My story (kinda long read)

[Lil Bear]

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Hey guys, new to this site.

So, I'm a Senior in high school that has never really known what they wanted to do in life...sorta. Last year was the first time I had really thought about what it was that I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I didn't have much of a clue, but I knew a few basic things

1. I wanted to enjoy what I did
2. I did not care about money
3. I wanted to feel like I actually make some sort of difference in this world

Ok, so number three should actually probably be my number one. After I had dissected these basic ideas from myself I thought about what I could do to help with that. I came up with wanted to become a law enforcement officer. I had thought this all the way up until about a month or two ago. I realized that I probably didn't have what it takes to become a law enforcement officer because even though I kept telling myself that I would be able to potentially sacrifice my life for the sake of others, I probably would be scared ****less and not be able to do so. So after I had figured that out, I was back to the drawing board. It so happens that I picked up a computer repair class, mostly just as a filler for my senior year, but I ended up loving the class and it is currently my favorite class. So I figured I would be a computer technician. Now, I am not an exemplary student, however don't confuse this with me not being intelligent, as I do exceptionally well on almost every test that I take and do exceedingly well on standardized tests (although I haven't taken my SAT's yet =/). It is mostly just me not really taking high school seriously and just kind of dicking around (lack of dedication) that has led to my current GPA of about a 2.9, rather than lack of intelligence. I consider myself to be an extremely intellectually talented person, that has just previously lacked the drive and dedication to pursue any type of extremely high education type job. Well, I am sick of it. I have decided to prove to myself and others that I am capable of obtaining schooling of that at a doctorate level. This is what I believe is half of my reasoning that I now believe that I want to be a doctor (physician). I truly want to help others and this is one of the most beneficial ways that I know how. I plan on going to a community college in state and take 2 years of classes there, then transferring to a university to make up for the not so great grades in high school. Actually, I forgot to mention that before I had decided that I wanted to become a physician, that I wanted to become a psychiatrist, but with research I found out that no matter what path I took, it would end with me wanting to go to medical school.

Basically I just kind of wanted to lay out all the information that I was thinking in my mind so that it could become a little bit more clear to me, while obtaining the opinions of like minded individuals who want to go into the same field that I do. Do you guys think that this is the right decision for me? It's kind of pointless of me to ask questions that I'm pretty sure I know the answer to, but hey, everyone wants to be validated.

P.S. I forgot to mention I that the way I wanted to help people is through saving lives

 

[Near]

It depends. So from what I gather, you want to help people and make a difference, and you want to get a high education. You don't have to be a physician to do that though; so ask I you, why do you specifically want to be physician when are other ways you can help people and get a high education?

Anyway, I recommend volunteering in a hospital, interning, exploring this site, watch http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/doctors/, and really try to explore your options and weigh the cons of what you want to do.

After all that, then I think you'll truly know whether this path is the right one for you.

EDIT: Here's a better link http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/doctors/program.html

 

[Vicviper]

Near is right, there a lot of different ways to help people in a meaningful way, and you'd be doing yourself a disservice if you didn't fully survey all of your options. I know in high school most people think health and instantly assume physician, but there is such a huge range of possibilities you can take with health - not to say that health is the only higher education way to help people. My advice to you is to shadow some of the major health professions for at least a day, physician (possibly more than one type), dentist, pharm, vet, and see what you think. I know after my first day of shadowing, and I watched a root canal, I thought it was like one of the most awesome things I'd ever seen, really. Though I might be biased a tad, dentistry is really a profession that lets you use your hands to really make a large positive impact on people, more than you might imagine.

Also, a good non-health profession where you'd be able to help people is law, so maybe think about that as well.

As far as your story, it reminded me a bit of myself. I knew I was going to go to a CC all through highschool, so although I know I'm very intelligent, I didn't really give it my all, so I didn't have the best GPA. Once you get to college though, it's really an entirely different paradigm, because you know you want to get somewhere, and how you're doing in any particular class can really hurt or help your chances of doing that - so I found it much easier to focus.

Also, don't be worried about your high school grades in the past - once you start at a CC, it's as though your entire high school transcript is wiped, no one (with some minor exceptions) will ever need to see it again. So for the rest of your time in high school, do your best to learn, get a solid foundation in the sciences and math, so that once you GET to college, it'll be that much easier.

Lastly, most people change what they want to do multiple times in their lives, so don't worry too much, you're at a point in your life where you're just starting to figure that out. Good luck, and keep on keeping on.

 

[Lil Bear]

It depends. So from what I gather, you want to help people and make a difference, and you want to get a high education. You don't have to be a physician to do that though; so ask I you, why do you specifically want to be physician when are other ways you can help people and get a high education?

