Ever think about scrapping it all and becoming a Liberal Arts major instead?

[Ellipsis1104]

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I just received my organic chemistry tome from the bookstore today

Sometimes when I'm super-stressed I fantasize that majoring in Reading would lead to a fulfilling career for me. . .

 

[FiremedicMike]

Twice now I have given up on this idea. The first time I was just done and planning on finishing out my career in the fire department. The last time I actually applied (and was accepted) at excelsior with the intention of getting my medic>RN and then going to CRNA school. Every time I try and give it up, I am completely unable. d

 

[Elewynne]

I've barely started my post-bacc and I get cold feet some days. The thought of spending the next ~10 years in school/residency for a whole new career so completely different from what I've done thus far... it can be intimidating! Don't even get me started thinking about what we're going to do about our house if we have to move for me to attend med school... eek!

But then I think of my experiences thus far, what I really *want* out of life, and my dissatisfaction with the career path I'm on, and I keep gravitating back to medicine. It's scary but exciting! 🙂

 

[GenusTide]

Nope, never have 😎 I read for purpose, not enjoyment 😀.

 

[Qrxn]

I was a liberal arts major and extremely unhappy. So no. No I do not.

 

[LegendaryPunk]

No thanks - already did that once; after two years of being a computer science major I jumped ship to end up with a B.A. in English.

Was it fun / interesting? Sure. Did it lead to a plethora of fulfilling career options? Not exactly...

 

[QofQuimica]

I just received my organic chemistry tome from the bookstore today

Sometimes when I'm super-stressed I fantasize that majoring in Reading would lead to a fulfilling career for me. . .

I fantasize about being a professional book reviewer, like, say, for the NY Times. People would send me all the latest books for free, and I would sit at home all day and read them. And get paid for it.

If anyone knows how I can get a job like this, let me know and I will be happy to start tomorrow. 😛

 

[MedPR]

Yup. It's much easier to just settle into whatever job or career path you had before deciding on medicine, but I don't think it will be as fulfilling in the end.

 

[Chip N Sawbones]

This probably applies to all the liberal arts:
History majors spend their time asking lots of questions. When this happen? Why did it happen? What were the events leading up to it?

So, what question do history majors ask the most often?

"Would you like fries with that, sir?"

Don't bother getting a liberal arts degree unless it's intended as a stepping stone to medical school, law school, or anything else for which any college degree is valid. Mine has never helped me get a job, and I could have saved about $20,000 by taking the Good Will Hunting approach and gotten the same education for $3.47 in overdue book charges at the library.

 

[GenusTide]

This probably applies to all the liberal arts:
History majors spend their time asking lots of questions. When this happen? Why did it happen? What were the events leading up to it?

So, what question do history majors ask the most often?

"Would you like fries with that, sir?"

Don't bother getting a liberal arts degree unless it's intended as a stepping stone to medical school, law school, or anything else for which any college degree is valid. Mine has never helped me get a job, and I could have saved about $20,000 by taking the Good Will Hunting approach and gotten the same education for $3.47 in overdue book charges at the library.

EXACTLY!!! well put! I often envision myself sitting in front of a fire place with a beard and a smoking a pipe with a good book............ then I woke up!

 

[Elewynne]

I fantasize about being a professional book reviewer, like, say, for the NY Times. People would send me all the latest books for free, and I would sit at home all day and read them. And get paid for it.

If anyone knows how I can get a job like this, let me know and I will be happy to start tomorrow. 😛

👍

 

[thewilliams1]

Roasting Coffee ... I know I could spend the rest of my life contently crafting coffees and put a recent roasting prospect under serious consideration. I was looking at homes in the area and giving it serious space in my psyche... it just didn't feel right.. I'd even go as far as to say it felt wrong, so I closed out of the housing search knowing that being bitten by the physician bug pwns all.

 

[beckhunter116]

I loved organic chemistry, to me it was very organized and just clicked in my mind.

In regards to scrapping it all, I've tried to explore other careers, but I keep coming back to medicine, so for the 2012 cycle here I come! Good luck!

Sent from my ADR6400L using Tapatalk

 

[ChemMed]

Now that I've started school, all I want to read is stuff that requires absolutely no work......sorry to say that indeed I have read the whole twilight series......and even watched the not so great recent movie.

