Pros/Cons, Various Career Pathways

Pre-Med & Medical School Pre-Med Topics
1

<p>Many of the posters here are very knowledgeable about several fields, so I felt this was appropriate. Please list the pros/cons of these fields (e.g. compare compensation, hours, schooling, nature of the work, interaction with the outside world, etc.), and a short explanation of each if possible.</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Physician</p></li>
<li><p>Physician Assistant</p></li>
<li><p>Actuary (any technical field/work done in a cubicle could be substituted for this bullet)</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Context: I am trying to get a broad opinion on this because I view these career paths as a personal trichotomy of sorts. I also feel that it is valid to lump Actuary in with other jobs performed in a cubicle because--while the scope/focus may vary dramatically--these types of jobs typically require very little personal interaction, with the possible exception of fellow coworkers.</p>

<p>This list is by no means exhaustive (i.e. I do not think this represents every possible career path), but if you feel further bullets would be necessary in a fair discussion, please feel free to address that in your response(s).</p>

<p>Thanks in advance.</p>

2

<p>You need to choose what you enjoy. It is misearable to do something that you hate for 8 hours. I have been there, tolerated for 11 years, but had to switch. It was tremendous effort, but I am happy now. I do not think that you approach is correct. It might backfire in a big way.</p>

3

<p>Are you kidding? Being a physician or a physician assistant, unless you’re in radiology or pathology, require that you spend hours and hours of your day talking with patients and their families. If you’re not into that, don’t even consider medicine.</p>

4

<p>Maybe a bit more explanation is in order. I’m not asking anyone to tell me which is better, I’m just asking for a subjective list of the pros/cons, from your perspective.</p>

<p>I do very much enjoy personal interaction, and I enjoy medicine. I enjoy helping people, and I don’t mind long hours. However, I also enjoy a lot of other things. Not all of those things require 4 additional years of school plus residency and beyond. For instance, I obviously enjoy math. There are many things that I can do with this passion, but unfortunately most of those things do not mesh well with my other, more interactive side.</p>

<p>Maybe trichotomy is the wrong word to use. I view those fields as a spectrum, where the far left (Physician) is long hours, lots of school, and personal interaction, and the far right (corporate/technical role) is not so long hours (at least initially), much less school, very little personal interaction (at least initially). PA is a sort of happy medium, although probably closer to the left. All offer the means to make a living.</p>

<p>I personally struggle with rectifying all of my talents/passions, and was hoping to get some insight as to how other intelligent people view these fields. This is why I left it open-ended. There are other careers that may fill in the gaps. I would welcome that sort of advice.</p>

<p>I know people in forums tend to hate long posts (understandably so), so I tried to insight conversation without going into all of that.</p>

<p>FTR, I appreciate your first point MiamiDAP (do not do something that makes you miserable), and this is a notion that I take very seriously. Sometimes it is just difficult to forecast your life in your 20s. However, would you please clarify this part?:</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>What do you mean by this? What is my approach? I am just looking for some personal insight, I will not hinge my life decisions on opinions expressed on the internet. No worries!</p>

5

<p>I’ll be honest…I believe that if you can be happy with a rather minimal interaction with others, then being a physician is probably not the ideal profession for you. It’s just SO different. In a cubicle job of any sort, you’re spending all you time dealing with individuals who are at some minimal required sophistication towards your field. The interactions are with PEERS. Medicine (either as PA or physician) is very much not in that vein. You’re dealing with other physicians, nurses, pharmacists, techs, patients and their families…I’m a pediatrician so that includes kids…it goes without saying that 4 year olds are an entirely different sort (they are they craziest age without a doubt). If I didn’t love talking with people of all sorts people, my job would be miserable.</p>

6

<p>Thanks for your insight Bigredmed. See, what you’re outlining is exactly what I’m missing in my current job. The reason I am where I am is because, logically, it made sense that if I thought I could enjoy another career that required less schooling, I should try it first. What you outlined is exactly what I miss, every day. That is a component to my daily life that is severely lacking–the interaction with the general public.</p>

<p>Which essentially is the point of this thread. Are there ways I can satisfy that desire without going to Medical School? Is PA a worthwhile middle ground? Should I just volunteer for the rest of my life? I do enjoy various aspects of a cubicle job, and I know that being outgoing is generally a good way to transition into more “non-cubicle” type positions later on in the career, it’s just hard to decide at this point whether it will be worth it or not, or whether what’s still missing is too important.</p>

<p>Thank you for moving the discussion forward.</p>