- Joined
- Jul 17, 2003
- Messages
- 15
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Hello everyone. I'm a 3rd year (on the verge of becoming 4th) year medical student, and I'm still not 100% sure what I want to do for my career. I've loved path as a course, and I've had great opportunites to talk to some pathologists at my school who seem happy with their field. But it's still tough. Well, let me get to the point....
I'm an older med student (32) who is quite honestly burned out. I applied to med school numerous times, got in (allopathic u.s. school), worked hard etc...and there's a part of me that is still waiting for the fun to begin. I'm ok with patient contact but would prefer not to have it. The temptation of a non-preliminary/transitional/intern year is very appealing to me with path - EXTREMELY APPEALING. Here's the deal, I really do like path and I feel that I wouldnt have to SUFFER through a residency program with path - I would be able to enjoy it and enjoy life. There comes a point where delayed gratification becomes overdue gratification and I fear that I am reaching that. Here's the thing, though, the money when compared to other fields does bother me. Look , please don't crucify me for this people, but there's a part of me that would be pretty upset making $125,000 out of residency. Maybe that's wrong, but that's how I feel sometimes. I dunno, maybe I need to stop thinking that way, but anesthesia/radiology making $250,000 out of residency - wow. But, again, I'm not sure I have the love for those fields. Maybe I just wish path was a field that paid more I guess. But another positive thing about path is that the present state of competitiveness makes it very feasible to be able to choose at least the region of the US where you want to do your residency. That's a beautiful thing - I dream of a little house close to a beach somewhere working great hours and getting a tan.
Hey, maybe, I don't have a dilemma. Maybe I just needed to get this off of my chest. Again, don't destroy me for the money issue, peeps. I've laid out part of my soul here in this thread. Anyways, comments/suggestions/people who've had similar feelings - all are welcome. -hank
I'm an older med student (32) who is quite honestly burned out. I applied to med school numerous times, got in (allopathic u.s. school), worked hard etc...and there's a part of me that is still waiting for the fun to begin. I'm ok with patient contact but would prefer not to have it. The temptation of a non-preliminary/transitional/intern year is very appealing to me with path - EXTREMELY APPEALING. Here's the deal, I really do like path and I feel that I wouldnt have to SUFFER through a residency program with path - I would be able to enjoy it and enjoy life. There comes a point where delayed gratification becomes overdue gratification and I fear that I am reaching that. Here's the thing, though, the money when compared to other fields does bother me. Look , please don't crucify me for this people, but there's a part of me that would be pretty upset making $125,000 out of residency. Maybe that's wrong, but that's how I feel sometimes. I dunno, maybe I need to stop thinking that way, but anesthesia/radiology making $250,000 out of residency - wow. But, again, I'm not sure I have the love for those fields. Maybe I just wish path was a field that paid more I guess. But another positive thing about path is that the present state of competitiveness makes it very feasible to be able to choose at least the region of the US where you want to do your residency. That's a beautiful thing - I dream of a little house close to a beach somewhere working great hours and getting a tan.
Hey, maybe, I don't have a dilemma. Maybe I just needed to get this off of my chest. Again, don't destroy me for the money issue, peeps. I've laid out part of my soul here in this thread. Anyways, comments/suggestions/people who've had similar feelings - all are welcome. -hank