Is this the right move?

[bermudalocket]

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Alright, bear with me a bit as I try to word all of this 🙂

I'm currently a 4th-year college student set to graduate with a BS in Mathematics Education (7-12) in May 2015. I did two years at community college (AS Mathematics) where I had a stellar GPA, got involved, won lots of awards at the college, county, and SUNY level, including the most prestigious award a SUNY student can receive.

After I graduated, I had the bright idea that I wanted to become a music/theatre teacher. I transferred to a 4-year SUNY, but absolutely hated it. I failed out after 1 semester and was academically dismissed. It was the first time anything like that had ever happened to me.

I then transferred to a different 4-year SUNY, thinking I just didn't like the school, and stayed a music/theatre major. I stayed there for 3 semesters. My GPA there ended up being a 2.9. I constantly withdrew from classes and received mediocre grades in the classes that I actually finished. I ended up being put on antidepressants, and at that point I knew something needed to change.

I'm currently taking this semester off and working full-time. I'll be going to a 4-year private university next semester to finish my BS in Mathematics Education.

Here's where my dilemma begins. I'm doing some fieldwork right now in local high schools, racking up observation hours, and finally peering "behind the curtain" of public education... and I'm worried. Flooded teaching job markets, salary cuts, salary schedule step freezes, increasing class sizes, increasing high-stakes testing, salaries tied to student test scores... this isn't what I thought I was getting myself into. Don't get me wrong, I knew things weren't great in the world of education, but I'm truly worried I either won't be able to find a job, or if I do, I won't make a decent living. I'm terrified I won't be able to provide for my family, since my boyfriend and I are moving in together soon and are getting pretty serious.

My parents had ruthlessly pushed the idea of becoming a doctor on to me for years, so it got to the point where I simply put the idea out of my head because I was so god damn sick of hearing about it. Literally every other career I thought of, they would shoot down. My dad and I would get into screaming matches over this (with the worst fight we've ever had literally in front of the entire family on Christmas Eve 2 years ago). I felt that if I went into medicine, I'd be living the life they wanted, not the one I want.

I'm starting to think that I'd actually enjoy becoming a doctor, though... specifically EM or Psychiatry.

I guess I'm just scared. I've had the idea of being a teacher in my head for YEARS... I'm talking since second grade. If I want to teach, I just need 2 more semesters, and I can enter the job market. I would need to do 2 more years of school to finish the BCPM requirements in order to even apply to med school... then 4 years of that, plus 3-4 years of residency, etc.

Here's how I look at it thought: job security, salary, quality of life. I would enjoy either career, so don't think I'm only considering going into medicine for the money, but that is a pretty big consideration for me.

I'm just hoping I can get some insight. I'm a bit lost, and it's getting to the point where I toss and turn at night because I can't stop thinking about all of this.

 

[Catalystik]

I'm currently a 4th-year college student set to graduate with a BS in Mathematics Education (7-12) in May 2015. I did two years at community college (AS Mathematics) where I had a stellar GPA, got involved, won lots of awards at the college, county, and SUNY level, including the most prestigious award a SUNY student can receive.

After I graduated, I had the bright idea that I wanted to become a music/theatre teacher. I transferred to a 4-year SUNY, but absolutely hated it. I failed out after 1 semester and was academically dismissed. It was the first time anything like that had ever happened to me.

I then transferred to a different 4-year SUNY, thinking I just didn't like the school, and stayed a music/theatre major. I stayed there for 3 semesters. My GPA there ended up being a 2.9. I constantly withdrew from classes and received mediocre grades in the classes that I actually finished. I ended up being put on antidepressants, and at that point I knew something needed to change.

I'm currently taking this semester off and working full-time. I'll be going to a 4-year private university next semester to finish my BS in Mathematics Education.

Here's where my dilemma begins. I'm doing some fieldwork right now in local high schools, racking up observation hours, and finally peering "behind the curtain" of public education... and I'm worried. Flooded teaching job markets, salary cuts, salary schedule step freezes, increasing class sizes, increasing high-stakes testing, salaries tied to student test scores... this isn't what I thought I was getting myself into. Don't get me wrong, I knew things weren't great in the world of education, but I'm truly worried I either won't be able to find a job, or if I do, I won't make a decent living. I'm terrified I won't be able to provide for my family, since my boyfriend and I are moving in together soon and are getting pretty serious.

My parents had ruthlessly pushed the idea of becoming a doctor on to me for years, so it got to the point where I simply put the idea out of my head because I was so god damn sick of hearing about it. Literally every other career I thought of, they would shoot down. My dad and I would get into screaming matches over this (with the worst fight we've ever had literally in front of the entire family on Christmas Eve 2 years ago). I felt that if I went into medicine, I'd be living the life they wanted, not the one I want.

