HELP! i dont know what my career will be!

[NurseBunny]

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First of all let me explain how i have a passion for acting. i plan to balance medical career with acting!! ( i will be very busy won't i? please inform me) i also have NO IDEA what career in the medical field is for me! i was so sure i would be a pharmacist but then i turned around and i'm looking in the physician career!! my teacher once told me i would be a good orthopedist. i dont know yet! ALSO what should i major/minor in? I AM VERYYY CONFUSED. please help! how many years in school will this take?? how much money will i need to borrow? 😕😕😕😕😕😕😕😕🙁

 

[orthomyxo]

It's OK to not have any idea what you want to be when you grow up. You're still in high school. I'm sure there are med students that don't know what specialty they want to go into. My advice is to do some shadowing and find out what interests you the most.

To answer your questions, becoming a doctor usually takes no less than 4 years of undergrad, 4 years of med school, and anywhere from 3 to I think 7 years of residency depending on your specialty. In undergrad you can major in whatever you want as long as you satisfy the med school prerequisites. Don't worry about how much money you need to borrow yet, unless you've already been accepted to college.

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

Step 1: Breath
Step 2: .....
Step 3: .....
Step 4: Success!

Steps 2 & 3 will happen when they happen. Try not to put too much pressure on yourself and see where life takes you.

 

[desi0chick]

You're too young to know what you'll major/minor in as a high school student. Just chillax, you'll get through it as the years progress and you'll eventually know what's right for you.

 

[delano2000]

Step 1: Breath
Step 2: .....
Step 3: .....
Step 4: Success!

Steps 2 & 3 will happen when they happen. Try not to put too much pressure on yourself and see where life takes you.

Couldn't have said it any better.👍

 

[unhappytnt]

I can't give you any career advice but I'll answer some of your questions.

ALSO what should i major/minor in?

As long as you have taken the pre-reqs (Bio, Chem, OChem, Physics, Calc) your major doesn't matter. Being a science major has no advantage over, say, Poli Sci.

how many years in school will this take??

4 years of undegrad + 4 years of med school + 3 or more years of residency and you are looking into 11 years minimum.

how much money will i need to borrow?

This depends. If you go to a private school your tuition will be around 250-350K. This is significantly less for state schools, around 150K.

 

[huskerdye]

First of all let me explain how i have a passion for acting. i plan to balance medical career with acting!! ( i will be very busy won't i? please inform me) i also have NO IDEA what career in the medical field is for me! i was so sure i would be a pharmacist but then i turned around and i'm looking in the physician career!! my teacher once told me i would be a good orthopedist. i dont know yet! ALSO what should i major/minor in? I AM VERYYY CONFUSED. please help! how many years in school will this take?? how much money will i need to borrow? 😕😕😕😕😕😕😕😕🙁

Far too busy.

That is really no problem at all, right now you shouldn't be worried about your career. Do some shadowing and see what interests you, there are thousands of other careers within the medical field. Many people see the term medical and think only of a physician. Like I said, there are many many other types of medical careers.

Any college you apply to will help you with this process. If you we're to go the physician route (or a lot of other medical careers) you will typically major in some sort of biology (my major is human biology). However, there are other options such as engineering, chemistry, etc..

As for how long you will be in school, it just depends on what you decide to do. For a physician, you typically have four years of undergrad, four years of medical school, and a 3-7+ year residency/fellowship. For a pharmacist it is typically a 6-7 year program, nursing is a 4 year program (bsn), physical therapy is typically six years, there are so many options.. If you go the medical route, which will most likely be the most expensive, you could be anywhere from having very very little debt (if you could pull off a full ride medical scholarship) to being over 300K in debt, depending on how you pay back your loans, etc.. Most medical students end up 100-200K in debt, from what I've learned.

For now worry about rocking the SAT and getting into a school where you're comfortable.

 

[Ischemic]

Ahh... youngsters, they get ahead of themselves to easily and want to grow up so fast. Trust me, knowing what I know now, I'da took my younger years less seriously and enjoyed it as much as possible.

 

[deleted205891]

If you like medicine and acting, perhaps look into creative arts therapy? I've met someone this summer that's in school for that, and she seems to be enjoying her program.

 

[wristbandMD]

Far too busy.


Any college you apply to will help you with this process. If you we're to go the physician route (or a lot of other medical careers) you will typically major in some sort of biology (my major is human biology). However, there are other options such as engineering, chemistry, etc..

I think it's very important to point out that although this was the norm years ago, many non-science majors are applying to med schools and being accepted. A student could easily major in drama/theater and still become a physician/dentist/chiropractor/PA/Nurse/etc.

Medical schools like to have a broad range of students. This is not limited to ethnicity and gender, but also includes a variety of college majors. At a medical school you will find music majors, engineering majors, English majors, philosophy majors, biochemistry majors, Romance language and literature majors, environmental science majors, and so on.

As long as you complete your pre-reqs for med school, you can major in anything you like.

 

[QuizzicalApe]

I think it's very important to point out that although this was the norm years ago, many non-science majors are applying to med schools and being accepted. A student could easily major in drama/theater and still become a physician/dentist/chiropractor/PA/Nurse/etc.

Medical schools like to have a broad range of students. This is not limited to ethnicity and gender, but also includes a variety of college majors. At a medical school you will find music majors, engineering majors, English majors, philosophy majors, biochemistry majors, Romance language and literature majors, environmental science majors, and so on.

