Psychiatry, Law or Finance

Career Opportunities & Internships
1

<p>I will be a sophomore this upcoming year @ Penn State. I have plans to go to grad school @ Stanford or Columbia (I know, long shot). Problem is,
I am stuck between wanting to be a Psychiatrist/Lawyer/Broker. I am a Business/Finance Major. From what I seen throughout my research, it would
be tough but, possible to be in position to do any of the 3.</p>

<p>To Attend Med School:
Undergrad Major doesnt matter
Only Requirements:
Biology - 1 year
Chemistry & Organic Chemistry - 2 years
Physics - 1 year
Calculus (included in business curriculum) - 1 year
Writing (general studies, core curriculum) - 1 year
MCATs</p>

<p>To Attend Law School:
Undergrad Major doesnt matter
Pray to God/Buddha/Moses I ace the LSATs</p>

<p>To Attend Business School:
My Undergrad Major is Business/Finance
Get Good scores on GMATs</p>

<p>I was insistent to Major in Business as it is where I am most confident and comfortable. But, I still have questions.</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Would it be feasible for me to major in Business & still have the flexibility to choose any of the 3 pathways
as I finish Undergrad????</p></li>
<li><p>Out of Psychiatry/Law/Finance.....in your opinion what career would be the most rewarding?????</p></li>
</ol>

<p>I know you dont know me but, I would greatly appreciate the feedback.
Thanks</p>

2

<p>thank you man…i appreciate that</p>

3

<p>I would suggest looking into exactly what medical or law school entails. A lot of kids think they want to go and then are completely blown away when they find out what these programs actually entail. If your school has a medical or law school within it email the professors and ask permission to sit in on a few classes. This will definitely give you an idea of what the programs are actually like. As far as law, talk to a few lawyers. What people think lawyers do and what they actually do are two very very very very different things. </p>

<p>Ultimately, go with what interests you the most. If you love the law go into law, if medicine fascinates you, pursue psychology etc. etc.</p>

4

<p>From the three choices given, all are potentially financially and professionally fulfilling paths. They are all also remarkably competitive and difficult fields to pursue, but given the right education, proper guidance, and-more than anything-the dedication, you could be successful in any. I’ll give some words of advice about each:</p>

<p>Finance: This sounds like the one that you are (as of now) most prepared for. I do not know very much about Finance since I’ve never considered it as a career, but if it truly interests you, and not just for the money since that is not always guaranteed, then this could be a good choice</p>

<p>Law: Being a lawyer (in my opinion) is a very challenging career. There are no specific prereqs so any major is possible, as long as you “ace the LSATS” as you said. Law school is only 3 years, and after that you take the bar and pick a field to practice in. I find that it helps to read not only the positives about a potential career path, but also the negative aspects. I was considering law but then I read things like this [Law</a> and Letters: Why you shouldn’t go to law school.<a href=“Disclaimer:%20I’m%20not%20easily%20susceptible%20to%20what%20people%20say,%20and%20I’m%20not%20timid%20about%20hard%20work,%20but%20I%20realized%20that%20a%20lot%20of%20my%20attraction%20to%20law%20was%20misguided%20and%20too%20naive.%20That%20wasn’t%20going%20to%20get%20me%20anywhere%20in%20the%20field%20so%20I%20backed%20away%20and%20kept%20looking%20for%20something%20I%20would%20be%20more%20interested%20in.”>/url</a> Lawyers also have the highest divorce, substance abuse, and suicide rates (I believe) of any profession. Also on the list? See next section…</p>

