Hi(this is going to be a long story lol), I am a computer engineering major in my first year of college. I really like programming because it gives me the opportunity to create anything basically lol, however, recently I am starting to reconsider. My dream is to have my own business, be an entrepreneur. I know you don’t need a college degree to do that but it’s always a good backup to have. I am starting to consider what I want to do after undergrad, originally I wanted to go into an MBA program. This is where my issues start. To get into a top MBA school (HBS, etc…) you need 2 years of work experience. So you can say that’s basically 4 years of “schooling” to get an MBA (2 years working + 2 years business school). With that in mind, I am now thinking about medical school (my original plan in high school), I am thinking about med school now because most importantly I am genuinely interested in medicine and because I notice some medical schools offer an MD/MBA program where you can get an MD and MBA within 4-5 years then residency. Now I know medical school is really hard to get into which is my concern. I still want to study computer science but also be able to apply to top medical schools as well as graduate programs (if medical school doesn’t work out), however deep down inside I am an entrepreneur, my only fear in life is being stuck working for someone and not doing things for myself(I know its a pretty ridiculous fear but I can’t imagine myself working a 9-5). My issue is that I am interested in a lot of areas those being programming, medicine, engineering, and business. I don’t suppose there is a major that combines all of these areas so that’s why I’m very confused as to what to do. And on top of that my current college doesn’t allow me to double major which is driving me crazy lol, I’m applying as a transfer to NYU, so hopefully, that works out because it will give me better opportunities. Any advice is welcome. Thank You.
How about biomedical engineering?
You might consider arranging a meeting with the career center and getting advice there.
Sigh. I know your transfer apps are in, so let it play out for now. If one of them works out, off you go.
Otherwise…
It’s not about the major- a major, or 2, is just a subject concentration, it isn’t what you do.
There are a lot of life paths at the intersection of those fields, and the way that you get there is by following your genuine interests.
So, you are a computer engineering person with a serious interest in medicine. Is your interest in medicine getting to wear a white coat, do primary patient care, have people call you “Dr” and pay you lots of money? or is it solving health problems?
If it is the latter, look for summer internships (such as REUs) where you can work on computer engineering for medical devices, for imaging, for computer-assisted surgery, etc.etc.etc. For example, this year IU Bloomington and DePaul had computer engineering & IS internships for Medical Informatics, CMU had one for Medical Robots, Rutgers and Vanderbilt had ones for biomedical applications, etc**. Those are paid summer internships where you can develop expertise and see what aspects of that field are most interesting to you: the computer engineering side, where you can create things? the medical side, where you can solve problems for the greater good of people? the business side, where you spin off your own company and commercialize your discovery? It’s not an either/or- it can be all of them: many people start in the engineering end of a field, and over time migrate to the business side.
But it starts by focusing on something that is genuinely interesting to you and following that path. Trying to transfer now, when you don’t know what you want, is putting the cart before the horse. Your only metric for choosing places to transfer seems to be whose sweatshirts you aspire to- but it’s what you do after you get the sweatshirt that will determine what happens next.
Does your college have any "maker spaces’ where you could invent things? Do they have any entreprenuership help that goes with that?
For example, Case Western Reserve University has the “think [box]”
Sears think[box], a center for innovation and entrepreneurship, bridges the gap between new ideas and real-world impact. Located at Case Western Reserve University, whose alumni include Gmail creator Paul Buchheit, Craig Newmark, the Craig behind Craigslist, and Andrew Witte, inventor of the Pebble watch—this iconic seven-story, 50,000-square-foot facility features a world-renowned makerspace for prototyping ideas as well as a full spectrum of resources for entrepreneurs to build and grow their business ventures and not-for-profit organizations. Uniquely, this space is free and open to the public and serves as a nexus for collaborations from science and engineering, business and law, art and design, by innovators from around the world.
they also have help in launching a business: http://engineering.case.edu/sears-thinkbox/use/launch