So I have always wanted to go to med school, but now that I’ve grown up a bit, I recognize its hard to get into, and I only have a 2150sat and 4.0 wgpa so I’m not certain whether or not I have what it takes. So I am looking for a major/s in which I will be prepared for med school, or able to make $400k+ at half career point. Sounds shallow I know, but financial success and independence is very important to me. Im great at math and physics and to a lesser extent chem and biological sciences. I was wondering if i should major in math and try to become like a hedge fund guy or something??? Or maybe Math + chemical engineering or Math+biomedical engineering? I figure many classes overlap, so the double major would be to crazy. I can enjoy any of the sciences or basically all STEM things, but I really want to be a neurosurgeon. I also want to make atleast $400k at the half career point. Any help is appreciated.
If math is your favorite subject, then you can major in math and add the pre-med courses alongside (no specific major is needed to do pre-med).
$400,000 per year is at the optimistic upper end of MD pay. But you won’t be making that until after college, medical school, and residency at least. And you will be paying off nearly that much in medical school debt for the first decade or few of your medical career. So the financial rewards are likely to be a lot lower than you think.
Math with suitable electives (economics, statistics, computer science, etc.) may help you aim for quantitative finance and similar jobs that are also well paid. If you like designing things, there are various kinds of engineering. If you like designing process, logistics, etc., there is industrial engineering.
thanks. I appreciate your frank honesty about this. Is it realistic to get a very good job in wall street or as a financial consultant or something with a math degree? I’d like to do math to determine how to invest to ensure profit etc.
A mid career $400,000 salary is very rare. Certainly it is possible, but just not common, not for doctors, lawyers, engineers or bankers. Not for anyone, especially with just an undergraduate degree. For every person that does make that much, there are hundreds if not thousands with the same qualifications toiling away for far less money.
I never mentioned only an undergrad degree. And I personally know a neurosurgeon that makes 1.2M$, and an orthopedic surgeon that makes about 600k$ a year, very customary for private hospitals in mid atlantic
Well, I mean, “I did it for the money” is really compelling on your med school application.
If you’re only looking to make money and money is your main priority, then do not consider medicine.
That’s my point exactly, there are people out there that make those numbers. The odds are just stacked against you replicating it. They are outliers in their respective fields.
To all 3 of you, Im not doing it purely for the money, but if I can be in a stem field that makes a lot of money as opposed to not very much, I will choose the one that makes more, as I can enjoy any STEM job.
If you want to be a doctor, major in biology. Dont major in engineering (which is going to be a lot more difficult of a BS than biology) and end up with too low of a GPA to get into med school. Math majors, if you go applied, can make good money in finance, if you graduate from an Ivy league (or a school with an extremely reputable program) with a good GPA.
Do not major in biomedical as an undergrad, its too broad of a BS, and typically requires graduate schooling before you can get into industry.
If you really want to make money get a BA in business and then go on to your MBA, etc.
No one tells you this but if you want money, then you go into business.