Anyone find this familiar?

[Sandyg6482]

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Well, I'm a 24 y/o language arts teacher. I've been teaching for 4 years. I'm almost finished w/ my Masters (4.0 GPA) in Guidance Counseling. I was an English major who finished w/ a very low GPA (2.8), mainly because my father was sick and eventually passed during those years.
I love the classes I'm taking now and was planning on getting my doctorates in psychology. It would cost me the same to get a DOCTRATES than a MED degree except a psychiatrist makes way more than a psychologist.
I was planning on taking a chemistry class to see how I do (I haven’t taken chemistry since high school...but I did do well in it) and if I get an "A", maybe pursing the rest of the pre reqs.
I've always been more drawn to literature than to science so I'm kind of scared.

I guess I just want to see if this story sounds familiar or even hopeful to anyone. Thanks!!!


Sandy

 

[Sol Rosenberg]

Do much more research about what a doctor does and what is involved in Medical School. You really need a better reason to spend 7+ years of your life doing nothing else but learning medicine than "It would cost me the same to get a DOCTRATES than a MED degree except a psychiatrist makes way more than a psychologist."

Also, when you take your pre-requisite classes don't just take them to get an "A," see if you actually like them. You will be spending 2 years in Medical School learning about hardcore science, and if you don't like it, you will be in trouble.

 

[RxnMan]

Yeah, like jota said, it's not like you're trying to find the best way to send your time and possible income (though these are concerns for later). Becoming a doctor is a lifestyle choice, and it's not something easily 'taken back' once you've begun. An MD costs on average $120,000 over 4 years, where degree in psychology costs much less and takes only 3 years (as I recall).

In addition, you may not have accounted for residency. After getting the MD, docs have to go through post-graduate training called residency. These last from 3-5 years, are paid, but they are peanuts for the hours you put in. The lifestyle during residency is generally particularly hard, so you need to do some more research before you can do an accurate cost/benefits analysis.

If you've decided to overcome these barriers, then I can tell you that the GPA will be a further challenge. You can click on the link at the bottom of my post to see what I had to do to overcome a similar GPA.

 

[Law2Doc]

Do much more research about what a doctor does and what is involved in Medical School. You really need a better reason to spend 7+ years of your life doing nothing else but learning medicine than "It would cost me the same to get a DOCTRATES than a MED degree except a psychiatrist makes way more than a psychologist."

Also, when you take your pre-requisite classes don't just take them to get an "A," see if you actually like them. You will be spending 2 years in Medical School learning about hardcore science, and if you don't like it, you will be in trouble.

Agree with this post. Medicine isn't about choosing the path of least resistance and the highest pay. Shadow some doctors -- the role is not really the same as highly paid psychologist.

 

[kate_g]

It would cost me the same to get a DOCTRATES than a MED degree

This may be less common for clinical psych programs than for academic programs, but when getting a PhD you generally can (and are often required to) teach and do research (you need something to write a thesis about!). You get paid to do this, plus it generally results in tuition remission from the university. All in all depending on how well the stipend is matched to your living expenses you can do anything from making a little bit of money to using up a bit of savings - but it's nowhere near the cost of med school. For instance, I have an N=1 sample of clinical psych programs at research-oriented universities (UC Berkeley) that require (paid) research as part of the clinical degree. If the clinical psych programs you've looked at thus far seem to indicate that *you* will pay *them* money, then you should dig a little further and ask about paid teaching and research positions that offset that cost, or find a larger more research-oriented university that will definitely pay you.

And also... If you do a research degree, RxnMan's 3-year estimate is pretty low. You'll more likely be 5 or 6. Still, that's a lot shorter than med school plus psychiatry residency.

And finally... It really shouldn't be about the money. Sure, a PhD in clinical psych is faster and cheaper. And if that's what you want to do, all the better. But if you've got your heart set on psychiatry, talking yourself out of it for financial and time reasons will probably leave you disappointed in the end. I agree with above posters - shadow some psychiatrists and clinical psychologists and make a decision based on experience.

 

[Sandyg6482]

Wow....thank you all. Great advice.👍