I'm starting to think that I'd actually enjoy becoming a doctor, though... specifically EM or Psychiatry.

I guess I'm just scared. I've had the idea of being a teacher in my head for YEARS... I'm talking since second grade. If I want to teach, I just need 2 more semesters, and I can enter the job market. I would need to do 2 more years of school to finish the BCPM requirements in order to even apply to med school... then 4 years of that, plus 3-4 years of residency, etc.

Here's how I look at it thought: job security, salary, quality of life. I would enjoy either career, so don't think I'm only considering going into medicine for the money, but that is a pretty big consideration for me.

I'm just hoping I can get some insight. I'm a bit lost, and it's getting to the point where I toss and turn at night because I can't stop thinking about all of this.

If you apply to MD schools, all classes attempted with all grades earned at every post high school institution will be calculated together into your application GPA (regardless of the policy of previous schools on grade forgiveness). Maybe you could figure that out so we know what you're up against, considering your academic history related above. Note: a W can be ignored in this calculation.

If you apply to AACOMAS DO medical schools, if you retook a class for the same credits or greater, only the final grade is included in your application GPA. This might be helpful if you retook, or need to retake, any classwork to get your GPA into a competitive range.

 

[bermudalocket]

Thanks for the response. Here are my GPAs:

Fall 2010: 3.6
Spring 2011: 3.7
Summer 2011: 4.0
Fall 2011: 3.7
Spring 2012: 3.9

Fall 2012: 0.0

Spring 2013: 2.0
Summer 2013: 4.0
Fall 2013: 3.0

Avg: 3.1

Okay, not as terrible as I thought it was going to be.

As far as prerequisite classes go, I have:

Calculus 1 (AP credit)
Calculus 2 (B, independent study)
Calculus 3 (A)
Advanced Statistics (A)
General Chemistry 1 (A)
English (took a lot of English classes... all As)

 

[Catalystik]

Since you've taken few of the sciences, you could end with a high AMCAS BCPM GPA (all bio, chem, physics, and math grades) and AACOMAS sGPA (includes no math). A strong enough MCAT score, with high science grades, and a steep, consistent upward grade trend (which you have yet to begin considering the last term's mediocre grades) could balance your low cGPA in the eyes of some adcomms So long as you're willing to apply broadly, it's not impossible for you to become a viable med school candidate.

 

[Lya]

I am neither a doctor or a certified teacher, but I will share some thoughts here.

What I would do first, if I were you, is to find a doctor to shadow. Bring up some genuine concerns, like you seriously considered teaching, but due to job insecurity, a larger class size, and salaries based on standardized exam grades, you feel reluctant to pursue your teaching career and want to explore other careers like medicine. My guess is that he will tell you similar dilemmas in medicine, like larger patient sizes post-ACA and performance-based salaries (if implemented fully). Job security might be something medicine will almost certainly offer, but it is important for you to discuss firsthand with doctors.

 

[masaraksh]

Also, don't forget medicine will bring massive debt (because, honestly, it would probably be unlikely you get merit aid due to the hiccups). And the debt comes with high interest - expect interest to be 60-140% of what you take out.

But yeah, best advice is to shadow a doc. And, decide if that's what you want to do. Also, you sound like your top priority now is job security. There are other jobs out there that will be decent in that regard that won't take 10 yeas of trAining and ~3-500k in debt.

 

[Donald Juan]

If medicine is what you want to do, you can definitely do it. I had a VERY strong upward trend, but due to earlier mistakes I still had to apply with a 3.19. I was lucky enough to get accepted to a US MD school the first time I applied. So, it is possible.

What you need to figure out is if you actually want to do medicine. I'll echo the others who say go shadow some docs. If you plan on ever applying, you'll need to do it anyways, and it should be the quickest way to figure out if this is for you or not.

I'm certainly not trying to sway you away from medicine, but I do want to prep you for some things. There is a lot of BS in medicine you'll have to deal with, too. If you hang out with alarmists you can sit around and be just as worried about your future as anybody else. Also, medicine is a long, hard road. I know everyone doesn't go into medicine for the right reasons, but I definitely think fear of your current job market is not sufficient enough of a reason to get through what it takes to be an MD. It's fine for a starting point, but you need to find more reasons for yourself (again, go shadow).

As for what you want in a career: Medicine has job security and I doubt that will change anytime soon. Salaries are not guaranteed, and for your situation you won't be pulling in a doctors salary for 9-14 years, at which point you'll probably have $300,000 in student loans. Lifestyle is definitely not here. At best, you can choose one of the specialties that are known for having a good lifestyle, but you will still have, again, nearly a decade before that becomes a reality.