Curiousity Killed the Cat...

[thehappydoctor]

---

Members do not see this ad.

Hey guys

I was wondering if there is a possibility for a premed to go into laaw school? (if medicine doesn't work out) What specific steps would this person follow? (If major matters, probably a psychology major) And what would salary be?

Another path: finance
If someone wanted to go into wall street and was a premed and wall street was their backup what plan would THEY follow? salary ( +- bonuses?)

lemme know!

Also please no "if you REALLY cared about medicine you wouldn't want to do anything else" "you're in it for the money" i don't need that or want that and i will not be reading those..

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

Law: major doesn't matter, you need high LSAT and a High GPA.

Finance and I-banking: you need to attend a top tier school, have good connections, internships, potentially a finance major or some sort of degree in that area helps.

 

[thehappydoctor]

Law: major doesn't matter, you need high LSAT and a High GPA.

Finance and I-banking: you need to attend a top tier school, have good connections, internships, potentially a finance major or some sort of degree in that area helps.

hmm so the undergrad I'm attending is in that top 20 finance kinda thing...so maybe i have a chance there..personally for me, med>finance>law

is it possible for me to purse all these finance things along with med things? I mean the classes i guess i can handle but what about internships ( i know i need clinical experience and research med-wise, but for finance don't i need to go work at a firm for the summer WHILE I'm supposed to be researching/volunteering at the hospital?
What kind of salary can i expect?

 

[thehappydoctor]

hmm so the undergrad I'm attending is in that top 20 finance kinda thing...so maybe i have a chance there..personally for me, med>finance>law

is it possible for me to purse all these finance things along with med things? I mean the classes i guess i can handle but what about internships ( i know i need clinical experience and research med-wise, but for finance don't i need to go work at a firm for the summer WHILE I'm supposed to be researching/volunteering at the hospital?
What kind of salary can i expect?

Also do med schools look badly upon finance because they KNOW its a backup plan (implying you're not serious about medicine?)

 

[alerk323]

It's an interesting combination. None of those things really relate at all. I can see adcoms questioning this kind of haphazard approach to deciding your career. The only thing those three seem to have in common is prestige and money. That doesn't really paint that pretty of a picture as to your general motivations.

 

[thehappydoctor]

It's an interesting combination. None of those things really relate at all. I can see adcoms questioning this kind of haphazard approach to deciding your career. The only thing those three seem to have in common is prestige and money. That doesn't really paint that pretty of a picture as to your general motivations.

yeah that was a concern of mine. but any other responses to my other questions?isnt there any way i can relate these somehow?

 

[samsunimomo]

hmm so the undergrad I'm attending is in that top 20 finance kinda thing...so maybe i have a chance there..personally for me, med>finance>law

is it possible for me to purse all these finance things along with med things? I mean the classes i guess i can handle but what about internships ( i know i need clinical experience and research med-wise, but for finance don't i need to go work at a firm for the summer WHILE I'm supposed to be researching/volunteering at the hospital?
What kind of salary can i expect?

Many of my fellow pre-meds at my school are Bio and Econ double majors (but we are a school known to send people to ibanking/finance). They have their work cut out for them.

 

[thehappydoctor]

Many of my fellow pre-meds at my school are Bio and Econ double majors (but we are a school known to send people to ibanking/finance). They have their work cut out for them.

yeah not a bad idea 🙂

 

[carnelian]

I know someone majoring in bio and minoring in business; got into Hopkins Med. I don't think he did the business minor as a backup though, so I don't think he pursued other finance internships either. Definitely hard to do both and be a competitive applicant for both paths at the same time... I'd recommend just focusing on one for now.

Salary for medicine areas is pretty fixed with a nice standard range you can expect. Finance involves a lot of chance/luck, and as someone mentioned -- connections. You can potentially get exponentially more money if you play the cards right, but may also end up losing a lot.

