Time to switch it up a bit

Pre-Med & Medical School Careers in Medicine
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<p>Hey guys i need a lot of help...
As of right now im a computer engineering major with a minor in business leadership. I HATE computer engineering, business is ok i guess. I am a sophomore at Virginia Tech currently (1st semester) with a comm GPA of 3.0 flat. </p>

<p>My dad is making me do computer engineering (i know i should do what i love blah blah blah, dont let parents decide for me i know you dont need to tell me). i REALLY want to do medicine, so yes that is what i want to do. BUT now i fear it is too late and my GPA is not high enough to get into a good med school. </p>

<p>For a second i really thought "wow i would LOVE to be a plastic surgeon," but then i looked on the internet and saw how impossible it is to become one (please dont tell me that i can do anything if i put my mind to it, lets be realistic). Basically i need to make an argument with my dad, to tell him, hey i really cant do this engineering BS, i want to do medicine because of X, Y, Z. But what is X, Y, Z? How can i achieve X, Y, Z? the main argument he gives is that i can graduate in 4-5 yrs in comp engineering and get a good salary and everythings great. i would rather do ANYTHING in medicine than do computer engineering. So basically what i am asking is what field can i go into in medicine and get out of it really quickly (in general med terms), and also can i get into this if i have a comm GPA of 3.0, i am not an overachiever, and i also go to virginia tech (not exactly a pre-med school), and i'm also a sophomore in a engineering curriculum. </p>

<p>PLEASE SAVE MY LIFE...sorry for the long post.</p>

<p>thank you!</p>

2

<p>It's not too late, but you are behind. And you're GPA is low to start, but that's something you can overcome in two ways 1) it's assumption, but if you are doing what you want, you'll probably do better in those classes 2) It's something you can explain in your interviews - tell your interviews why your grades are low and how you had to change your major, etc.</p>

<p>As for your dad...that's going to be on you. You know what types of things are going to make an impact on him (and what he considers a good salary). The biggest thing though is there are a lot of people who apply to medical school and dont' get in, even on thier second and third applications. IF you can get in, then being a doctor is virtually assured, and you'll have a lot higher salary than any computer engineer. But you still have to get in...that's probably going to be a tough sell. </p>

<p>Now there are other options like Physician's Assistant school, which usually follow medical school curriculums pretty closely, but the schooling is only about two to three years (usually less than 30 months) with no residency, less debt, and less competitive admissions standards. </p>

<p>As for fields other than plastics...Internal medicine, pediatrics, family practice and emergency medicine, are all 3 year residencies, and not too terribly difficult to get into. Any sort of specialty (ie Cardiology, Pulmonolgy, Allergy, Hematology/Ocology, etc) is going to be another 3 years of fellowship after either internal medicine or pediatrics (Emergency has it's own set of specialties like peds, or toxicology). Really though, nothing is that quick out of medicine. No matter what it's going to be 4 years of med school followed by 3-7 years of residency (1st year residents, today, make about 44k depending on the hospital, with annual raises of approximately 3k)</p>

<p>lastly, if this is what you really want to do, then do it. Unless your parents flat out refuse to pay a dime if you change your major, it's your life and you need to do what will make you happy. </p>

<p>Edited to Add: One option is to complete your pre-med stuff while still doing the computers...might take you a while to graduate, but could be enough to appease your dad.</p>

3

<p>From a raw, self-interested, financial perspective:</p>

<p>Being a computer engineer may be a good career for a while, but engineering in general is not a stable job (often get laid off at middle age to make room for younger, more recently trained engineers). Imagine how high the turnover is going to be in computer science!</p>

<p>The only way to make a stable career in engineering is to move into management, which is by no means a guarantee (an MBA is often considered helpful).</p>