I have been pretty undecided overall as I am a senior and already applying to some schools like a couple of Sunny’s and CUNY’s (closest I can get since parents won’t let me leave for college unless I had good scholarships)and a few universities that are close by too. My mom has been pretty much making me go for Nursing since she is one and my dad wants me in the health field in general since he is a chemist himself and it is the most growing market
I’m not too much of a people person being more of an introvert, but I can still work with people. I’m not too bad in math, but with science, i struggled with it during middle school and freshman year but started to get chemistry and physics better because of great teachers at my school. All I’m saying is it doesn’t come as natural, so I have to work much harder to get it.
With major choices, I was looking at perhaps doing physical therapy or pharmacy. I am aware there is a program at SJU for PA and going to apply there. If that does work I am willing to work hard for that. If not accepted, I am probably going to chose to major in biology/chem for now.
I always seemed to be more interested in more psychology topics but majoring in that for me is a not likely.
I know I’m still young and have time to change, but is there any advice regarding this plan? Is it still worth it to give it a shot or not?
Sounds like you need some time to understand what the different careers opportunities are in health care. Psychology requires a doctoral level degree to practice (PhD or PsyD). With a masters degree you can qualify as a therapist. Nursing, physical therapy and pharmacy have their own distinct colleges.
Why not consider doing some volunteer work in healthcare and then see what you like the best?
I’m volunteering at my local hospital in the nursing unit. I’m really just helping with some supplies in the rooms or asking what patients need and reporting it the nurses.
If you’re already volunteering at a local hospital and that volunteer job has you talking to actual nurses on a pretty regular basis, then you are in the perfect situation to be able to ask them some questions about what it’s REALLY like working as a nurse.
What I’m talking about is an Informational Interview. But it doesn’t have to be formal. Just ask them a few questions like the following:
What is your favorite part of nursing?
Why did you decide to become a nurse?
Is there anything that you don't like about the job?
(or another way to reword the question above) If you could change anything about your job, what would it be?
What advice would you have for somebody who is considering a career in nursing?
So technically speaking, this is true. But on a practical level, if what you want to do is talk therapy with clients, you can do that perfectly well with a master’s degree (in mental health counseling or in social work). They get paid less than psychologists generally speaking but you can have a comfortable middle-class salary and life with a master’s and license to practice therapy.
Nursing is pretty intense. You have to really have the heart and personality for nursing; it’s not really a field to just “go into” because of the money or the stability. There are lots of other jobs in the allied health fields that you can do. There are also lots of other fields that are growing rapidly and have good job prospects besides health.
St. John’s is phasing that PA program out. All of the few remaining bachelor’s programs for PA are being turned into master’s programs because of new licensing and accreditation requirements. So if you wanted to be a PA, you’d have to get a bachelor’s degree first, complete the prerequisites (including at least 1,000 hours of direct patient care experience - shadowing doesn’t count), and then apply to a master’s program in PA.
Some of the SUNY and CUNY schools also have public health majors, so that’s something to look into as well. If you like math, epidemiology and biostatistics are both math-related areas within public health that have decent job prospects.