If you must have a backup, why not other science fields? Research is a pretty popular option, and a lot of the classes/activities (research) will apply as well. Other health field careers could work too; have you considered pharmacy, vet, dental, etc.? The ECs are slightly different, but not as big of a leap.

 

[MicroSteph]

There is a booming business in Healthcare Finance. I took a class for my MPH in HC Finance and people are highly successful in managing the reimbursement/payment programs at hospitals. If you got an internship in a hospital working with the finance department, you might find a way to link it in.

 

[thehappydoctor]

There is a booming business in Healthcare Finance. I took a class for my MPH in HC Finance and people are highly successful in managing the reimbursement/payment programs at hospitals. If you got an internship in a hospital working with the finance department, you might find a way to link it in.

healthcare finance sounds like a combination of everything i want to do! hadn't thought of it before! THANKS! 👍

 

[thehappydoctor]

I know someone majoring in bio and minoring in business; got into Hopkins Med. I don't think he did the business minor as a backup though, so I don't think he pursued other finance internships either. Definitely hard to do both and be a competitive applicant for both paths at the same time... I'd recommend just focusing on one for now.

Salary for medicine areas is pretty fixed with a nice standard range you can expect. Finance involves a lot of chance/luck, and as someone mentioned -- connections. You can potentially get exponentially more money if you play the cards right, but may also end up losing a lot.

If you must have a backup, why not other science fields? Research is a pretty popular option, and a lot of the classes/activities (research) will apply as well. Other health field careers could work too; have you considered pharmacy, vet, dental, etc.? The ECs are slightly different, but not as big of a leap.

Well to be honest, I'm not interested in "pure" science.. its medicine or nothing in the sciences.. but dentistry might be an option

and yeah i see what you mean about focusing on one path, you speak the truth. i just feel like I'm losing out by focusing solely on medicine when i feel i would make a really pod finance person, idk
but as you pointed out the cons to finance (salary issues, connections) are something i need to think about

 

[thehappydoctor]

From what I understand if you wan't to get into a prestigious financial institution the easiest path is by having an engineering major at an Ivy League. I guess the financial companies eat them up.

Your situation sounds a bit ridiculous though. Why not just focus on ONE thing. If you're trying hard enough I don't see how you could fail.

wait can you clarify your first sentence? are you saying that if i don't intern with a finance firm but have an engineer degree from an ivy league i can still be an investment banker?

 

[MicroSteph]

Your situation sounds a bit ridiculous though. Why not just focus on ONE thing. If you're trying hard enough I don't see how you could fail.

I understand OP's viewpoint. When I was a freshman, I was considering CS, Linguistics, and Bio. Despite dabbling in all three, I never wasted a single class. I just spent a lot of time pouring over the degree plans and ensuring that every class I took counted for each degree.

It takes a lot of time and a bit of an OCD complex to pull it off, but it's certainly possible to complete both requirements efficiently and successfully.

But OP, do what you feel is right! Hope this helps.

 

[thehappydoctor]

I understand OP's viewpoint. When I was a freshman, I was considering CS, Linguistics, and Bio. Despite dabbling in all three, I never wasted a single class. I just spent a lot of time pouring over the degree plans and ensuring that every class I took counted for each degree.

It takes a lot of time and a bit of an OCD complex to pull it off, but it's certainly possible to complete both requirements efficiently and successfully.

But OP, do what you feel is right! Hope this helps.

Thanks a lot! I feel better that you were in the same boat I am! How did you choose what you wanted in the end?

 

[sinombre]

Hey guys

I was wondering if there is a possibility for a premed to go into laaw school? (if medicine doesn't work out) What specific steps would this person follow? (If major matters, probably a psychology major) And what would salary be?

Lawyer salaries are highly variable. Where you go to law school also matters a whole lot more than where you go to med school.

If someone wanted to go into wall street and was a premed and wall street was their backup what plan would THEY follow?

