More jobs in medicine?

[ULTRON]

Hello ALL,

I'm an electrical engineer meeting all the premed requirements. I'm 23, got laid off 6 months ago and I'm looking for a better career. Seriously, are there better job opportunities in medicine ? I want to be a surgeon - at least they don't get laid off every year. What do you think?

thanks

ULTRON

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[Fenrezz]

Very few jobs offer the job security that medicine does. Unlike law, the job market for medicine is far from oversaturated so there will always be plenty of demand for physicians. On top of that, you have lots of freedom to decide where you want to live.


You don't hear the phrase "out-of-work physician" too often.

 

[eddieberetta]

ummm, I hate to be the dissenting voice but medicine is ridiculously slow and costly way to simply ensure that you have a job! It will take a minimum of 9 additional years of training for you to become a surgeon, and Med school wil cost you between 50-150K depending on where you go. You only get paid for the last 5 years of your training, and it is 40K at that.

Not to say that medicine isn't a wonderful career, that many of us love -- just that you should consider carefully your reasons for entering because there will be many sacrifices ahead. However, if you want still want to enter medicine, I highly recommend it as a career. Your skills as an engineer would be an interesting asset for research in surgery (lots of advances in minimal access surgery) and radiology/imaging.

Thr job market/stability in medicine is generally good, but varies between specialties and cyclically with time.

Good luck deciding.

 

[ULTRON]

Thanks guys, those replies were really helpful. Northwestern U ! Here I come, babe !!





ULTRON

 

[Rads Resident]

There are fantastic opportunities in medicine, but Berretta is right on the money. Don't go into medicine unless you love it. Sounds sappy but it's true.

First, no matter how much you love it, there will be much of it that you hate (so you better love the good aspects enough to make these worthwhile).

And second, consider this...

Think about how successful an entrepenuer could be if they (a) were bright enough to be accepted into med school, (b) had $150K to start up a new company, (c) were willing to work 80-100 hour work weeks and (d) forego a salary for four years and then (e) accept an embarrasingly low $30-40K for the next five years.

I'm not trying to talk you out of it by any means. Just know what your getting. Good luck.

 

[r_salis]

Originally posted by ULTRON
Hello ALL,

I'm an electrical engineer meeting all the premed requirements. I'm 23, got laid off 6 months ago and I'm looking for a better career. Seriously, are there better job opportunities in medicine ? I want to be a surgeon - at least they don't get laid off every year. What do you think?

thanks

ULTRON

I know a lot of EEs that went into software engineering when they couldn't find jobs. Does that interest you?

 

[MacGyver]

Originally posted by r_salis
I know a lot of EEs that went into software engineering when they couldn't find jobs. Does that interest you?

software engineering is no better off than other EE type jobs.

in fact, there is a lot of outsourcing of computer science/programming/software engineering to 3rd world countries which have cheap labor