More College Help

[Necks_Fan]

So, I'm at a cross roads. I can't decide what I want to do.

Maritime Law(.......-100,000?)/ Medical School (Anesthesiologist)(130,000+)

Obviously the Medical choice would require much more money/time/effort but would make much more on a yearly average and I'm not really digging the aspect of being in the judicial system.

Then again, To be what I want to be,

4 years pre-med (Rice)
4 years medical school (...)
4 years specialized training and multiple Internships
Being "on call" everyday and working long hours.
And a crapload of money to get through all the schooling


So, thats my problem.

[ASUFrisbeeStud]

Originally posted by Necks_Fan
So, I'm at a cross roads. I can't decide what I want to do.

Maritime Law(.......-100,000?)/ Medical School (Anesthesiologist)(130,000+)

Obviously the Medical choice would require much more money/time/effort but would make much more on a yearly average and I'm not really digging the aspect of being in the judicial system.

Then again, To be what I want to be,

4 years pre-med (Rice)
4 years medical school (...)
4 years specialized training and multiple Internships
Being "on call" everyday and working long hours.
And a crapload of money to get through all the schooling


So, thats my problem.


Well this is my opinion based on my experience. I came to ASU in 2002 dead set on going to med school some day. Started out pre-med (Bio major, chem minor), I went and shadowed surgeries, watched doctors, took the MCAT, had the grades and didn't apply. Every doctor I ever talked to told me what to expect and that you have to want it, and I mean want it. It can't be about money, you have to want to do it. Money only motivates you so much. So I'm now going back to school with a B.S. in biology to get my MBA because I work for a financial company right now and with any luck will be an executive in 15 years making as much as most doctors with less stress. I have alot of friends right now in Med school and they love it, I don't think it was for me though. My advice is to make sure it's something you'll love and not worry about the money, the money will come in any profession if you love it.

[Necks_Fan]

Ok, well, I want to be in the med field and I think Anesthesiology is my best bet because I don't want to actually be a surgeon, but is does require a ton of stress and concentration in intense situations so that's why I'm stuck at this point.

The money is not my biggest motivator, but when I'm trying to find out what I want to be obviously I'm going to take into account the yearly salary of each.


I'm still stuck and looking for opinions as to what I should do, also maybe recommendations that I haven't thought about already, maybe other less stressful specialties in the Med field that are not actual surgeons.

I have also thought of looking into being a researcher and dedicating my life to finding cures for diseases (cystic fibrosis/ cancer/ stds, etc.), so idk what to do.

[Old Tiger]

There is little room for error, in fact there is zero room, if you want be an anethesiologist. If you mess up you could get sewed or fired.

[ASUFrisbeeStud]

Originally posted by Necks_Fan
Ok, well, I want to be in the med field and I think Anesthesiology is my best bet because I don't want to actually be a surgeon, but is does require a ton of stress and concentration in intense situations so that's why I'm stuck at this point.

The money is not my biggest motivator, but when I'm trying to find out what I want to be obviously I'm going to take into account the yearly salary of each.


I'm still stuck and looking for opinions as to what I should do, also maybe recommendations that I haven't thought about already, maybe other less stressful specialties in the Med field that are not actual surgeons.

I have also thought of looking into being a researcher and dedicating my life to finding cures for diseases (cystic fibrosis/ cancer/ stds, etc.), so idk what to do.

I play golf with an anesthesiologist, his daughter is a good friend and is in med school at UT in Houston. If you are looking for the quickest turn around for your money in the medical profession then anesthesiology is the way to go. Anestesiologist have the highest suicide rate amongst doctors, just some useless trivia. He loves what he does and makes a ton of money but he also gripes constantly about how he is at the mercy of those primadonna surgeons that show up whenever they want and he is left there waiting for them.

I have a friend that wants to go into pediatric oncology and that definitly takes a special person. Like I said and it's just my opinion but if you are thinking about Law School, I'd go that route. The sister company of the one I work for is one of the top rated collection agencies in the country and from what I've seen lawyers are notorious for not paying back their loans anyways. So maybe you could go to school with some federal money and never pay it back and since you'll be self employeed they can't garnish you.;)

[Necks_Fan]

Originally posted by Go Blue
There is little room for error, in fact there is zero room, if you want be an anethesiologist. If you mess up you could get sewed or fired. Yeah, I have thought about that. A little error could cause major problems and a big error could cost someone their life. Don't think I haven't thought long and hard about that. That's also why I would spend 12 years training, but I'm confident that with that much practice and learning and interning that I wouldn't run into many problems.

Also, I can't go in expecting to be perfect and never mess up but just try to limit the problems I do come across.

