I don't know which path to take

[TheConfused]

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I'm a first year Biology major with no idea what to do once I graduate. My major advisor said see what interests me in the future but I want to start on volunteering or job shadowing specific to the field now, I really need help and advice on which path to take, here's my thought process,

Medical School (not sure I want the lifetime commitment, plus getting that high GPA with line of EC's)
Caribbean med school (same as above)
Podiatry (big time commitment, start family in my 30's?)
Medical technologist (400 applicants for 4-5 spots in CA schools...:C)
Pharmacy (job outlook is absolute worst; what if I can't pay back debt)
Vet School (some say its more competitive than med school? also I'm not passionate about animals anyways)
Grad school (and then what?!)
PA (not sure if I have time to get all those patient care hours)
Dental (commit to job shadowing / 300k debt?!?!?!)
RN (being a male nurse is cool and all but I feel like I wasted going to a 4 year uni)

Sorry if I sound like a egotistical kid but I just want to focus on a goal that I can complete and be financially successful and I don't want to rush volunteering and job shadowing in the future, it would be less stressful and look better on application if I got started now.

 

[Time Table]

Did you try taking a career development course? I took it simply because it was an easy A, but it helped me look into different specialties that I would want to shadow as well as other specialties I might have a strong interest in.

 

[WhtsThFrequency]

If you aren't 100% passionate about veterinary, don't do it. Take it from someone in the field. The debt versus the salary are not worth it unless you cannot see yourself doing anything else. It is immensely competitive and difficult, without the financial reward of human medicine.

While I personally adore my field (I specialized and am boarded in veterinary pathology), can you stomach the schooling to only make 50-60k as a starting salary as a general practitioner vet with an average of 150,00 in debt if you go in-state? Specializing (3-5 more years) or going into animal model research (likely will need a PhD on top of DVM + board specialty) will put you more in the 80-120k range, but still.

Generic grad school is a bottomless pit nowadays as well, with multiple postdocs being the norm and a dearth of professorship positions.

 

[TheConfused]

I'm leaning towards Podiatry right now, I am positive I can get the stats to get in as long as the field stays under the radar.

 

[AlteredScale]

I'm leaning towards Podiatry right now, I am positive I can get the stats to get in as long as the field stays under the radar.

Right now you're mind set is "will I get the stats to get in". Look, just do well in your courses period. All of these fields require smart cookies.

What's concerning here is your thought process: it's all about you. Your time, your money, your interests (or lack there of). So tell me, why do you want to go into the medical/health profession?

As for your predicament, don't expect SDN to pick a career for you. It'd be foolish on both ends for that to occur. The best advice I can give you is to shadow each of these professions, figure out which one interests you the most, then come back and post when you've narrowed down your list a bit more.

Also, remove caribbean medical school from that list. If you are a US citizen, do NOT go to an international medical school.

 

[Law2Doc]

Describe your ideal job, don't make a laundry list of things and why they aren't ideal. If you are worried about lifelong commitment and debt, maybe none of these jobs are appropriate. There are plenty of jobs out there that don't require post college education. Even in health care there are lots of tech positions that don't require too much higher education. Don't say "I'm going into X field because I think I can get those stats." Say "I'm going to try to go into X field because I think I could really enjoy a career in X field." you have choices in life, don't just try and take the path of least resistance. You might be doing it 40-80 hours a week for the next 40 years so the threshold of "getting in" isn't really as important as whether you actually like it. if you want it you go all in and work for it. If you dont really want it you shouldn't let yourself fall into it, as the best you can get without much effort. Nobody wants to go to a Podiatrist, etc who chose that field because they decided they could get it by coasting and not putting in much commitment.

 

[sonofva]

i think the best thing is just to choose something. this doesn't mean that your long term goal won' change over time. but if you don't just get after something, you won't go anywhere.

 

[Law2Doc]

i think the best thing is just to choose something. this doesn't mean that your long term goal won' change over time. but if you don't just get after something, you won't go anywhere.

Disgree. Not going anywhere is sometimes no worse than heading off in the exactly wrong direction. The OP needs to take stock and decide what he's actually interested in, not just pick something for the sake of having a goal. My bet is he ultimately won't even choose healthcare since he seems to be basing his decision on what he could get in term of anticipated weak stats and that doesn't involve high debt or a lifetime commitment. If that's the case, taking premed sciences and doing health ECs could tank his GPA unnecessarily and hinder his future options as, say, a marine biologist or whatever.

 

[sonofva]

Disgree. Not going anywhere is sometimes no worse than heading off in the exactly wrong direction. The OP needs to take stock and decide what he's actually interested in, not just pick something for the sake of having a goal. My bet is he ultimately won't even choose healthcare since he seems to be basing his decision on what he could get in term of anticipated weak stats and that doesn't involve high debt or a lifetime commitment. If that's the case, taking premed sciences and doing health ECs could tank his GPA unnecessarily and hinder his future options as, say, a marine biologist or whatever.

My point though is how will he know if he likes a field or not if he doesn't go out and give it a try. That's the point of the first 1-2 years of college. Go get your hands dirty and see if you like a field. If not, go try another. At this point it's impossible for OP to take stock and see what he's interested in because he "doesn't know what he doesn't know." My advice is just pick a field you're most interested in and go for it first semester. Do some shadowing and knock out a few science courses. You haven't lost anything if it doesn't work out, and most likely will have fulfilled a gen Ed requirement in the process. And if after a few months he's sucking yet, refocus on something else.

 

[Law2Doc]

My point though is how will he know if he likes a field or not if he doesn't go out and give it a try. That's the point of the first 1-2 years of college. Go get your hands dirty and see if you like a field. If not, go try another. At this point it's impossible for OP to take stock and see what he's interested in because he "doesn't know what he doesn't know." My advice is just pick a field you're most interested in and go for it first semester. Do some shadowing and knock out a few science courses. You haven't lost anything if it doesn't work out, and most likely will have fulfilled a gen Ed requirement in the process. And if after a few months he's sucking yet, refocus on something else.

Except he's leaning toward podiatry, for which there really aren't on point college courses. Best to do soul searching first. I think he's not going to like health given his initial post