How to successfully become a forensic pathologist?

[futuredrofforensics]

Hello everyone! I'm new to this site - please forgive me if I'm not doing something right, I'm just getting adjusted! Anyway, I am in my first year of undergraduate and I have a dual major, forensic science and biological sciences with a cellular/molecular concentration. I am doing really well so far, half way through the semester and I am maintaining a 4.0. I was just curious, if any of you are certified forensic pathologists; how did you do it? I'm currently looking into medical schools and have not the slightest idea of where I want to go yet. Any advice that you guys have for opinions on medical schools, how to get into medical school, possible research and clinical experience I could get during my undergrad years, etc. would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[The Knife & Gun Club]

So at my school we have the forensic pathologists come give a few lectures and they're always pretty interesting.

Basically the career path involves med school --> pathology residency --> forensic fellowship

Good news for you is that there's virtually no competition for path residencies or forensic pathology fellowships/jobs. In fact at least down here in the south there's an FP shortage and case backlog.

Bad news is there's no competition because the pay is abysmal, the red tape (government job) is frustrating, and the idea of never seeing a live patient again turns a lot of medical students off.

But, if that's the career you want, getting into med school will almost certainly be the most competitive part.

 

[futuredrofforensics]

So at my school we have the forensic pathologists come give a few lectures and they're always pretty interesting.

Basically the career path involves med school --> pathology residency --> forensic fellowship

Good news for you is that there's virtually no competition for path residencies or forensic pathology fellowships/jobs. In fact at least down here in the south there's an FP shortage and case backlog.

Bad news is there's no competition because the pay is abysmal, the red tape (government job) is frustrating, and the idea of never seeing a live patient again turns a lot of medical students off.

But, if that's the career you want, getting into med school will almost certainly be the most competitive part.

Oh my, how bad is the pay? From all the research I’ve done I’ve never heard anything about bad pay. Multiple sources have said that the median salaries for forensic pathologists in 2015 were around 180k a year. Now I’m not necessarily going just for the money, but it definitely would be a plus.

 

[The Knife & Gun Club]

Oh my, how bad is the pay? From all the research I’ve done I’ve never heard anything about bad pay. Multiple sources have said that the median salaries for forensic pathologists in 2015 were around 180k a year. Now I’m not necessarily going just for the money, but it definitely would be a plus.

180 is very low as far as MD salaries are concerned. Also recall that that's a median. Half the people in the field make less than that.

If it's something you love you should do it (really though as a freshman do you have any idea of what the day to day life of a forensic pathologist is?). It's better to do a job you love for less money than one you hate for more.

But, after investing a quarter of a million dollars and over a decade into your education, lots of people would rather take a more lucrative job. Hence why it's not competitive.

 

[futuredrofforensics]

180 is very low as far as MD salaries are concerned. Also recall that that's a median. Half the people in the field make less than that.

If it's something you love you should do it (really though as a freshman do you have any idea of what the day to day life of a forensic pathologist is?). It's better to do a job you love for less money than one you hate for more.

But, after investing a quarter of a million dollars and over a decade into your education, lots of people would rather take a more lucrative job. Hence why it's not competitive.

That doesn’t seem bad to me at all! Thats enough to sustain myself with no struggle and thats all I need. Yes the debt will be rough, no doubt about that, but if that’s what it takes then so be it. And no I don’t know details of the day to day life of FPs but I do have the general idea. I have always been interested in forensics, but during my clinal rotation I will be open to trying other things and if another specialty ends up reeling me in, so be it.

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

but I do have the general idea.

I too have seen Dexter.