Before, I read history texts, enjoyed classical novels and actively pursued philosophy. Now....not so much.

 

[MedWonk]

I just received my organic chemistry tome from the bookstore today

Sometimes when I'm super-stressed I fantasize that majoring in Reading would lead to a fulfilling career for me. . .

I could brew beer all day long. Or be a pastry chef.

But then I'd have to find new hobbies.👎

 

[deleted439911]

Yeah, I'm paying out of state fees with about 50k + in loans and 10k a quarter (not semester dang it) tuition. The last thing I would want to do is to waste my money on liberal arts.

It is very sad that liberal arts are very neglected not just in college but in life. There's truly a lot of fascinating things about history, literature, and philosophy that I would love to read about. And indeed, all I have to do it just read, no need to major in it. I don't feel that I am lesser than any liberal art major. Heck, I probably know more history than them just because I have time to read books they otherwise would have missed because they have assigned reading or is probably off "occupying (insert location)."

In fact, I get a richer understanding of the sciences from reading philosophy. e.g. Why do we ask these questions? How we come to define certain terms? I think this is better than just a philosophy student thinking about philosophy for philosophy sake.

Actually in terms of survival, maybe the liberal arts major got it down. How? Dude, you practically live in the financial district of New York, without having to pay rent. That there is around 5k value...

 

[VackAttack]

Haha, I'm actually a liberal arts major (Sociology) and I love it. I wish I had time to minor in Anthropology as well but I'm graduating in May and can't fit enough in before then while I finish up my pre-reqs. Although a lot of people see liberal arts majors as jokes, they're extremely beneficial, especially something like sociology where you can really learn how to deal with people and why people do what they do-- think about applying that to being a doctor and it adds up. But I agree with what someone said, they're much better being a stepping stone to something like law school or med school, because what would I do with a sociology degree if I had no plans of attending med school? I'd either teach and research all day or go to some third world country and try to make a difference.

 

[LingoLaine]

Nope, been there, done that.

 

[wholeheartedly]

I could brew beer all day long. Or be a pastry chef.

But then I'd have to find new hobbies.👎

Not sure how I missed this thread, but I hear you on the above...


My high school art teacher kept trying to convince me to apply to art school. I knew I wanted both art and science in my life. I told her it would be easier for me to pursue art as a hobby than science. I'm sure it'd be seen as a bit more strange to have a research lab in your basement than an art studio.... 😛

 

[GimpGenius]

...majoring in Reading . .

Literature. "Reading" is a task. Studying Literature is a pleasure, an art, and a calling.

On the other hand, it doesn't pay the bills (trust me).

 

[Kj615]

I fantasize about being a professional book reviewer, like, say, for the NY Times. People would send me all the latest books for free, and I would sit at home all day and read them. And get paid for it.

If anyone knows how I can get a job like this, let me know and I will be happy to start tomorrow. 😛

..c'mon Q. You must not be serious. What time do you have as a resident to sit at home all day and read books. I knows someone who knows a friend that also knows another friend hiring for medical consult work (work from home type of ****). Hit me up if you want that

 

[Kj615]

Yup. It's much easier to just settle into whatever job or career path you had before deciding on medicine, but I don't think it will be as fulfilling in the end.

that's very true. i constantly envision becoming my own boss, a hospitalist (nocturnal) and owning my private clinic in areas medically underserved where would hire 2-mid level providers.

 

[QofQuimica]

..c'mon Q. You must not be serious. What time do you have as a resident to sit at home all day and read books. I knows someone who knows a friend that also knows another friend hiring for medical consult work (work from home type of ****). Hit me up if you want that

I would quit residency/stop practicing medicine if I became a professional book reviewer, obviously. And while I appreciate the thought, I don't think I'd be much of a consultant. You need to have some kind of experience that people are willing to pay for, and being an intern hardly trains you for much outside of being a resident.

 

[Latcatin]

that's very true. i constantly envision becoming my own boss, a hospitalist (nocturnal) and owning my private clinic in areas medically underserved where would hire 2-mid level providers.

I'm retiring from a career as a music teacher this year to start med school in the fall. I taught before and after earning a BA in Music. I can tell you about famous composers that you've never heard of, and I can write string quartets. I dream about working weekends in an emergency room and having my own small, cash-based wellness clinic. I plan to take mission trips to Central America where I hope to share both medical and musical talents. It's the best of both worlds.

