<p>
Yes but let’s try to minimize your exposure and look at risks vs rewards. Banks don’t just give mortgages on a whim; People don’t buy houses willy nilly without inspections.</p>
<p>The risk is you will spend 5-10 years of your life and $20k+ and wind up with nothing. It is a high risk. Even if you do get a job that is decent you will likely be laid off every 5 years or so and have more and more difficulty competing as you get to be 40+. Eventually you may end up in these crap jobs. I currently work at my current contract crap job with a cheese chemist who worked for a major food company for 30 years and was laid off and now he is stuck as a permatemp.</p>
<p>I’m afraid the risk/rewards do not support a science degree.</p>
<p>The reward, you may get a job with an average to a little above average anual salary say $60-70k for at least a while. Big deal. There are many other professions where you could almost be assured of that and then some.</p>
<p>In my lifetime, I’ve seen a time when engineers were being laid off right and left and many couldn’t find jobs for more than a year. Now it seems like kids in college are studying engineering because they think they are sure to get a secure job. When my dh wanted to become a pilot, there were no jobs on the horizon, so he settled for something else. Finally in his mid-30’s (with a wife, 2 young kids, and a mortgage), he decided he had to go for his dream or he’d regret it the rest of his life. During his training there was a pilot shortage. By the time he finished, jobs were hard to come by. For the past few years, due to the economy, many pilots have been laid off and many of his friends can’t find jobs, but there’s a prediction for another pilot shortgage in the coming years. During my school years, I talked myself out of several career paths I would have loved to pursue thinking I’d never be able to actually get a job in those fields. Later I encountered positions open in those fields in areas where I lived - places I hadn’t planned on living, by the way… </p>
<p>So, yes, you definately have to do your research and make your plans with eyes wide open. (Make sure your research is not restricted to this forum!) Decide if you can live with the ‘worst-case’ scenerio. But also realize things can change both ways. There is a lot of truth in the axiom, “study what you love”, because if you’re passionate about it and keep a good attitude, you’ll have no regrets. Take advantage of or make as many opportunities as you can because you never know where they’ll lead. </p>
<p>schoe2, “the risk is you will spend 5-10 years of your life and $20+ and wind up with nothing” applies to just about everything in life. You might spend that time and money pursuing a ‘sure-thing’ career only to someday encounter some drastic, unexpected change in that field. There are no guarantees.</p>
<p>classof12, back to your original topic, have you done any research into careers other than med school for which biology would prepare you? What interests you?</p>
<p>Except from what I have seen science has been bad for the past 20 years at least and has been getting steadily worse to the point where I can now safely advise people to avoid it like the plague.</p>
<p>I have a daughter who is interested in biology as an undergrad, and going on to get a PhD in biology. We met with a friend who is a biology professor at top research university recently, and she really has a good arrangement. She teaches 1 or 2 classes a year, and manages a research lab. While there are obviously a limited number of jobs doing that, it is another avenue for bio majors. As an aside, this prof seemed very thrilled to meet a biology student who wants to study biology and go on to a PhD, instead of a biology major who is just marching through the steps and checking off the boxes on the way to to med school.</p>
<p>The dropout rate for PhD students in the sciences is very high, over 50% at most universities. Among those that do complete their degrees, very few will be on the tenure track unless they graduate from a top ten research university. Even among these, the vast majority will teach at lower tier universities. To get tenure at top research university, you need to be among the very best in the field, have published many original papers and most importantly have been successful at getting major research grants. On top of that you compete with science graduates from universities around the world. Getting a medical degree is a cakewalk compared to that track! If you can hack science, you will more than likely get into medical school, even if it takes a few tries. Virtually all medical students will get into residency and become practicing physicians. The lowest paid physicians typically make more than the highest paid science professors.</p>
<p>Medicine is a cartel and medical sciences are little more than voodoo magic at best and life threatening frauds at worst.</p>
<p>[Landmark</a> study shows common surgical procedures to be worthless; surgeons perform countless unproven surgeries each year](<a href=“The world's top new source on natural health - NaturalNews.com”>Landmark study shows common surgical procedures to be worthless; surgeons perform countless unproven surgeries each year - NaturalNews.com)</p>
<p>[Millions</a> of Dollars Wasted on Useless Cancer Research, Dozens of Studies Invalidated](<a href=“http://www.naturalnews.com/023349_cancer_cancer_research_health.html]Millions”>http://www.naturalnews.com/023349_cancer_cancer_research_health.html)</p>
<p>[How</a> To Perform Fraudulent, Incomplete or Useless Medical Research: 1 Playing the Devil’s Advocate](<a href=“http://dissention.■■■■■■■■■■■■■/2010/11/07/how-to-perform-fraudulent-incomplete-or-useless-medical-research-1/]How”>http://dissention.■■■■■■■■■■■■■/2010/11/07/how-to-perform-fraudulent-incomplete-or-useless-medical-research-1/)</p>
<p>Most life span advances have been due to the efforts of civil/environmental engineers and public health statisticians, not medical science.</p>
<p>yeeeea I’m actually one of those people who is not trying to get into med school</p>
<p>Yep, same here. Planning to go into marine biology, up to a Ph.D. Not entirely sure what I’ll do once I get there, except enjoying smugly correcting people. “Actually, it’s DOCTOR Fullofpop.”</p>
<p>What I decided was that I could major in something ‘safe’ and take a slight gamble (or a huge one-remember all those people who majored in education and went into nursing programs?), or major in the thing I actually enjoyed and still take the gamble. </p>
<p>I enjoy learning for the sake of learning. I like going new places, meeting new people, teaching and discussing. If in ten years I end up with a useless degree and $50,000 in debt and I’m working some $15 an hour job, I’m actually pretty okay with that.</p>
<p>The above is why I can’t go into econ/finance.</p>