equus Posted March 23, 2011 Report Share Posted March 23, 2011 I have wanted to become a doctor since I was 4 years old, and I am so driven and passionate about it that there is nothing else I would rather do. However, knowing how difficult it is to get into med school, I've tried to come up with alternative/backup plans in case my dream of becoming a doctor doesn't work out. The only other thing that I would want to do is become a French teacher (I speak French and am minoring in it at university). I've had teaching experience and I love kids, and it would be a stable job. However, I am not passionate about it and I don't want to spend the rest of my life doing that. If I was asked during an interview what my backup plans would be in case I was never accepted at med school (FYI I'm planning on applying up to 5 times before giving up), would my response of "French teacher" sound bad? Like would adcoms be more impressed with something more closely related to medicine like physiotherapy? Teaching French is just so completely different from medicine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GGGSaint Posted March 23, 2011 Report Share Posted March 23, 2011 I have wanted to become a doctor since I was 4 years old, and I am so driven and passionate about it that there is nothing else I would rather do. However, knowing how difficult it is to get into med school, I've tried to come up with alternative/backup plans in case my dream of becoming a doctor doesn't work out. The only other thing that I would want to do is become a French teacher (I speak French and am minoring in it at university). I've had teaching experience and I love kids, and it would be a stable job. However, I am not passionate about it and I don't want to spend the rest of my life doing that. If I was asked during an interview what my backup plans would be in case I was never accepted at med school (FYI I'm planning on applying up to 5 times before giving up), would my response of "French teacher" sound bad? Like would adcoms be more impressed with something more closely related to medicine like physiotherapy? Teaching French is just so completely different from medicine. Nothing bad with your response imho. Just make sure to let them know you would reapply for several years since this is what you want. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hkmedic Posted March 23, 2011 Report Share Posted March 23, 2011 Why would you think it looks bad? I think all adcoms cares is that you have a realistic back-up and that you would be happy with this back-up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
equus Posted March 23, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 23, 2011 Why would you think it looks bad? I'm just worried that it might look like I don't really want to be a doctor, if I don't want to do anything else that is related to medicine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hkmedic Posted March 23, 2011 Report Share Posted March 23, 2011 I'm just worried that it might look like I don't really want to be a doctor, if I don't want to do anything else that is related to medicine. No, but it shows that you've thought it over and that you have genuine interests, aside from medicine. I think your response in the original post was pretty good. You like French and kids, and have had experience teaching. It's a lot more realistic than saying "I'm going to go to Africa and save babies from an orphanage", or "I'm going to do a Master's degree (to stall time)".... Just make sure to say that medicine is still your #1 goal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NLengr Posted March 24, 2011 Report Share Posted March 24, 2011 I'm just worried that it might look like I don't really want to be a doctor, if I don't want to do anything else that is related to medicine. Don't worry about it. They don't care what your back up plan is, as long as you have one. From a job perspective, make sure you can teach French Immersion if you get an education degree. The job market is HORRIBLE for every other teachable subject. Even the places in the middle of nowhere are looking for many less people. The market is completely flooded with education majors (except for French Immersion teachers, who are in short supply in many major centers). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lactic Folly Posted March 24, 2011 Report Share Posted March 24, 2011 Is this your first time applying or are you a reapplicant? If I were you, I would stress that you are committed to improving your application and reapplying. Only if they ask what you will do if you don't get in after 5 attempts, would I offer teaching French. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DragonX Posted March 24, 2011 Report Share Posted March 24, 2011 I don't think it would sound bad, especially since there are several qualities that overlap between the professions. Leadership, the ability to deal with people, being able to break down complex ideas into simple ones, etc... They're all things you need to be able to do in both jobs . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LostLamb Posted March 24, 2011 Report Share Posted March 24, 2011 Don't worry about it. They don't care what your back up plan is, as long as you have one. From a job perspective, make sure you can teach French Immersion if you get an education degree. The job market is HORRIBLE for every other teachable subject. Even the places in the middle of nowhere are looking for many less people. The market is completely flooded with education majors (except for French Immersion teachers, who are in short supply in many major centers). Yes, there are tons of people in education in AB as well. I think it is worth noting that you don't have to restrict yourself to teaching in a school...those skills and "official" background could be transferrable to other training opportunities. I think that it is a reasonable back up plan if it is something that genuinely interests you and that you are going into it with your eyes wide open. Schools are not what they used to be when we were there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curi0user Posted March 24, 2011 Report Share Posted March 24, 2011 I have wanted to become a doctor since I was 4 years old, and I am so driven and passionate about it that there is nothing else I would rather do. However, knowing how difficult it is to get into med school, I've tried to come up with alternative/backup plans in case my dream of becoming a doctor doesn't work out. The only other thing that I would want to do is become a French teacher (I speak French and am minoring in it at university). I've had teaching experience and I love kids, and it would be a stable job. However, I am not passionate about it and I don't want to spend the rest of my life doing that. If I was asked during an interview what my backup plans would be in case I was never accepted at med school (FYI I'm planning on applying up to 5 times before giving up), would my response of "French teacher" sound bad? Like would adcoms be more impressed with something more closely related to medicine like physiotherapy? Teaching French is just so completely different from medicine. How bad is it that I don't even want/have a backup plan... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GGGSaint Posted March 25, 2011 Report Share Posted March 25, 2011 How bad is it that I don't even want/have a backup plan... Not bad if you're a 3.9/35+ student. Bad otherwise. It's a crazy competitive process. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeaHatingBrit Posted March 25, 2011 Report Share Posted March 25, 2011 I'm always curious about this - how did you know you wanted to be a doctor when you were four years old? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
equus Posted March 25, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2011 I'm always curious about this - how did you know you wanted to be a doctor when you were four years old? Apparently when I was 4 I started telling everyone in my family that I wanted to be a doctor when I grew up. My mom was pregnant with my little brother at the time, and I was very interested in the details of this. I remember my mom explaining the concept of pregnancy truthfully to me, and showing me a book with photos of fetal development, so that may have had something to do with it. I loved watching TV shows about science, and I role played with dolls and stuff, pretending to be a doctor. I knew from the very beginning how hard and long the journey to medicine was, but I sort of accepted that that was how my life was going to be. It wasn't until I was about 12 that I made the conscious, informed decision to become a family doctor. When I was in grade 6, I had a lot of little medical problems (infected mosquito bite, eye infection, etc.) and I spent a lot of time at my family doctor's office. He and I built up a good relationship after a few months of frequent visits, and at one point he told me that I could be a good doctor, and that I should consider it as a career. This was also the first year that I got straight A's in school. After that, I decided for sure that I wanted to be a doctor, and never looked back Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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