Genetic counseling

[bellaburgundy]

Hey everyone… So I come from a typical south Asian background where I’ve wanted to be a doctor my entire life. However, now I am much more interested in genetic counseling. Everything about it appeals to me except for two things-the salary and job opportunities. Unfortunately these are two very important things to consider. Also I’ve always been a high achiever and my parents are worried that I will be selling myself short and I kind of understand. I have the potential to do very well in medical school but my heart wants genetic counseling. Any advice from anyone who has been there before? I would really aprreciate it

[WayOutWestMom]

There are a tiny number of medical genetics residencies for MDs/DOs (<20 positions annually) as well as small number of post-residency fellowships in medical genetics

http://www.abmgg.org/pages/training_accredprog.shtml

http://www.nrmp.org/fellowships/medical-genetics-match/

http://www.nrmp.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Main-Match-Results-and-Data-2015_final.pdf

I’m not sure how robust the job market is for board certified medical geneticists is since few programs outside of academic medical centers hire them. Many positions appear to require a PhD as well as MD/DO.

I suggest you do a cost-benefit analysis of both careers--genetic counselor and MD. Consider the cost of training and the debt you'll incur, the length of training (opportunity lost costs you since you'll be earning a salary as a genetic counselor long before you've finished a medical residency or residency + fellowship)  and the potential job markets

Two other pieces of advice:

1) you don't need to choose a career right now. You have all of college to decide. And you can change your mind at a any time--even well after graduation. Even if you've worked as a genetics counselor for several years you can still go to med school.

2) if you can see yourself being happy in any career other than a physician--choose the other career

[i_wanna_be_Brown]

I’m not the most informed on this, but I would imagine that the field of genetic counseling will grow as the amount of genetic testing in medicine grows.

[bellaburgundy]

Well for a genetic counselor its just a masters degree…I think you need the MD for a clinical geneticist.
By the age of 30 I will have a much more comfortable life as a genetic counselor but by age 40 and depending on if I have kids etc I would be much more comfortable with a doctors salary. This makes my decision even harder escpeically with how many unknown factors apply

[JustOneDad]

Medical Genetics is typically a research position. That explains the MD/PhD.

Genetic Counseling is the Master’s degree (non-MD).

[i_wanna_be_Brown]

By the age of 30 I will have a much more comfortable life as a genetic counselor but by age 40 and depending on if I have kids etc I would be much more comfortable with a doctors salary.

You sure about that? Investing/compound interest is pretty remarkable.
http://www.daveramsey.com/blog/how-teens-can-become-millionaires/
Remember, genetic counseling is just a 2 year masters, in contrast to the 4 years of medical school plus 3-7+ years of training at a salary that is below the median for GCs.

That lost decade of work costs a cool half-million dollars, if you assume this individual could have earned just $50,000 annually, and the typical medical school candidate is smart and successful enough to earn considerably more. Add in the time and cost it takes to pay off medical school debt and a dissatisfied physician may well consider pursuing medicine a $1 million mistake. (This assumes the average $166,750 medical school debt takes 30 years to repay at 7.5 percent interest – a total cost of $419,738.)

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/1-million-mistake-becoming-a-doctor/

Some thoughts on what that “doctor’s salary” looks like in comparison to 70k/year. Also keep in mind, GCs work fewer hours per week than MDs: http://www.er-doctor.com/doctor_income.html

AND THE ONE AND ONLY REASON WHY YOU SHOULD GO INTO MEDICINE:

You have only ever envisioned yourself as a doctor and can only derive professional fulfillment in life by taking care of sick people.*

There’s really no other reason, and lord knows the world needs docs. Prestige, money, job security, making mom happy, proving something, can’t think of anything else to do, better than being a lawyer, etc are all incredibly bad reasons for becoming a doc.

http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/abinazir/2005/05/23/why-you-should-not-go-to-medical-school-a-gleefully-biased-rant/

Now I wouldn’t post all these doom and gloom med school articles if you weren’t telling me you’d rather do something else, but if, as you say, the only things stopping you from pursuing GC are salary and “job opportunities” then I absolutely think you’d be making a mistake to pursue an MD.

[bellaburgundy]

Thank you! This was very helpful

[i_wanna_be_Brown]

Also, a very quick google search revealed this (emphasis added): http://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/genetic-counselors.htm#tab-6

Employment of genetic counselors is projected to grow 41 percent from 2012 to 2022, much faster than the average for all occupations. However, because it is a small occupation, the fast growth will result in only about 900 new jobs over the 10-year period. Ongoing technological innovations, including lab tests and developments in genomics, are giving counselors the opportunities to conduct more types of analyses. Cancer genomics, for example, can determine a patient’s risk for specific types of cancer. The number and types of tests that genetic counselors can administer and interpret has increased over the past few years.

Most growth over the next 10 years for genetic counselors is expected to be in hospitals.