Go to an Ivy league for undergrad and get a 4.0. If that's not an option, learn to be insanely personable. Like just about any other career option, getting into Wall Street is the result of hard work and very strategic networking.

 

[MicroSteph]

Thanks a lot! I feel better that you were in the same boat I am! How did you choose what you wanted in the end?

While I was walking to the bio advising office, there was a display from a local natural science museum and I spent a lot of time checking it out. It sounds small, but at the time it made a big impression on me. I loved my bio classes so far and was excited to take classes in behavioral biology, entomology, plant bio, etc... I was an outdoor nut. It just made sense.

I guess the thing that really put me over the top was reading the descriptions of the classes I could take in upper division bio and getting excited to take them.

I went to a really large university and sitting in on classes could easily be done unobtrusively. Maybe sit in on a few of the larger intro finance classes if you can?

 

[thehappydoctor]

While I was walking to the bio advising office, there was a display from a local natural science museum and I spent a lot of time checking it out. It sounds small, but at the time it made a big impression on me. I loved my bio classes so far and was excited to take classes in behavioral biology, entomology, plant bio, etc... I was an outdoor nut. It just made sense.

I guess the thing that really put me over the top was reading the descriptions of the classes I could take in upper division bio and getting excited to take them.

I went to a really large university and sitting in on classes could easily be done unobtrusively. Maybe sit in on a few of the larger intro finance classes if you can?

Actually sounds like a great idea, let me see if I can do this once fall semester starts! Thanks for input! I am really inspired by people like you who have a genuine interest in what they are studying.

 

[OCDOCDOCD]

Be aware that eventually you're going to have to take a leap of faith if you want to be successful. If you go the finance route you'll want to get started with internships in your sophomore year and begin networking like crazy (I knew a guy in the business school who spent hours every day just emailing his network contacts and searching for more). If you go the medicine route you'll want to get started shadowing, volunteering, and working in lab in sophomore year. If you do law you'll need to do the same but with a legal focus instead of a clinical one.

Also keep in mind that each has it's own risks. With medicine there's a big risk you won't get into medical school. With law there's the risk that you won't get into a top law school (arguably worse than not getting into a law school at all). With finance there's the risk you'll always have a mediocre job.

 

[thehappydoctor]

Be aware that eventually you're going to have to take a leap of faith if you want to be successful. If you go the finance route you'll want to get started with internships in your sophomore year and begin networking like crazy (I knew a guy in the business school who spent hours every day just emailing his network contacts and searching for more). If you go the medicine route you'll want to get started shadowing, volunteering, and working in lab in sophomore year. If you do law you'll need to do the same but with a legal focus instead of a clinical one.

Also keep in mind that each has it's own risks. With medicine there's a big risk you won't get into medical school. With law there's the risk that you won't get into a top law school (arguably worse than not getting into a law school at all). With finance there's the risk you'll always have a mediocre job.

also in medicine, if you don't get into the residency of your choice: it might be a mediocre speciality. Also in finance theres the risk of not having connections. UGH these risks are making it too complicated for me...Thanks for your input, you are on the same wavelength as me

 

[TheWeeIceMan]

Hey guys

I was wondering if there is a possibility for a premed to go into laaw school? (if medicine doesn't work out) What specific steps would this person follow? (If major matters, probably a psychology major) And what would salary be?

Another path: finance
If someone wanted to go into wall street and was a premed and wall street was their backup what plan would THEY follow? salary ( +- bonuses?)

lemme know!

Also please no "if you REALLY cared about medicine you wouldn't want to do anything else" "you're in it for the money" i don't need that or want that and i will not be reading those..

I started college wanting to be a lawyer, so I've done a bit of research on the topic. Take this with a grain of salt though.

It doesn't matter what you major in, however if you major in engineering or a hard science you will be eligible for the patent bar which could help in hiring down the road. Salaries in law are relatively bimodal. "Big law" firm first year associates typically make around 160k. If you don't land one of these jobs you are probably looking at something in the 50-60k range. There are jobs in the middle but they are typically far less prevalent or not available to newly minted law grads.

