Crane Posted November 8, 2011 Report Share Posted November 8, 2011 Deadlines for Masters program are fast-approaching and I have no idea on what to do. I'm thinking about a Masters program but I'm not sure if its for me. My ultimate goal is med school and I think a Masters can provide me with the experience in the area I want to specialize in as a M.D. What sort of qualities should a graduate/masters student possess to be successful? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MedPen Posted November 8, 2011 Report Share Posted November 8, 2011 Deadlines for Masters program are fast-approaching and I have no idea on what to do. I'm thinking about a Masters program but I'm not sure if its for me. My ultimate goal is med school and I think a Masters can provide me with the experience in the area I want to specialize in as a M.D. What sort of qualities should a graduate/masters student possess to be successful? You never know if a Masters is for you and if med is your ultimate goal, then it probably isn't. If for some reason you can't apply in the next two years and you like research, then a Masters is a good time filler but not overly useful. Why not apply sooner and do stuff that will help your app in case you don't get in? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MedPen Posted November 9, 2011 Report Share Posted November 9, 2011 What advantage does having a master's degree provide? Outside of engineering, where the pay goes up significantly with an M.Eng, I haven't found any good reasons to get one. Why not just get a PhD? I dislike it when people say "why not just get a PhD"? Unlike a MSc, which is short and doesn't depend entirely on publishing, a PhD is as huge a commitment as med school + residency. In other words, not good as a back-up plan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lactic Folly Posted November 9, 2011 Report Share Posted November 9, 2011 A better shot at an academic position in a major centre? Though in this case, it might make better sense to do the degree after you're in medicine and have some idea of how to tie this in to your future career. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crane Posted November 9, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 9, 2011 Do you guys think a research-based masters is helpful or more advantageous when you are applying for residency? Ex. having a masters in something cardiovascular related and applying for cardiovascular surgery Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lactic Folly Posted November 9, 2011 Report Share Posted November 9, 2011 Likely helpful for the more competitive or research-oriented fields, especially if you profess an interest in continuing to do research; less of a difference for noncompetitive or non-research-oriented fields. Would not recommend doing a thesis-based masters primarily for this reason though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
osteon Posted November 9, 2011 Report Share Posted November 9, 2011 But what does a Master's get you, other than a few letters after your name? It is really worth the effort? I think this needs to be considered from a what if med never happens perspective. There are tons of jobs that, in order to climb the ranks faster or to climb to higher levels, advanced education is required. Don't try and kid anyone that a BSc is just as good as an MSc in terms of finding work. 9 times out of 10 you lose that battle. If the MSc is with the MD, it certainly can't hurt. At the very least it'll give you a better understanding of how research works and how to judge the quality of papers that come out related to your discipline. Likely helpful for the more competitive or research-oriented fields, especially if you profess an interest in continuing to do research; less of a difference for noncompetitive or non-research-oriented fields. Would not recommend doing a thesis-based masters primarily for this reason though. I agree, although I'd go further to say that I would not recommend doing grad school just to help you into Med. Period. You can't be told whether a grad degree is right for you or not. Like med, it's something that you legitimately have to be interested in. It's not just a time filler. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MedPen Posted November 9, 2011 Report Share Posted November 9, 2011 It's not just a time filler. More and more people are doing Master's as time fillers. The job market sucks after a BSc so people do a Master's hoping to kill some time while making themselves more competitive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
osteon Posted November 10, 2011 Report Share Posted November 10, 2011 More and more people are doing Master's as time fillers. The job market sucks after a BSc so people do a Master's hoping to kill some time while making themselves more competitive. So, not a time filler. What I mean is that a Master's is not something you can just walk into blindly. If you don't actually like research, or have never done research, an MSc could be hell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MedPen Posted November 12, 2011 Report Share Posted November 12, 2011 So, not a time filler. What I mean is that a Master's is not something you can just walk into blindly. If you don't actually like research, or have never done research, an MSc could be hell. I still say time filler because these people have no interest in a Master's per se, they just need to do something until they find a job. An MSc could be hell but then again, there are course based MSc that are ok and some departments are very lenient on MSc students. If you pick wisely, an MSc is as doable as a BSc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Let'sGo1990 Posted November 18, 2011 Report Share Posted November 18, 2011 More and more people are doing Master's as time fillers. The job market sucks after a BSc so people do a Master's hoping to kill some time while making themselves more competitive. This. It's pretty insane how a LOT of the TA's I've had are doing their masters just for the sake of strengthening their med school app. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtomSmasher2 Posted November 18, 2011 Report Share Posted November 18, 2011 A masters isn't something you do because you like it. It's something you do because you HAVE to, because you want to get into meds but got low marks in UG. To answer the question of whether or not a masters is "for" the OP, you should only do it if your UG marks are slightly below being competitive, i.e. 3.4-3.6 GPA. Otherwise you're wasting your time - there is no money in science. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leap87 Posted November 19, 2011 Report Share Posted November 19, 2011 Here's my perspective on grad school (coming from a graduate student right now): DON'T do research based Master's if you DON'T like research. Why do I say this? 1. You'll hate grad school. 2. You won't get it done in 2 years and if you do, you will do a half-ass job at it. 3. It's a waste of 2 years. I have huge passion for research, but grad school managed to kill off some of that passion (at least my program did). There were times when I wanted to give up, drop out, do anything but grad school... the only reason I stayed was because of my superb supervisors and whatever was left of the passion I had for research. The only thing I could think about was "Once this is over, you get to do actual research" and that kind of helped me through it. However, I have seen MANY of my colleagues not want to do it anymore. Some of them got it done because they couldn't face dropping out... Others coped with it in different ways. Grad school is NOT easy (I guess this also depends on the program). It's not something you do just to pass your time. It takes serious dedication and work. I think what many people don't realize is that grad school is not a joke, until they're in it and then they go "Oh crap.... This is more work than I bargained for..." So, word to the wise, do NOT go into grad school if you're not passionate about the field and want to just kill time. Do something more productive, like volunteering or working or traveling... Trust me, grad school is not worth your time, money and tears if your ultimate goal is to get into meds.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charmer08 Posted November 19, 2011 Report Share Posted November 19, 2011 Here's my perspective on grad school (coming from a graduate student right now): DON'T do research based Master's if you DON'T like research. Why do I say this? 1. You'll hate grad school. 2. You won't get it done in 2 years and if you do, you will do a half-ass job at it. 3. It's a waste of 2 years. I have huge passion for research, but grad school managed to kill off some of that passion (at least my program did). There were times when I wanted to give up, drop out, do anything but grad school... the only reason I stayed was because of my superb supervisors and whatever was left of the passion I had for research. The only thing I could think about was "Once this is over, you get to do actual research" and that kind of helped me through it. However, I have seen MANY of my colleagues not want to do it anymore. Some of them got it done because they couldn't face dropping out... Others coped with it in different ways. Grad school is NOT easy (I guess this also depends on the program). It's not something you do just to pass your time. It takes serious dedication and work. I think what many people don't realize is that grad school is not a joke, until they're in it and then they go "Oh crap.... This is more work than I bargained for..." So, word to the wise, do NOT go into grad school if you're not passionate about the field and want to just kill time. Do something more productive, like volunteering or working or traveling... Trust me, grad school is not worth your time, money and tears if your ultimate goal is to get into meds.... There are course based masters too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leap87 Posted November 19, 2011 Report Share Posted November 19, 2011 There are course based masters too I wasn't aware. Thanks for telling me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charmer08 Posted November 19, 2011 Report Share Posted November 19, 2011 I wasn't aware. Thanks for telling me. No problemo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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