[Old Tiger]

Originally posted by Necks_Fan
Yeah, I have thought about that. A little error could cause major problems and a big error could cost someone their life. Don't think I haven't thought long and hard about that. That's also why I would spend 12 years training, but I'm confident that with that much practice and learning and interning that I wouldn't run into many problems.

Also, I can't go in expecting to be perfect and never mess up but just try to limit the problems I do come across. Valid points.

[shankbear]

With my brilliant 20/20 hindsight I would have NEVER gone to law school nor become a lawyer. It sucks. Dig ditches, teach, be a doctor. DO NOT pick the wrong path grasshopper.

[Necks_Fan]

Originally posted by shankbear
With my brilliant 20/20 hindsight I would have NEVER gone to law school nor become a lawyer. It sucks. Dig ditches, teach, be a doctor. DO NOT pick the wrong path grasshopper. Partly why I said I wasn't thrilled at the aspect of being in the Judicial System. Not really what I want to do but it's what my family wants me to do.

Anyway, I think I'm sticking with Med-School and I can always change exactly what I want to do through my first 4 years.

[RMAC]

This is only the my 2nd spring in college, but I would tell you go down the med. route. You'll know VERY fast if it is what you want to do. I say very fast meaning usually by like November, at least that's how it was with me in architecture. I hated it. I changed over to CE and I absolutely love it. Don't worry about the money. You might think, well, look at the 2 fields I've been in, well, yeah, the pay is nice, but they're both pretty high liability just like medical is. Never once did I consider money as a motivating factor in picking a major, it was more like it was staring me in the face and I just didn't want to listen. Now I wonder why I didn't just listen to my father at the beginning. But regardless, go the route that you're sure you want to go, but at the same time, don't be suprised if when you get there it is completely different than what you thought it would be. That's my 2 cents on the whole deal.

[sahen]

Originally posted by ASUFrisbeeStud
Well this is my opinion based on my experience. I came to ASU in 2002 dead set on going to med school some day. Started out pre-med (Bio major, chem minor), I went and shadowed surgeries, watched doctors, took the MCAT, had the grades and didn't apply. Every doctor I ever talked to told me what to expect and that you have to want it, and I mean want it. It can't be about money, you have to want to do it. Money only motivates you so much. So I'm now going back to school with a B.S. in biology to get my MBA because I work for a financial company right now and with any luck will be an executive in 15 years making as much as most doctors with less stress. I have alot of friends right now in Med school and they love it, I don't think it was for me though. My advice is to make sure it's something you'll love and not worry about the money, the money will come in any profession if you love it.

i pretty much had the same experience...if you want to be a doctor you better want it no matter what specialty you choose...for me it was the fact that i couldnt take any more school and i didnt want a job that would take me away from my future family, working 60+ hours a week doesnt work well if you want to be your kids little league coach as well....but good thing is if you go pre-med the more popular majors for that field (biology, chemistry, and my major biochemistry) have a pretty good job market (though u might not get paid well if you do medical research)...so you have some good fall back plans, and you can always go to grad school...

[WOS87]

Speaking from experience as an M.D. who's been out of training and working for 3 years I will tell you that you are setting yourself up for utter misery if you lock yourself into a such a specific career choice when you haven't even graduated high school yet.

I would suggest keeping your options as wide open as possible for as long as you can and expose yourself to as many different fields that you think you may be interested in as you can. You won't have to decide if you really want to go to med school or law school until your 3rd year of college. As far as medicine is concerned, you will have no idea what specialty you will really enjoy (or be good at) until the 3rd year of med school when you would actually be rotating through the various fields first hand. I didn't decide on my specialty until September of my senior year, but when I made the choice I was 100% sure it was what I wanted to do.

I have seen many colleagues crash and burn for setting their sights on being a trauma surgeon or anesthesiologist, or whatever, too early, not leaving any other options open and then find out too late that it is nothing like they had imagined it would be and then be miserable and trapped.

I have interviewed applicants for the med school where I work and one thing that med schools all like to see is someone who is well-rounded with a wide variety of interests and talents and who possesses a certain amount of maturity. If someone comes to an interview stating that they are applying for med school because they have always wanted to be a doctor since they were 3 and that they have not considered doing anything else than that for their whole life, that tends to raise a red flag.

As far as the income is concerned, it doesn't matter what specialty you go into. If you really want to make money, there are ways to make tons of money no matter what field you are in. I'm 38 and I've only been making more money than I've been shelling out for less than 3 years now, and I won't have all my debts from training paid off until some time in 2009 so the income may be enticing at the start, but you have to realize it's a long long road you have to go down before you see any of it.

[BobcatBenny]

Skip college.

Get married to a rich guy and pump out puppies for him.

Lay by the pool.

Stuff Bon Bons into your mouth.

Then when your husband croaks, find a bad boy and blow your dead husbands hard earned money on that slacker!