Give me a suggestion or two

[flyingillini]

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I know I am beating a dead horse when I start another one of these but I need some guidance here....

Right now I am in a tossup between going to medical school and getting a PhD. I am a Junior in my 2nd semester and I'm on fall break. I had a bad physics final and my grade dropped, although I am still clueless how I did poorly on it since I had an A going into it....

Anyway I have around a 3.4 right now in science GPA and a 3.5 overall GPA. I have research experience at WashU (summer job) and I have an upcoming job in a well known cancer researcher's lab, as well as extensive volunteer experience. My question is: am I still alright for med school application? I am assuming I have to do quite well in the next semester to prove I am ready for med school, as well as get a high MCAT. The thing is, I enjoy research and a part of me wouldn't mind going that route. However my whole life I've wanted to go into medicine and my family has encouraged me to go that route, and the main reason I think they want me to go that route is honestly money. I don't know what to think anymore really and I guess right now everyone thinks I'm going into medicine but nobody knows how much I enjoy research but me. How well does research pay compared to medicine? I'll be honest too, I love research but I do want to make money and eventually become financially independant. Offer me some suggestions, or if you have more questions about me feel free to ask. I'm throwing this out here because I am clueless...and it isn't a good time to be.

 

[Reimat]

If you're really interested in both, start checking out MD/PhD programs. I'm a Junior this year too, and that's the route I'm headed. However, from what I've seen, there's not a whole lot of money in the research route (especially if you end up in academia), and if love of research is not the biggest driving force, the MD/PhD route is probably not the way to go, even though at the end you have the choice of practicing or doing research (or, rarely it seems, both).

 

[PuKcAo]

You can do research with an M.D., however you can't practice medicine with a phd.

 

[Spankete87]

I would definitely say MD/PhD or MD route. If you go with either of these routes, you can do research. If, however, you decide later on that you want to do medicine and have a PhD alone, you'll have to go back to school. Lots of MD's end up doing research at some point in their career - some almost exclusively. The MD/PhD, of course would be optimal if you think that both are things you would want to do, however, completing an MD alone will be sufficient for you to do research. My bosses are MD's and they do TONS of research - alongside working in the clinic. And as the above poster said, research just doesn't pay much - no matter how far you advance in it. If you're looking to base your decision on money, go the MD route. Just realize that if you do the MD route and go into academia, you'll have to balance research and clinic time, which can be VERY time consuming.....my bosses work for 5 different hospitals (mandated by Duke) on top of conducting research, teaching, giving seminars, writing grants, writing papers, etc.