<p>Psychiatry (yes, I know): If I had to make a list, this would probably be the last one. You’re a quarter of the way into your undergraduate college career and pre-med requires LOTS of undergrad preparation. These are difficult classes across the board, even if you have an aptitude for science and math. Keep in mind that most pre-med students take their MCATs sometime during their junior year or at least during the beginning of senior years. Most take off a year while they wait for responses from med schools. The applicants (usually) go to other countries to work with the underprivileged, do considerable scientific research, and become EMTs/Paramedics/Phlebotomists/CNAs or even Physician Assistants BEFORE even applying. Even then, out of all med school applicants (those who are intelligent enough to complete premed prereqs including the killer ochem), only 50% get into at least one of the schools they apply to. That means 1 out of 2 applicants get in NOWHERE, regardless of how many safeties they had. I’ve heard of 4.0 people getting accepted nowhere, even the tier 3 schools, so it’s not as easy as getting into college as an undergrad. It’s killer. You need 110% commitment to becoming a doctor. Some re-apply two or three times if they don’t get in the first time. I was considering a career in medicine and I know quite a few doctors and premed kids and believe me it is tough as hell. If you’re lucky enough to even get into med school, that’s still the relatively easy part according to many. You should read up on residency sometime, which is what med school graduates need to complete before they can legally practice in the US. If you plan to specialize beyond general practitioner, which you do, you need to complete psychiatry residency so you’ll spend an additional 4 years after med school doing MORE work and learning. That’s a total of 12 years after high school before you can even start your “job.” I know this sounds incredibly pessimistic, but the point is it is reality, and if after all of this you still want to pursue psychiatry, then by all means go for it. It is intimidating, but being a doctor can be very very rewarding, if helping people is your biggest passion in life and you cannot imagine anything else you’d rather be doing (this is IMPORTANT. make sure you want it more than absolutely anything in the world. volunteering helps!) For these people, it is not so much a choice as it is a necessity-they MUST be doctors. If you still want further literature, read this [url=<a href=“Loading...”>http://www.medschoolhell.com/]Med</a> School Hell](<a href=“http://lawandletters.blogspot.com/2007/11/why-you-shouldnt-go-to-law-school.html]Law”>Law and Letters: Why you shouldn't go to law school.) It will change your opinion about the medical profession forever haha :slight_smile: hint: read this [101</a> Things You Wish You Knew Before Starting Medical School : Med School Hell](<a href=“Loading...”>http://www.medschoolhell.com/2007/04/24/101-things-you-wish-you-knew-before-starting-medical-school/)</p>

<p>anyway, I hope this put some things in to perspective and I wish you the best of luck!</p>

5

<p>From the three choices given, all are potentially financially and professionally fulfilling paths. They are all also remarkably competitive and difficult fields to pursue, but given the right education, proper guidance, and-more than anything-the dedication, you could be successful in any. I’ll give some words of advice about each:</p>

<p>Finance: This sounds like the one that you are (as of now) most prepared for. I do not know very much about Finance since I’ve never considered it as a career, but if it truly interests you, and not just for the money since that is not always guaranteed, then this could be a good choice</p>

<p>Law: Being a lawyer (in my opinion) is a very challenging career. There are no specific prereqs so any major is possible, as long as you “ace the LSATS” as you said. Law school is only 3 years, and after that you take the bar and pick a field to practice in. I find that it helps to read not only the positives about a potential career path, but also the negative aspects. I was considering law but then I read things like this [Law</a> and Letters: Why you shouldn’t go to law school.<a href=“Disclaimer:%20I’m%20not%20easily%20susceptible%20to%20what%20people%20say,%20and%20I’m%20not%20timid%20about%20hard%20work,%20but%20I%20realized%20that%20a%20lot%20of%20my%20attraction%20to%20law%20was%20misguided%20and%20too%20naive.%20That%20wasn’t%20going%20to%20get%20me%20anywhere%20in%20the%20field%20so%20I%20backed%20away%20and%20kept%20looking%20for%20something%20I%20would%20be%20more%20interested%20in.”>/url</a> Lawyers also have the highest divorce, substance abuse, and suicide rates (I believe) of any profession. Also on the list? See next section…</p>

<p>Psychiatry (yes, I know): If I had to make a list, this would probably be the last one. You’re a quarter of the way into your undergraduate college career and pre-med requires LOTS of undergrad preparation. These are difficult classes across the board, even if you have an aptitude for science and math. Keep in mind that most pre-med students take their MCATs sometime during their junior year or at least during the beginning of senior years. Most take off a year while they wait for responses from med schools. The applicants (usually) go to other countries to work with the underprivileged, do considerable scientific research, and become EMTs/Paramedics/Phlebotomists/CNAs or even Physician Assistants BEFORE even applying. Even then, out of all med school applicants (those who are intelligent enough to complete premed prereqs including the killer ochem), only 50% get into at least one of the schools they apply to. That means 1 out of 2 applicants get in NOWHERE, regardless of how many safeties they had. I’ve heard of 4.0 people getting accepted nowhere, even the tier 3 schools, so it’s not as easy as getting into college as an undergrad. It’s killer. You need 110% commitment to becoming a doctor. Some re-apply two or three times if they don’t get in the first time. I was considering a career in medicine and I know quite a few doctors and premed kids and believe me it is tough as hell. If you’re lucky enough to even get into med school, that’s still the relatively easy part according to many. You should read up on residency sometime, which is what med school graduates need to complete before they can legally practice in the US. If you plan to specialize beyond general practitioner, which you do, you need to complete psychiatry residency so you’ll spend an additional 4 years after med school doing MORE work and learning. That’s a total of 12 years after high school before you can even start your “job.” I know this sounds incredibly pessimistic, but the point is it is reality, and if after all of this you still want to pursue psychiatry, then by all means go for it. It is intimidating, but being a doctor can be very very rewarding, if helping people is your biggest passion in life and you cannot imagine anything else you’d rather be doing (this is IMPORTANT. make sure you want it more than absolutely anything in the world. volunteering helps!) For these people, it is not so much a choice as it is a necessity-they MUST be doctors. If you still want further literature, read this [url=<a href=“Loading...”>http://www.medschoolhell.com/]Med</a> School Hell](<a href=“http://lawandletters.blogspot.com/2007/11/why-you-shouldnt-go-to-law-school.html]Law”>Law and Letters: Why you shouldn't go to law school.) It will change your opinion about the medical profession forever haha :slight_smile: hint: read this [101</a> Things You Wish You Knew Before Starting Medical School : Med School Hell](<a href=“Loading...”>http://www.medschoolhell.com/2007/04/24/101-things-you-wish-you-knew-before-starting-medical-school/)</p>

