I have no regrets becoming a pediatrician. I really love working with them but the parents at times are the biggest challenge. This feeling was through out residency but everyone tells me that out in the "real world" things will be different. So far with my 5 months experience in the real world, this isn't true. Parents (especially from the burbs) can be a big pain. On top of that, the volume of patient you need to see a day is horrendous. During the summer, my average would be in the fortys. Supposedly, in the winter the average can be somewhere in the 70s. Needless to say, I couldn't imagine doing this for the rest of my life.
My second choice during medical school was gas. Several of my friends during my peds residency were in gas and had "enlightened" me about their lives. Also, some of my experiences (ICUs and anesthesiology rotation) were killer 😍 !
Again, no regrets. Will always love kids, but I realize I can help them in other ways.