Anyway, I recommend volunteering in a hospital, interning, exploring this site, watch http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/doctors/, and really try to explore your options and weigh the cons of what you want to do.

After all that, then I think you'll truly know whether this path is the right one for you.

I am just recently attempting to volunteer at a hospital so hopefully that will be happening soon. The way I want to help people is through saving lives I guess. That is particularly why I want to become a physician I guess, not sure if I'm searching for a different word than physician but I know that medical school will definitely help me reach that goal. If you can think of some other profession where you are able to save peoples lives without really risking your own, I would appreciate the input. Also will be checking out that link you posted.

 

[Vicviper]

Well, there are a lot of different ways to save lives, little ways, big ways, and ways that reallay do much more than you'd think. Also, it might not just be about saving lives, but think about making lives better as well. If you've got a fantastical image of being an ER surgeon, that's really not every physician.

Psychiatrists save lives everyday (and yes, that's a physcian as well), and my dad was a Physiatrist (a rehabilitation physician), and although he didn't "save" lives, he made them much better. And I know my work as a dentist will make a big difference in the lives of others.

If you really want to be on the front lines of life saving, maybe look into becoming an EMT, they can often be the real miracle workers - and I know that if I was on a plane and having a medical emergency, I'd prefer the EMT work on me over a dermatologist, hehe.

 

[Near]

I'm drawing a blank on at one at the moment, because most often when lives need saving, it's usually because of danger and you might be in that danger zone as well. Also, it depends on which branch of medicine you want to go in to directly save lives (i.e., emergency medicine vs. endocrinology).

Anyway, wanting to devote one's life to saving lives is an admirable thing, but I really think you should consider other aspects that might be vital in your career instead of just focusing on one. How do you feel about the potential of spending more of your life at work than with your family (if you plan on having one)? Is science one of your passions, would you go into medicine if it meant you would never directly save a life, Et Cetera.

The best of wishes.

 

[Lil Bear]

First of all, thank you to Vicviper and Near for both of your input. Vicviper, I have very much considered psychiatry because I love thinking about how people think. This is why I think that medicine school would be right for me however because it would be the best way to take a look at all the medical paths that there are and evaluate which one would be best for me. Near, I do plan on eventually having a family but I also believe that I DO want a job that is very demanding and would require me to put forth enormous effort because I really am an all or nothing kind of guy, and would want to give as much effort into doing what I did as I could. I will not be going into school with medical being my only option however. After this year when I complete my computer repair class, I will be a certified computer technician which I would be satisfied to have as a job, as I enjoy working with computers. Also, I would have to say that science is a subject that I both enjoy deeply in some aspects and don't so much on others, and require more experience with science classes to be able to answer that question. I want to sincerely thank you both for helping me with this dilemma of sorts. I realize that I am going to need to spend more time with this subject before fully devoting to it.

 

[FutureCTDoc]

First of all, thank you to Vicviper and Near for both of your input. Vicviper, I have very much considered psychiatry because I love thinking about how people think. This is why I think that medicine school would be right for me however because it would be the best way to take a look at all the medical paths that there are and evaluate which one would be best for me. Near, I do plan on eventually having a family but I also believe that I DO want a job that is very demanding and would require me to put forth enormous effort because I really am an all or nothing kind of guy, and would want to give as much effort into doing what I did as I could. I will not be going into school with medical being my only option however. After this year when I complete my computer repair class, I will be a certified computer technician which I would be satisfied to have as a job, as I enjoy working with computers. Also, I would have to say that science is a subject that I both enjoy deeply in some aspects and don't so much on others, and require more experience with science classes to be able to answer that question. I want to sincerely thank you both for helping me with this dilemma of sorts. I realize that I am going to need to spend more time with this subject before fully devoting to it.

Might I suggest a broad liberal arts education. Most people have no idea what they want to do. It's ok. A career of 30 or 40 years requires careful thought. Medicine can be a very rewarding choice or it can be sheer misery. There are people who go in after 30 years as bright as the first day and some who hate it before even having the diploma in hand. Medicine is demanding. Expect to spend at least 50 hours a week working many people spend 60+. Expect the possibility of feeling dissatisfied. ER is not representative of real emergency medicine. My father loves his job as a solo practitioner in sub-specialty care and my uncle hates a similar position in a group. Things to consider include the fact that it is potentially a thankless job, one with long hours for relatively poor compensation, especially in PCP where you may work 48 weeks a year, 80 hours a week and only make 120,000, a whopping $30 an hour. I say this, not to discourage, but to give you pause, especially as this is a new interest. I was exstatic when I got my acceptance to a BS/DO program and I can't see myself pursuing any other career. However consider other life saving careers as well as other health care careers.