What does it take to graduate in med-related studies?

[pekau7]

First of all, I never visited med-related forum... and it was recommended from my acquaintance. I am in grade 12 in Alberta.

 

Because I want to finish post secondary education as soon as possible, I am trying to make the final decision before going into any universities. I can’t afford to finish med, but I can afford to get pharmacy degree. I hear that pharmacy is a stable job with decent pay, and it doesn’t require as much money and time as becoming a doctor.

 

Here’s my dilemma. I want to become pharmacist, but my passion lies in history. In my 11th grade as a full IB-student, I was far ahead of my history teacher. (Probably because he used to be part of Quebec resistance movement… no offense…) And if not for the crappy pay, I would have pursued history in my future university. Chemistry and biology, in another hand, are not as interesting as history from my humble opinion… but I still am interested in it. I used to get decent mark, and still do in my regular classes. (Average gets super-high when you drop IB courses to get normal courses…) I don’t mind science and math courses.

 

I know a lot of people say that med-related studies are difficult when you are just doing it for money, but if you have some interest… is it still a realistic goal to become pharmacist? My high school marks easily meet the requirement for any faculty of science (Minimum requirement is like 70%, for heaven’s sake), but I am not so sure about Faculty of Pharmacy. The average is between 3.7 – 4.0 GPA, and they accept 130 kids from any universities!

 

So I just want to understand what’s like to study for med-related studies, from the first year. I sleep a lot, procrastinate and really addicted to games. According to the rumor, (which I was told not to listen to them…) first year is even easier than high school because there’s less lecture time… but I don’t know what to believe anymore. Opinions are all divided… so I want to hear opinions from people who are actually in med-related studies.

 

Any comments, advice, info or anything that will help me to understand life as a med student will be most appreciated.

 

- From an uncertain and desparte high school student....

 

 

PS: Nearly forgot, how easy is it to get A or A+ in classes needed for med-related subjects in general? Is it super-jump from getting 90s in high school marks?

[gogopogo]

... A humble suggestion.

 

Why do you want to be a doctor/pharmacist? It seems that you don't really, you want to be a historian, etc. or something of the ilk. So why be something you aren't interested in?

Do not pursue medicine or pharmacy because they are potentially good paying jobs. There are very good reasons why those people are paid so much (i.e. they have to slave their asses off for a long time) but the pay is a long long way off from the start.

Do what you love, and love what you do = road to happiness

[Guest begaster]

Do history, bud. Work hard at it and you can end up with a PhD and a position as a professor/researcher, making as much as a pharmacist and doing something you love.

 

Though, really, just enter as undecided (or enter whatever stream will give you the most scholarship funding). Changing a major in university, as long as you're not on academic probation, is no sweat. Use your first year to take a mishmash of courses and see what you like, dislike, and love. Then focus on the third one.

[Shiranai]

Hi--I understand where you are coming from. Considerations in terms of job viability are crucial. For example, if we knew that only 10% of doctors could get jobs, would we go into this area even if we loved it? It is likely that the percentages are even lower for historians finding a career.

 

However, I do not see why you have to restrict yourself to a med-related career. There are millions of other things out there, including running a business and other things. I remember meeting an engineer who was really interested in history but decided to go in the former direction because of the stability. Find a mentor whose interests are similar to yours and see which way they have gone. You will be amazed at what they can offer you.

 

Like anybody knows, before you run a business, there is something called a feasibility study. Does it make sense? Yes--I know that there is the phrase of high risk, high reward. And even though financial compensation is not the prime consideration--I can safely say that financial compensation (and stability) are important factors of job satisfaction. And it doesn't hurt to pave a career path first before doing something else--many people go through a career change sometime in their life.

[NLengr]

In my opinion it's easier to work something you like that pays the bills (business, engineering, nursing etc.), and do the history (music, art etc.) thing on the side, than it is to try and do the History thing full time and make money on the side.

 

You can try and go the PhD in history route, but it is hard. There are lots of people trying to do it, and few Masters, let alone PhD, spots. On top of that, universities are hiring less and less full time faculty, and relying on part time non tenured profs who get paid very poorly compared to tenured profs. It's a very hard route to go.

 

Lots of professionals have side hobbies involving the arts and humanities. They have the advantages of being able to bring home a good paycheck, and still do what they love. Plus, on the outside chance that you become a famous history writer, then you can always quit your day job and write full time.

[Jochi1543]

You could probably do some sort of public policy/government work with a history degree. You'd probably benefit from talking to professors in the history department about the career options. They can tell you about academia, and the department should have a record of what their graduates have gone on to do.

[NLengr]

You could probably do some sort of public policy/government work with a history degree.

 

You'd need at least a masters in something related (international relations, MBA etc.) in order to get anywhere with it though.

 

A BA might get you a lacky job pushing peoples passport applications around, but you'd need to pull in more education to go up from there.

[ploughboy]

Ever considered law school? When you think about it, a history BA is great training for law -- you learn to take a bunch of disparate facts and weave them into a coherent argument while ignoring the ones that you can't shoe-horn in to fit with your thesis.

 

Though I guess if you want to minimize your time in post-secondary (why?) then law school might not be appealing.

[rogerroger]

If medicine isn't your main academic love you won't survive. Sounds harsh, but there are so many hoops you have to jump through that it just isn't worth it unless 150% of your heart is into it.

 

Premedical studies and medicine itself are very much a "life style" as much as areas of study and careers etc.

 

As someone interviewing for medical school right now I can tell you with 100% certainty that if medicine wasn't my passion I would have given up years ago. Quite frankly there are better things to do if medicine isn't your main focus. To live like a monk 80% of the time studying early and late into the day year after year summer after summer... It takes something extra which is a genuine passion and love of the material.

 

Oh, and if someone is going into med to make money they have their head screwed on wrong. There are much better and efficent ways to rake in the moola than medicine, just do some research if you don't believe me.

 

 

In terms of your questions to difficulty. Well that depends on you. The stats show on average at my university, Western, the grades drop 18% from high school. They tend to come up after year one or two. I find that the ppl who are top of their class average about 6-8 hrs of studying a day, esp. during exam months. Right now I am in my fourth year of a BMSc., I do about 14 hrs a week in a lab, 40 hrs a week studying, 2-6 hrs a week volunteering.