hi, i'm very uncertain about my career path~~

[susan19891231]

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hey,it's susie from canada, and i'm still in high school, will graduate june 2008. I 've thought' bout becoming a pediatrician,but the years of attending school is too long for me. Then I began to look at becoming a RN ( registered nurse) or a pharmist, but uncertain about which one? I care most about the work style/ environment,and the pay,( includes benefit). So if any of u have any advices , i'd love to hear it~~ThanX😳

 

[blu_sky]

hey,it's susie from canada, and i'm still in high school, will graduate june 2008. I 've thought' bout becoming a pediatrician,but the years of attending school is too long for me. Then I began to look at becoming a RN ( registered nurse) or a pharmist, but uncertain about which one? I care most about the work style/ environment,and the pay,( includes benefit). So if any of u have any advices , i'd love to hear it~~ThanX😳

Dear Susie, follow the career that'll make you happy. Make list of your career choices and under each, write down why you want to go into it and what you'll like about it. If this doesn't aid in your decision, it may help organize your thoughts better. Likewise, look at your personality type and the type of person you are, your likes, dislikes, values, believes, core interests, work habits and so on. Which one of the careers you mention above fits these? While it's great that you're here asking for advice, I'll suggest that you go to your school counsellor (Guidance Counsellor) and speak to him/her about this. They'll have some career assessments' quizzes or tests for you to take, and that may also give you a better idea of what career you should be looking at. I know a really good one you can take online if you haven't taken any already. It's excellent and in-depth, and free of charge as well. It was the best career and personality assessment test I've ever taken. I don't have the website at the moment, but if you haven't taken any or want to take another one, let me know and I can find it for you. Also, while it's realistic to be concerned about the "pay (including benefits)" as you mention, that shouldn't be one of your main priorities when you're trying to choose a career. A career that'll make you happy and fulfilled is what you should be aiming for, and with the choices you have above, you shouldn't be concerned with not making enough money, although of course you'll have to go through more schooling with Peadiatrics, and Pharmacy as well. Nursing is 4 yrs (Bsc.N), Pharmacy is about 6 yrs, and Peadiatrics (med sch)...about 10/11yrs, I'm guessing. In the end, the decision lies with you. Don't choose a career because of what anyones says, because you heard/read they make a lot of money in that particular profession, because you don't want to go through a lot of schooling, because your parents wants you to, choose a career because you'll enjoy it, because you've a passion for it and because you'll enjoying your courses as well in university. If you enjoy your courses, you'll do well in them, and the motivation to stay focused and keep up with your studying will be there. You also say you care most about the "work- style/environment," so consider volunteering in the areas you're interested in, perhaps at a local Hospital, and you can get an idea of what the field is like. Hope this helps. Good luck with your decision.

 

[Substance]

If you're between MD, Pharm, and RN, then consider these points:

MD: You actually get to think and solve problems for the rest of your life. You also call the shots once you're an attending. HOWEVER, you have to be in school for a decade or more! You have to put up with bullshi# from attendings, annoying students, bad residents, bitc#y nurses, LAWYERS, and the amount of paperwork can become insane. If you go into FP, you're making less per-hour than a teacher! Might as well just become a pharmacist.

PHarm: this is really the best when it comes to lifestyle. All you do is measure pills, and hand them out. You have to have a lot of knowledge about medications, but the actual job is just handing out pills. Doctors tell the patients what kind of pills they need to take, not pharmacists. Yet, pharm gets paid exorbitantly to do it. Plus, pharmacy students are usually hot.

RN: You work your ass off, you clean up shi# all day, you take crap from attendings, you take crap from other nurses. Your coworkers are mostly female, which isn't very diverse. And you don't get paid enough. However, there is no admission process so you can just go into this first.


It's up to you. I would never be a nurse. Pharm is great and lax. Med is my favorite(obviously) but getting there is seriously some of the hardest work you'll ever have to do in your life.

 

[driedcaribou]

And you don't get paid enough. However, there is no admission process so you can just go into this first.

No offense to RNs but I do not agree with the statement that they don't get paid well enough.

Almost everyone in their jobs remark that they don't get paid well enough, but when one tries to do the jobs they do and factor in training time (includes time and money invested in education) + responsibility + hours worked + take home work + continuing education + union + nature of work and how busy one is when you are at work, nurses get paid quite well.

To say there is no admission process is an insult to those who work hard to get marks to get into nursing.

You have put quite a negative light on nursing as well because you have only offered negative points.

Hospital based nursing allows for more patient contact and allows you to be a direct advocate for your patients. It can be an emotionally exhausting job. It is shift work so you do not have any work to take home. Your job is in demand and you can find work relatively easily. You can move to different areas of medicine quite easily as well. Your work is relatively straightforward though some creative thinking is required here and there. You can acquire skills during your career which will allow you a broader scope of practice as well.

A family practitioner in Canada can make less than a high school administrator after taxes and paying for the expenses of running his/her practice but to think a family practitioner leads a life of a pauper is false. When a practice is run effectively, it can be a financially successful career. Family practice in Canada is a much more flexible career than family practice in the US so do not listen to the advice on these forums re: family practice.

It's quite challenging to make career decisions at this point in time because you have so much growing to do. Also, careers are often what they do not seem to be. I meet a lot of driven individuals in medicine who knew early what they wanted to do but they are not the norm. I had one plan when I began but then I started to fall in love with another specialty.

blu_sky has some good advice and I agree with most of the sentiments.

I disagree with small things like 'finding a career that will make you happy' because it's almost an unattainable goal given all the variables and talking to your school counsellor.

The school career counsellors are nigh clueless.
There are so many careers out there outside the realm of 'engineer, doctor, lawyer, teacher, tradesmen' so don't get locked into that.

Good luck.

 

[driedcaribou]

Doctors tell the patients what kind of pills they need to take, not pharmacists. Yet, pharm gets paid exorbitantly to do it. Plus, pharmacy students are usually hot.

The hospital pharmacist usually tells the doctors what kind of screwups they've made on the medication charts.