Keep in mind that law is a very prestige driven occupation, in that it matters greatly what school you go to. In this economy, you should really aim for a school in the top 14 (t14) or a strong regional school in an area that you have ties and want to practice. It's also very important minimize debt. Law schools tend to give scholarship money considerably more than medical schools will and are more open to negotiating/matching other school's offers.

If you do end up going the law school path, I would recommend doing a TON of research. The market is pretty brutal for law grads right now, and many schools don't give the full story when reporting employment stats.

 

[Sephiroth]

I started college wanting to be a lawyer, so I've done a bit of research on the topic. Take this with a grain of salt though.

It doesn't matter what you major in, however if you major in engineering or a hard science you will be eligible for the patent bar which could help in hiring down the road. Salaries in law are relatively bimodal. "Big law" firm first year associates typically make around 160k. If you don't land one of these jobs you are probably looking at something in the 50-60k range. There are jobs in the middle but they are typically far less prevalent or not available to newly minted law grads.

Keep in mind that law is a very prestige driven occupation, in that it matters greatly what school you go to. In this economy, you should really aim for a school in the top 14 (t14) or a strong regional school in an area that you have ties and want to practice. It's also very important minimize debt. Law schools tend to give scholarship money considerably more than medical schools will and are more open to negotiating/matching other school's offers.

If you do end up going the law school path, I would recommend doing a TON of research. The market is pretty brutal for law grads right now, and many schools don't give the full story when reporting employment stats.

This is some pretty solid advice for law school backup plans. I would also just add getting a few solid ECs that demonstrate leadership and deep commitment to something (don't need to be law related). Given the economy, you really wanna stick with a T14 school, I wouldn't recommend going elsewhere unless you don't get into any of those and get a good scholarship at a tier 1 school. Anything else will have you looking at a pretty meager income for a long time.

As for finance, if you are doing you're undergrad at one of the major universities (harvard, mit, columbia, nyu, stanford, berkeley, michigan, a few others I'm forgetting) you can get away with just majoring in finance (though you still wanna take upper level math and stats courses). Otherwise, get a double major in math or stats and/or maybe industrial engineering, then apply to masters in finance/masters in financial engineering/masters of financial mathematics at princeton, U of chicago, mit, nyu, columbia, berkely, stanford and the like. Doing well there, along with really doing your homework on getting those kinds of jobs are how you'll get into the financial industry.

Just know these professions are far less egalitarian in the income department than medicine. Some people make big money, but a lot just get middle of the road income.

 

[DrStraggler]

Uchicago has a combined MD-JD program!

 

[Josh7]

wait can you clarify your first sentence? are you saying that if i don't intern with a finance firm but have an engineer degree from an ivy league i can still be an investment banker?

I guess I could chime in on this subject. I have a friend who went to Yale and majored in Mechanical Engineering. He did one internship with an investment company and is now working for Chase as an investment banker. I am not sure if you can just go straight to finance without the internship but he said that a lot of his friends also decided to go the financial path since it seems to be where the money is if you hang out in the right crowd.

 

[notbobtrustme]

It's always good to have a back up plan.

 

[thehappydoctor]

I started college wanting to be a lawyer, so I've done a bit of research on the topic. Take this with a grain of salt though.

It doesn't matter what you major in, however if you major in engineering or a hard science you will be eligible for the patent bar which could help in hiring down the road. Salaries in law are relatively bimodal. "Big law" firm first year associates typically make around 160k. If you don't land one of these jobs you are probably looking at something in the 50-60k range. There are jobs in the middle but they are typically far less prevalent or not available to newly minted law grads.

Keep in mind that law is a very prestige driven occupation, in that it matters greatly what school you go to. In this economy, you should really aim for a school in the top 14 (t14) or a strong regional school in an area that you have ties and want to practice. It's also very important minimize debt. Law schools tend to give scholarship money considerably more than medical schools will and are more open to negotiating/matching other school's offers.

