- Joined
- Aug 3, 2016
- Messages
- 1
- Reaction score
- 0
Hello, I am a current rising senior in high school, and I was wondering how to make the decision to become a doctor.
First off, as far as interests and passions go, I do like and enjoy the sciences, but the only subject I had a passion for was math because of my preparation for competition math. However, I do not think I am good enough at it to really pursue it to a PHD level of some sort. I have studied for math contests since the 8th grade, and the only real goal I had was to qualify for the USAMO and do decent on it (7-14). 3 years later, I see a bunch of my friends who either started way earlier or some even later completely outscore me and some even make MOP and beyond. My GPA and test scores somewhat suffered as well due to such a singular focus (I got a B in chemistry). As a rising senior, I think it's time now to think more seriously about careers and such, and I am intrigued by computer science and medicine. There's plenty of family pressure to become a doctor and stuff, but basically my two expectations for my career are the ability to make an impact, which both professions provide (and also why I ruled out quantitative finance) as well as intellectual stimulation. I do not mean constant intellectual stimulation, but I really want a career that offers it to some degree. On the other hand my dad (who is a software engineer) tells me when I get old enough, I will want to "settle down" and won't really care too much about the stuff I listed above. My mom raves on and on about her friends and their kids who are doctors who are making so much money, etc.
All in all, the main question I suppose I have is for people who do not have passions for human biology, biochemistry, etc. but still do like it to some extent, do you find yourself passionate about medicine in general? I researched some specialties in medicine, and there are some in particular (perhaps radiology) that seem pretty interesting in terms of solving hard problems, thinking creatively about different scenarios, etc. I just wanted to hear some opinions. Thanks.
First off, as far as interests and passions go, I do like and enjoy the sciences, but the only subject I had a passion for was math because of my preparation for competition math. However, I do not think I am good enough at it to really pursue it to a PHD level of some sort. I have studied for math contests since the 8th grade, and the only real goal I had was to qualify for the USAMO and do decent on it (7-14). 3 years later, I see a bunch of my friends who either started way earlier or some even later completely outscore me and some even make MOP and beyond. My GPA and test scores somewhat suffered as well due to such a singular focus (I got a B in chemistry). As a rising senior, I think it's time now to think more seriously about careers and such, and I am intrigued by computer science and medicine. There's plenty of family pressure to become a doctor and stuff, but basically my two expectations for my career are the ability to make an impact, which both professions provide (and also why I ruled out quantitative finance) as well as intellectual stimulation. I do not mean constant intellectual stimulation, but I really want a career that offers it to some degree. On the other hand my dad (who is a software engineer) tells me when I get old enough, I will want to "settle down" and won't really care too much about the stuff I listed above. My mom raves on and on about her friends and their kids who are doctors who are making so much money, etc.
All in all, the main question I suppose I have is for people who do not have passions for human biology, biochemistry, etc. but still do like it to some extent, do you find yourself passionate about medicine in general? I researched some specialties in medicine, and there are some in particular (perhaps radiology) that seem pretty interesting in terms of solving hard problems, thinking creatively about different scenarios, etc. I just wanted to hear some opinions. Thanks.
Last edited:
