Another Non-Trad. Is this worth it?

[aaronjw]

Jane and Finch in Toronto? That's 'exciting' :-P

 

 

Gunshots ranged out like a bell

I grabbed my nine

All I heard were shells

Fallin' on the concrete real fast

Jumped in my car, slammed on the gas

Bumper to bumper the avenue's packed

I'm tryin' to get away before the jackers jack

Police on the scene

You know what I mean

They passed me up, confronted all the dope fiends

If there was a problem

Yo, I'll solve it

Check out the hook while my DJ revolves it

 

Werd:cool:

[NutritionRunner]

A small but very present group of residents do that during their training. Getting a MEd, MPH etc can really help later on.

 

That's very cool. One of the options I'm looking at, if I don't get into medical school, a combined dietetics internship/MPH or just a regular internship, is an MEd program in nutrition education that I can do entirely online. So I have lots of backup plans in place.

 

Heck, even if I get an MPH in community nutrition, I might go ahead and do the MEd after, part-time, while working. We need to do a better job of educating people about nutrition, since it has such a huge impact on so many chronic diseases (diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, etc.).

[silverbullet1]

ER, fellow law graduate here (articling at the moment). Also considering the JD-->MD path.

 

A couple of thoughts.

 

1. Your salary numbers are off. While you're correct on bay street salaries, a vast majority of lawyers are not on bay street, even if you get that golden articling position, it's likely after a few years you'll be off bay and into some other area of practice.

 

2. I have a cGPA of 3.33, but also a MBA. The only school I'm considering right now is McMaster, and only if I can rock a 13-14+ on the VR. The 3.13 is rough but if you pick up your GPA with an additional year of study you might want to consider it.

 

I think you should really reflect deeply as to why you want this, and if there isn't a way to 'have your cake and eat it too.' If you're passionate about health, why not focus on health law? I know it's not the same, but it's related and a much shorter path than medS.

 

A lot of what you're saying resonates with me. What I hate about law is that I'm so distant from people and ultimately I feel like the problems I'm solving don't matter to any one. Plus I hate drafting endless contracts/memos. Although some of that is to do with the stage of my career.

[ExtendedReign]

Silverbullet, that's a very fair point that I might not stay on Bay St. and move to a different area of practice. I don't have the passion for law, or at least not as much passion as the next guy - and I'd probably have a hard time maintaining stamina based on the amount of work involved to progress and make it to partner. I'm also thinking a second degree wouldn't be a bad choice, but I'd try to do it while I work full-time which may be very difficult. But my thinking is that I wouldn't be losing out on much in the process, and I'd still be holding on to one career if I have a tough time getting into med in an appropriate amount of time.

 

As to which second degree, I don't think that doing a business degree would be a good idea. I'm thinking maybe anthropology or something of that sort.

[aaronjw]

Mind if I ask how old you are? I don't recall reading it so my apologies if you already provided it.

 

Everyone here will tell you to pursue something you are interested in as you will generally do better than if you weren't and you likely know this to be true from your current studies in law but you also have to be realistic in terms of job opportunities. I suppose you could easily transition back to law if you didn't get into meds with your new degree but then it would seem like a gross waste of money to pursue something that wouldn't also provide you a career afterwards should meds not work out in your favour acceptance wise.

 

Just something to consider as it's the realities of the marketplace these days and outside of the opportunity cost from going back to school and foregoing a salary as a lawyer, there's still the time + tuition costs.

 

Anyway, good luck with your decision.

 

Silverbullet, that's a very fair point that I might not stay on Bay St. and move to a different area of practice. I don't have the passion for law, or at least not as much passion as the next guy - and I'd probably have a hard time maintaining stamina based on the amount of work involved to progress and make it to partner. I'm also thinking a second degree wouldn't be a bad choice, but I'd try to do it while I work full-time which may be very difficult. But my thinking is that I wouldn't be losing out on much in the process, and I'd still be holding on to one career if I have a tough time getting into med in an appropriate amount of time.

 

As to which second degree, I don't think that doing a business degree would be a good idea. I'm thinking maybe anthropology or something of that sort.

[ExtendedReign]

Hi Aaron,

 

Thanks for the tip. I don't think it would be a waste of time or money to do another undergrad in courses I'm interested in. I actually really miss undergrad, and there's a lot I didn't get a chance to learn about. There are even some classes that would compliment my law background - like criminology, poli sci, etc.

 

Also, I turn 25 this year.