 

[Kj615]

I'm retiring from a career as a music teacher this year to start med school in the fall. I taught before and after earning a BA in Music. I can tell you about famous composers that you've never heard of, and I can write string quartets. I dream about working weekends in an emergency room and having my own small, cash-based wellness clinic. I plan to take mission trips to Central America where I hope to share both medical and musical talents. It's the best of both worlds.

Great music talent. Am with you on your travel plan, but, with a medical mission to South Afriqca.

 

[Kj615]

I would quit residency/stop practicing medicine if I became a professional book reviewer, obviously. And while I appreciate the thought, I don't think I'd be much of a consultant. You need to have some kind of experience that people are willing to pay for, and being an intern hardly trains you for much outside of being a resident.

..wow Q. You would quit residency for a professional book reviewer job? I find it so hard to believe.

 

[QofQuimica]

..wow Q. You would quit residency for a professional book reviewer job? I find it so hard to believe.

This is a fantasy thread, Kj. It's a thought experiment like when we all sit around and talk about what we'd do if we won the Powerball lottery. How many people fantasize about quitting their jobs? Nearly everyone I've ever had that conversation with has said they'd quit, and many of them would tell their bosses off while doing it. Of course, odds of winning the lottery are pretty darn slim, so it's easy to sit back and dream about all the things you'd do with all that money. But if you were ever in the position where you were suddenly in possession of so much money, now it becomes a reality, and you can't be so flippant about it anymore.

In my case, I don't especially like being an intern. There are many days that yes, I would like to quit. I work more hours than I would like. I do more scut work than I would like. For the hours I put in, I get paid less money than I would like. Etc, etc. So sure, it's easy to fantasize about being paid to stay home and read books. Now if someone seriously offered me that job right now, would I really do it? I don't know. I suspect that if I spent 80 hours per week at home reading books, I might well get just as sick of reading as I do of spending 80 hours per week working in the hospital. 😉

 

[Kj615]

This is a fantasy thread, Kj. It's a thought experiment like when we all sit around and talk about what we'd do if we won the Powerball lottery. How many people fantasize about quitting their jobs? Nearly everyone I've ever had that conversation with has said they'd quit, and many of them would tell their bosses off while doing it. Of course, odds of winning the lottery are pretty darn slim, so it's easy to sit back and dream about all the things you'd do with all that money. But if you were ever in the position where you were suddenly in possession of so much money, now it becomes a reality, and you can't be so flippant about it anymore.

In my case, I don't especially like being an intern. There are many days that yes, I would like to quit. I work more hours than I would like. I do more scut work than I would like. For the hours I put in, I get paid less money than I would like. Etc, etc. So sure, it's easy to fantasize about being paid to stay home and read books. Now if someone seriously offered me that job right now, would I really do it? I don't know. I suspect that if I spent 80 hours per week at home reading books, I might well get just as sick of reading as I do of spending 80 hours per week working in the hospital. 😉

O.K Q. I got it now.

 

[vc7777]

I actually thought of this two weeks ago!

We are always asked what we would be doing if not medicine. Our collective responses are pretty boring. So this is what I came up with:

Hand model. Not to brag - but I could be Brad Pitt's hand-double in closeups, you know - holding a gun, swinging an axe, caressing lovely female protagonists. It'd be sweet.

 

[derpymd]

Oh man If I could do anything I would totally be a professional traveler akin to Anthony Bordain or crazy off the beaten path traveling like Bear Grylls!

 

[wholeheartedly]

Oh man If I could do anything I would totally be a professional traveler akin to Anthony Bordain or crazy off the beaten path traveling like Bear Grylls!

I'd be a wildlife photographer or photojournalist for Natl. Geographic or something. One of my friends told me I should do that, thought it was a great idea. Then reality kicked in. lol

 

[Enzyme1]

No, not at all. I was LA, and didn't realize that my passion lied in helping others, and making the most out of it. Med school is going to require all of that, and it will definitely be the most laborious task (residency even more so). But I look forward to it.

 

[JThornton661]

Only after EVERY. SINGLE. EXAM.

"Forget this, I'm switching my major to ART."

 

[MossyFiber]

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