school.</p>
<p>And go back to some basic questions - What do you like? What are you passionate about? What can you see yourself doing in 10 years, 20 years, 30 years? Do you want to get married/raise a family? Is your career very important to you, or do you just want a job to pay the bills and enjoy life? How many hours a week are you willing to work? It’s the time to think these things through.</p>
<p>Definitely think long and hard before committing to studying medicine. However, if you’re only a freshman now you’ve still got a long way to go. I’ve never heard of school that had pre-med as a major, so you can major in just about anything and still get into med school if you fulfill the pre-med requirements.</p>
<p>just pick something you’re good at and pretend to like it.
eventually you’ll be so accustomed to this one subject you’ll become passionate about it. afterwards this will lead you to “happy” career and the rest of your life will be set.
good luck.</p>
<p>Surgical residencies are 5 years; some are longer. Also, I don’t know where you got that most doctors make less than 200k a year because it is false. Maybe if you are in primary care.</p>
<p>Aww prettydirtyrich, it made me feel bad too, it’s pretty harsh. But I think it was written by someone who just finished Med school and was exhausted and sick of medicine and quit. I really just posted it because it’s so harsh and i wanted to show the OP this is not a light decision to make. Saying you want to be a doctor because you can’t think of anything else to do is possibly the worst reason to do it…or to pick any job, really. It is a huge investment of time and money and not a light decision to be made, but I’m sure the OP knows that. </p>
<p>fudgemaster, thanks for posting that. I’m pretty suprised, I did not expect that at all. I’ve been reading up a lot on Med schools, interviews, the MCAT and such, but forgot to look up salary (I just figured, ok, doctors make enough so that’s not an issue). The average salary for the specialty I wanted is twice as much as I was expecting…wow. I’m a little taken aback, to be honest. I was reading lots of negative things to prepare myself.
But then again, surgeons and obstetrcians pay a TON of money for insurance so that explains their salaries. not that I was considering either of those.</p>
<p>Status, if you want to become a doctor, then do it! You are doing the right thing now by trying to get more information. Being a doctor isn’t something you needed to want since you were 10 years old. A lot of people began in college. I’m sure if you like helping people and like science then that’s all you need.</p>
<p>I think the important thing is that you research into what it takes to become a physician. You absolutely have to make an informed decision about this process. </p>
<p>Just to fix up some points made by molly - the majority of residencies are paying between 44-48k per year these days. There are rules in place that limit the working hours to less than 80 hours/week averaged over 4 weeks. These work hour limits were implemented in 2003, and are going to be fully reviewed in 2011, and there might be significant changes made…well before you’d even be considering residency.</p>
<p>In terms of the things you (the OP) should consider when looking towards a career in medicine, beyond the length of training and salary, focus on whether or not you enjoy doing the things a physician does. Do you like talking to people? Do you enjoy learning new things? Do you want help people live healthier lives, even for profit (you don’t have to be completely altruistic)? Do you like solving puzzles? How do you handle adversity and stress? </p>
<p>As someone who’s going to graduate medical school in early May, I’ll tell you that it’s generally frowned upon to for doctors to treat their family members (beyond the basics), and it can be very dangerous to diagnose yourself (I have stories of physicians dying because they thought they didn’t have anything serious). I’ll also warn you that believing you’ll find rewarding experiences from grateful patients is a pipe dream…most patients are very ungrateful. </p>
<p>With any career choice, you need to make sure that the day to day activities and components of that career are things you like. You must be selfish and focus on what’s going to make you happy. If you tie your happiness to the outcomes of other people (like thinking patients will be grateful for curing their disease) you’ll find very little fulfillment in your career.</p>