<p>anyway, I hope this put some things in to perspective and I wish you the best of luck!</p>

6

<p>Wow. You’re just like me!! I’m trying to decide among these three as well.</p>

7

<p>Also what is the difference between markets and banking?</p>

8

<p>Sometimes people really should do at least a little bit of research before asking to get carried by other people on a forum.</p>

<p>These three career paths have almost nothing in common.</p>

9

<p>If you had done a bit of research on your own, you would have found that worthwhile MBA programs practically require 5ish years of work experience. In other words, you will be choosing between law school, med school, and work (as opposed to business school). </p>

<p>If you go with business, consider your first job an extension of your education. You won’t be as concerned with salary as you will be with the prestige of your company, because work experience is a huge part of your application. Yeah, business school only takes 2 years, but by the time you’re making comparable money to a good doctor or lawyer, you’ll have put in your time.</p>

<p>Also, as the previous poster noted, these careers are pretty different. You may seriously want to consider how well you like each of them a bit more.</p>

10

<p>Psychiatry, law, or finance. Soo…you’re basically interested in money?</p>

11

<p>Yes, you can do all the finance major and still go the law or med pathway. For law you just need gpa and lsat. For med you’d need pre reqs, gpa, mcat, volunteer, research, and maybe save a few babies in africa or cure aids (i tease, i tease). Anyway, gpa is important, make sure if you do med that you don’t hurt the gpa by overloading yoruself. Med school is a little forgiving in gpa as you can get in with about a 3.4 if your mcat is high and you volunteer and do research. However, law school pretty much comes down to how high your gpa can get and how high you can get that lsat. There are a lot of law schools in the US, so name of law school matters more than name of med school. Personally, medicine would probably be the most rewarding career out of the three, but to each his own. You have plenty of time to explore.</p>

12

<p>Im also juggling the decision between going into law and or getting an MBA.</p>

13

<p>

</p>

<p>That’s not fair. If all you care about is money you CERTAINLY don’t say, “I think I’ll become a Psychiatrist”. There’s so much damn school involved that you’re not even STARTING to make money until your into your 30s. Maybe slightly accurate with law, but again, law school is a big commitment and you don’t just go into it for “money”. Finance, sure. A lot of people go into finance because they want to make money. But a lot a truly interested in financial markets/applied economics.</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>Haha, you and 20% of undergrads (<- made that up, but is obviously a very common “dilemma”)</p>

<p>Allllright, on to the OP’s question: Some very good things have been said thus far. What you need to do is do a lot of research about each of the professions you are considering. I can tell that, at this point, you have not done enough. You really need to figure out which profession you would love, because if you find out you don’t want to be a lawyer or a psychiatrist, you probably will have wasted a certain amount of time/money pursuing that career. A broker, not so much - not much of an investment. You definitely don’t need an MBA to be a simple broker. Like, a broker? Seriously? Vs. a lawyer or a psychiatrist?!?!?! A lawyer and a psychiatrist are pretty different, but a broker is so far away from those two in terms of intellectual stimulation/challenge/prestige. I think you need to read about what a “broker” actually does. I think you might be confused with what that simple job entails. Had you said Psychiatrist/Lawyer/Investment Banker, I wouldn’t bring this objection up. Those three professions are highly sought after, but broker? I think you get the point. Point is, do your research. No one can tell you which path would be more rewarding for YOU. It depends on what YOU want to do (which is where the research comes in). What speaking with people will do, however, is teach you more about each path. Questions inquiring about the details of each path should be what you’re asking, not which to choose.</p>

<p>Buttttttttttt, all else equal, psychiatry would probably be most rewarding, lol. (Much higher probability you’re actually helping someone, and I mean really helping someone, than as a lawyer or financier. But then again, it depends on what you mean by rewarding.)</p>

14

<p>Psychiatry is not a particularly well-compensated medical specialty.</p>

15

<p>Psychiatry is for looneys.</p>