Hello all,
Disclaimer: I didn't realize this post would be that long. I haven't proof read it so please pardon any grammatical errors or spelling mistakes that I may have made. I will come back tomorrow and edit it if needed.
My background: I have finished MBBS (Medical School) in India, currently on a dependent visa in the US (No work authorization) for past four years. I have given USMLE step 1, 2 CK and CS but was unable to get any invites for residency interview this season.
I am planning to choose a different career path as a back up. I am specifically looking for career paths/ masters programs that will be a good add on for my residency application and if things don't go well, I can still continue and secure a well paying job in that field.
Despite looking on various options and browsing various university websites for available courses, job options, websites like BLS for salaries I have not been able to make up my mind to settle with any particular field.
Here are my considerations:
1. Masters in Genetics/molecular medicine - I did a research internship at a state university in a genetics lab. Pro: Loved the work, loved the project I was working on, found it very interesting
Con: I found that I had difficulty learning few concepts and made lots of mistakes while conducting experiments, also my PI wasn't very helpful so not sure if it was me or the circumstances. Second, I learned that you can get good jobs only after doing a PhD or may be even a post doc or else with just masters you'll end up being a lab tech (low salary).
2. Masters in Public Health - I have few friends who are doing this. They think it is a great add on while you wait to get into residency. My question is, what if you don't get into residency? Do you do end up with a low paying job? How is the job market? Is it considered a step down?
3. Masters in Pharmaceutical sciences - I based my choice only because it comes under the higher salary jobs list. I do like drugs, treatment and research but only clinical aspect. Stuff that is useful in clinical practice. Here my question is how is the job market? will I end up getting jobs like CRAs or project managers? How much would be average salary for an entry level job? what is the growth rate like after only masters. I do not plan to do a PhD. And the most important question is will it be frowned upon on my residency application? I want to try for residency again next year but at the same time don't want to waste another year doing something that does not have good future prospects.
4. Masters in Pharmaceutical administration - Same questions as above. Honestly, I am only passionate about medicine everything else is at a same level (i.e., not medicine). So my interests don't play a role here. Be it business, science or even IT. It should be something that will give me a good future so that I make a good living. If given a choice I would just choose medicine.
5. Masters in health informatics - I have no background in computer science or stats. I am good with computers and tech stuff. I know entry level Python (programming language). My husband thinks I have good sense of algorithms (He is a data scientist, artificial intelligence). Same questions as above and few more: will I be able to grasp it? (that's a question for me probably
) Is there an advantage of having a degree in medicine? Do I need to do any other degrees like a business or CS degree to get a good job?
I realize that this is a long post and things are all over the place. I don't expect any one person to know answers to questions related to all fields. Please comment on whichever field you are knowledgeable about. Hopefully this thread will help me decide my options and someone who is in similar position as me
Disclaimer: I didn't realize this post would be that long. I haven't proof read it so please pardon any grammatical errors or spelling mistakes that I may have made. I will come back tomorrow and edit it if needed.
My background: I have finished MBBS (Medical School) in India, currently on a dependent visa in the US (No work authorization) for past four years. I have given USMLE step 1, 2 CK and CS but was unable to get any invites for residency interview this season.
I am planning to choose a different career path as a back up. I am specifically looking for career paths/ masters programs that will be a good add on for my residency application and if things don't go well, I can still continue and secure a well paying job in that field.
Despite looking on various options and browsing various university websites for available courses, job options, websites like BLS for salaries I have not been able to make up my mind to settle with any particular field.
Here are my considerations:
1. Masters in Genetics/molecular medicine - I did a research internship at a state university in a genetics lab. Pro: Loved the work, loved the project I was working on, found it very interesting
Con: I found that I had difficulty learning few concepts and made lots of mistakes while conducting experiments, also my PI wasn't very helpful so not sure if it was me or the circumstances. Second, I learned that you can get good jobs only after doing a PhD or may be even a post doc or else with just masters you'll end up being a lab tech (low salary).
2. Masters in Public Health - I have few friends who are doing this. They think it is a great add on while you wait to get into residency. My question is, what if you don't get into residency? Do you do end up with a low paying job? How is the job market? Is it considered a step down?
3. Masters in Pharmaceutical sciences - I based my choice only because it comes under the higher salary jobs list. I do like drugs, treatment and research but only clinical aspect. Stuff that is useful in clinical practice. Here my question is how is the job market? will I end up getting jobs like CRAs or project managers? How much would be average salary for an entry level job? what is the growth rate like after only masters. I do not plan to do a PhD. And the most important question is will it be frowned upon on my residency application? I want to try for residency again next year but at the same time don't want to waste another year doing something that does not have good future prospects.
4. Masters in Pharmaceutical administration - Same questions as above. Honestly, I am only passionate about medicine everything else is at a same level (i.e., not medicine). So my interests don't play a role here. Be it business, science or even IT. It should be something that will give me a good future so that I make a good living. If given a choice I would just choose medicine.
5. Masters in health informatics - I have no background in computer science or stats. I am good with computers and tech stuff. I know entry level Python (programming language). My husband thinks I have good sense of algorithms (He is a data scientist, artificial intelligence). Same questions as above and few more: will I be able to grasp it? (that's a question for me probably
) Is there an advantage of having a degree in medicine? Do I need to do any other degrees like a business or CS degree to get a good job?I realize that this is a long post and things are all over the place. I don't expect any one person to know answers to questions related to all fields. Please comment on whichever field you are knowledgeable about. Hopefully this thread will help me decide my options and someone who is in similar position as me
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