Anyone else feel like they picked the wrong major in undergrad?

[Proudfather94]

I did my undergrad in general bio and honestly it would have been useless if I didn't get in. The only jobs that I've seen around where I live are lab tech positions that want to pay 12 dollars an hour.

I looked up grad school and alot of the schools want you to take 5 years to get a PhD instead of the traditional 4 and still expect 60 to 80 hours a week or more worth of work. Then you have to do a post doc for 2 to 4 years to have a shot at a tenured position. This would have taken me until my mid to late 30s to do which would not have worked

If I had to do it over again I would have done a major that would have translated to a better job like nursing or exercise science and just take the prereqs for medicine in the summer or during easier semesters.

I'm really glad that I got in which makes the point of picking the wrong major moot but I definitely got lucky as I would have been screwed otherwise.

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[LizzyM]

Good thing you got in. There are other careers for biologists other than a tenured position in academia. One of my young friends has graduated law school, passed the bar and is working as a lawyer. Another went on to a career in higher ed administration as an admissions officer at an LAC. Others I know have pursued training as physician assistants, physical therapists (with some post-bac work to get the pre-reqs), and public health professionals. There are also roles in environmental protection, zoos and aquariums, food safety and quality control labs, reproductive technology, etc.

Biology might not be the "best" major for a pre-med but if it is what you've got, it is possible to use it as the foundation for a career outside of medicine.

 

[deleted1119327]

Good thing you got in. There are other careers for biologists other than a tenured position in academia. One of my young friends has graduated law school, passed the bar and is working as a lawyer. Another went on to a career in higher ed administration as an admissions officer at an LAC. Others I know have pursued training as physician assistants, physical therapists (with some post-bac work to get the pre-reqs), and public health professionals. There are also roles in environmental protection, zoos and aquariums, food safety and quality control labs, reproductive technology, etc.

Biology might not be the "best" major for a pre-med but if it is what you've got, it is possible to use it as the foundation for a career outside of medicine.

Also, there are plenty of industry positions for PhDs in biology or related fields.

 

[jamaica jan sun princess]

Accounting is a relatively easy major to pair with med school prerequisites or even a double major in biology. Accounting as a job is pretty boring and sedentary but it pays well and is usually in demand.