If you do end up going the law school path, I would recommend doing a TON of research. The market is pretty brutal for law grads right now, and many schools don't give the full story when reporting employment stats.

thanks so much for your response! you really clarified some points for me (especially about majoring in hard sciences to go into patent law) I'll look into it!

 

[thehappydoctor]

I started college wanting to be a lawyer, so I've done a bit of research on the topic. Take this with a grain of salt though.

It doesn't matter what you major in, however if you major in engineering or a hard science you will be eligible for the patent bar which could help in hiring down the road. Salaries in law are relatively bimodal. "Big law" firm first year associates typically make around 160k. If you don't land one of these jobs you are probably looking at something in the 50-60k range. There are jobs in the middle but they are typically far less prevalent or not available to newly minted law grads.

Keep in mind that law is a very prestige driven occupation, in that it matters greatly what school you go to. In this economy, you should really aim for a school in the top 14 (t14) or a strong regional school in an area that you have ties and want to practice. It's also very important minimize debt. Law schools tend to give scholarship money considerably more than medical schools will and are more open to negotiating/matching other school's offers.

If you do end up going the law school path, I would recommend doing a TON of research. The market is pretty brutal for law grads right now, and many schools don't give the full story when reporting employment stats.

if you don't mind me asking, why did you switch to medicine?

 

[thehappydoctor]

This is some pretty solid advice for law school backup plans. I would also just add getting a few solid ECs that demonstrate leadership and deep commitment to something (don't need to be law related). Given the economy, you really wanna stick with a T14 school, I wouldn't recommend going elsewhere unless you don't get into any of those and get a good scholarship at a tier 1 school. Anything else will have you looking at a pretty meager income for a long time.

As for finance, if you are doing you're undergrad at one of the major universities (harvard, mit, columbia, nyu, stanford, berkeley, michigan, a few others I'm forgetting) you can get away with just majoring in finance (though you still wanna take upper level math and stats courses). Otherwise, get a double major in math or stats and/or maybe industrial engineering, then apply to masters in finance/masters in financial engineering/masters of financial mathematics at princeton, U of chicago, mit, nyu, columbia, berkely, stanford and the like. Doing well there, along with really doing your homework on getting those kinds of jobs are how you'll get into the financial industry.

Just know these professions are far less egalitarian in the income department than medicine. Some people make big money, but a lot just get middle of the road income.

Yes, you are absolutely right! And yes I do attend one of these major universities for undergrad, so perhaps it will be possible for me to get into the financial industry, but for now let's see what happens. Thanks for your help~

 

[thehappydoctor]

Uchicago has a combined MD-JD program!

Interesting! But what exactly does a physician-lawyer do?

 

[thehappydoctor]

I guess I could chime in on this subject. I have a friend who went to Yale and majored in Mechanical Engineering. He did one internship with an investment company and is now working for Chase as an investment banker. I am not sure if you can just go straight to finance without the internship but he said that a lot of his friends also decided to go the financial path since it seems to be where the money is if you hang out in the right crowd.

Right you are. Finance= CONNECTIONS. Congrats to your friend!! Thanks for your reply!

 

[TheWeeIceMan]

if you don't mind me asking, why did you switch to medicine?

Honestly, I was young and wanted to be a lawyer for all the wrong reasons. Well maybe not wrong per se, but reasons that would have probably lead to being burnt out and unsatisfied with my job a few years down the line. Basically, I realized that I am not at all interested in doing what the typically lawyer does day to day, especially a patent lawyer (which is what I thought I wanted to do). Also, it didn't help that I started to realize that law is a brutal market to enter in this economy and that even students at great schools were getting shafted. Medicine seemed to be much more in line with my long term goals and interests. I liked what I saw when I shadowed doctors and enjoyed my volunteering and other medical related stuff. That's really all there was to it. Nothing profound or anything like that.