<p>Eh...don't know if this is the right place to ask this. But I need someone to assuage or ascertain my feeling of fear for the unknown future. I need someone to show me my options.</p>
<p>My GPA is not that stellar. I have a GPA of 3.2 and a major (Molecular and Cell Biology) GPA of 3.0. BUT I'm also minoring in CS (around a 3.0 GPA also for my minor). The average for both of my major and my minor is roughly 2.7-3.1. And I attend a school known for deflation instead of inflation (if that does help in any way).</p>
<p>I know my GPA is far below the average medical school applicant and mmost pharmacy schools. And my extracurricular activities show that a) I'm not someone who just "hides away and only studies" but it is also b) very random - some marketing, some design, some leadership, a bit of pharmacy, a bit of museum paleontology and you get the point.</p>
<p>What future career paths should I also look into and what resources are there for me to find more about these career paths?</p>
<p>Switch to majoring in CS (drop the MCB major if it doesn’t fit)? Or take more CS courses? (And hope the computer industry doesn’t crash when you graduate.)</p>
<p>Unless the computer industry happens to go into a downturn when you graduate, your chances of a decent career-track job are much better in CS than MCB.</p>
<p>…And that 3.0 will be plenty good enough to be hired if you switch to CS. Until software can truly develop new software consistently, software engineering should be around for awhile.</p>
<p>My brother had graduated with a 3.2 GPA in CS. However, he was extremely good at programming. Within a few months of graduating, he landed a job with a starting salary of $90,000 a year. The company had a skills test as part of the application, and he blew it out of the water.
If you enjoy CS, you can get a good job in it if you can demonstrate you have the skills, even if your GPA isn’t top notch. That said, don’t do it if you feel like you’re switching to that just because of job opportunities. You’d likely be miserable. I’ve seen it happen.</p>
<p>You need to really think about what you want to do.</p>
<p>If you really really really want to go to Pharmacy school…then you would do anything necessary to get into one. That includes getting a job in a pharmacy or doing internships…WHATEVER it takes. You wouldn’t be swayed by anyone or anything.</p>
<p>You would take the same approach with medical school. </p>
<p>It may take longer, but you wouldn’t let anything stop you.</p>
<p>Here’s a true story:</p>
<p>My brother was always curious about how things work. Ever since he was a small kid he knew he wanted to be a scientist. Eventually he graduated from a major public university, known for grade deflation, with a VERY VERY VERY mediocre GPA. So he got a low paying full-time research technician job after graduation. The money didn’t matter to him. All that mattered was the goal. While working, he performed brilliantly. His boss was soooo amazed with his abilities and performance that he gave my brother the best reference one could ever get and strongly urged him to get a Ph.D.</p>
<p>So 2 1/2 years after graduating from college, my brother was accepted into one of the most elite graduate programs in the country. His undergrad GPA sucked, but he performed well on the GRE and got critical research experience. Those two things overshadowed his crappy GPA. Eventually he got an MCB Ph.D. Today, he has all the independence he wants and is doing WHAT HE WANTS. So it isn’t work for him. He doesn’t look forward to the weekends because weekends are for people who don’t really like their work. His job is so fun and cool. He gets paid for doing something he would have done for free…if he didn’t have to worry about paying for rent and food.</p>
<p>With the exception of 1 childhood friend, his other childhood friends are all doing work they really didn’t want to do. Yes, they all went to college; but, they didn’t have the motivation or drive to see their goals to the end.</p>
<p>So what I am saying is that if you really want to work in the computer field then do the things necessary to get a job in it. Otherwise if you really want to do something else, then take the necessary steps for it…</p>
<p>It may take longer, but that’s okay. Then you’ll have the rest of your life doing what YOU WANT.</p>
<p>You should at least prepare for and take the MCAT and then apply to some med schools. Also, graduating with even an average GPA still puts you in the upper 10%-15% or so of the population as a whole, so it is hard to see why your prospects should be grim.</p>
<p>To most employers Molecular and Cell Biology = Biology, and most employers will have nothing to do with that unless you also had a 4.0, were president of the student government, editor of the school paper, star athlete, etc., or some combination of such. By “most employers” I mean those that will hire you for a good job with advancement opportunities.</p>
<p>The CS seems far more applicable and marketable if you are good at it and can get some real-world experience with it.</p>