As long as you complete your pre-reqs for med school, you can major in anything you like.

Seconding this.

Ignore what husker said about majors. You can major in anything and not have it hurt you in the least. Med schools don't discriminate against econ, dance, philosophy, or contemporary art majors as long as you complete the pre-requisite courses.

 

[WildEMDoc]

I think it's very important to point out that although this was the norm years ago, many non-science majors are applying to med schools and being accepted. A student could easily major in drama/theater and still become a physician/dentist/chiropractor/PA/Nurse/etc.

Medical schools like to have a broad range of students. This is not limited to ethnicity and gender, but also includes a variety of college majors. At a medical school you will find music majors, engineering majors, English majors, philosophy majors, biochemistry majors, Romance language and literature majors, environmental science majors, and so on.

As long as you complete your pre-reqs for med school, you can major in anything you like.

I wouldn't jump on him so fast. Almost every medical school class composition that I have seen has at least ~60% from some kind of biological science alone.

While it is true that you can major in anything you like, you are making it sound too much like you shouldn't major in biology, when there is nothing wrong with doing so.

And lets not forget that bio majors rock the house😎

 

[wristbandMD]

Almost every medical school class composition that I have seen has at least ~60% from some kind of biological science alone.

Actually, from what I've seen, it's about 60% of sciences (physical and biological) and about 40% of non-science majors. In recent years anyway.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with majoring in Bio. But the OP is interested in acting and has no idea what to major in. I think it's important, as I said above, to note that there is no need to major in a science.

 

[TrumaJunkie]

You're young and it's ok that you have no idea what you want to do. I went to an oral surgeon once who was an actor as well as a doctor. (Although he should have quit his day job.)
When you get to college shadow doctors, nurses, and pharmacists and then you'll get a better idea. Also, take the require pre-medical courses like orgo and see how you do in those classes.
If you decide that you want to go to medical school then great. Even when you get to medical school you don't have to know what specialty you'd like to do.

 

[Dr Oops]

I wouldn't jump on him so fast. Almost every medical school class composition that I have seen has at least ~60% from some kind of biological science alone.

While it is true that you can major in anything you like, you are making it sound too much like you shouldn't major in biology, when there is nothing wrong with doing so.

And lets not forget that bio majors rock the house😎

It only makes sense that there would be alot of science majors. Medicine is very science heavy, most people have interest in science in college thus they are science majors and then apply to medical school.

TO the OP, I think you need to do more research. Especially about the becoming a physician part. First figure out if thats something you really want. You do that by shadowing and volunteering, getting out there and working with patients. Then worry about getting into medical school. You clearly have a passion for acting explore what you really want, medicine is hard to do as a side deal.

 

[Zoom-Zoom]

First of all let me explain how i have a passion for acting. i plan to balance medical career with acting!! ( i will be very busy won't i? please inform me) i also have NO IDEA what career in the medical field is for me! i was so sure i would be a pharmacist but then i turned around and i'm looking in the physician career!! my teacher once told me i would be a good orthopedist. i dont know yet! ALSO what should i major/minor in? I AM VERYYY CONFUSED. please help! how many years in school will this take?? how much money will i need to borrow?

1. It's totally normal to feel that way. I don't know what I want to do in medicne yet, either, and I'm in freakin med school

2. It's definitely possible to have side-interests or careers as a doctor. I was talking to one of our Emergency Medicine docs and he was very proud and eager to share what a great lifestyle ER has. He basically works like 7 or 8 ten-hour shifts per month. He said one of the other attendings does carpentery and another is an actor...the guy like considers himself an actor first and a doctor second, and has plenty of time to audition in LA and get work. But the thing is, they're all making $300K+ in the ER 😉 ...or at least that's what I was told by this doc. Obviously, he really loves his job and ironically probably spends another 30 hours/week doing extra teaching stuff for us.

3. You need to figure out why you're interested in something medical because "medical" is really so broad. It sounds more like you're just looking for a stable career, which is fine. But you could have a stable career as an acting teacher or something like that too, if you actually don't like medicine. There's a big difference between pharmacy, nursing, medicine, physician-assistants, etc. You could be an acupuncturist, chiropractor (boo), audiologist, allergist, etc. I didn't realize how cool dentistry is until I got through some med school 🙂 Try to get some exposure by learning more and going out to see what they actually do.

4. Keep your options open. I can't stress that enough. In college you can go out and major in whatever you want, take classes in whatever you want, and really explore your options. It's a lot of fun. But keep the medical path open...which means take the pre-requisites (Bio, Chem, etc.), starting your freshman year. Know the application process for your potential future field, keep scars off your transcript, etc. It's easy to go out and get a couple C's in elective classes and accidentally mess up your future in medicine. So it's a lot harder to keep the medical door open than the acting one. Be smart about your explorations and you'll find the right path for you. You definitely don't want a career in acting just because you failed freshman chemistry.

 

[Richardh]

go out and volunteer at a clinic, hospital, doctor's office, rehab center, etc 😀 while you're in high school you have plenty of time to explore these places and see if patient interaction or better yet the health care field environment is right for you 🙂

 

[Richardh]

by the way Dr. Ken Jeong is known to be a physician and also an actor 🙂

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Jeong