Need advice based on my particular situation.

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garmonbozia

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I came to the US when I was 19 (by then I only finished 2 years out of 5 at a university in my country in Interpreting department and quit due to moving out of country).
It took me 6 years to get my Green Card, so now at age 25 I can finally go to college with financial aid (I didn't go earlier, because I can't afford it).
I had been thinking a lot about who I want to be (obviously, I don't see myself as an interpreter anymore - for a number of reasons) and about 2 years ago I came to a conclusion that Psychiatrist is my dream job.
Having done some research on the cost and timing, I feel that I am ready to invest in this career (even though science has never been my forte, I've always been interested in chemistry, biology, anatomy, and the ways the human mind works...), I am ready to devote my life to it, but there is one problem: I am 25.
By the time I am a Doctor (and that is if I manage to get into medical school right after getting Bachelor's) I am going to be almost 40. My husband wants to have a child within the next 10 years (we don't have any, yet). Plus all his family and himself are against me going for a career in medicine (the enormous debt, the time, the age and the fact that I won't have time for family).
Before that I was determined to become a psychiatrist, but after I spoke with some of my husband's family members, I started doubting... To be honest I am very mad at them for scaring me like that and not believing in me.
At this point I just don't know what to do anymore... Should I push it? Will I be able to have a child, if I go to medical school? Or is it over for me at my age?
Also, how hard is it for a Psychiatrist to pay off the debt? Is there a chance I won't be able to find a job?
Please, be straightforward. I am ready for any answer, I just need it to be impersonal and candid.
Thank you in advance!

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1. If medicine is your calling, go for it
2. You will be able to have a child
3. It is not over for you
4. Likely harder than say a surgeon or one of the more competitive specialties, but it isn't impossible
5. Unlikely, but possible
 
So, you'll be a doctor at 40. Big deal. You can still expect to practice for the next 30-40 years.

There's no good time to have a child, so just do it before your fertility declines. Some of my all-time best students have been in their 30s and 40s, (I just graduated one at 50).


I came to the US when I was 19 (by then I only finished 2 years out of 5 at a university in my country in Interpreting department and quit due to moving out of country).
It took me 6 years to get my Green Card, so now at age 25 I can finally go to college with financial aid (I didn't go earlier, because I can't afford it).
I had been thinking a lot about who I want to be (obviously, I don't see myself as an interpreter anymore - for a number of reasons) and about 2 years ago I came to a conclusion that Psychiatrist is my dream job.
Having done some research on the cost and timing, I feel that I am ready to invest in this career (even though science has never been my forte, I've always been interested in chemistry, biology, anatomy, and the ways the human mind works...), I am ready to devote my life to it, but there is one problem: I am 25.
By the time I am a Doctor (and that is if I manage to get into medical school right after getting Bachelor's) I am going to be almost 40. My husband wants to have a child within the next 10 years (we don't have any, yet). Plus all his family and himself are against me going for a career in medicine (the enormous debt, the time, the age and the fact that I won't have time for family).
Before that I was determined to become a psychiatrist, but after I spoke with some of my husband's family members, I started doubting... To be honest I am very mad at them for scaring me like that and not believing in me.
At this point I just don't know what to do anymore... Should I push it? Will I be able to have a child, if I go to medical school? Or is it over for me at my age?
Also, how hard is it for a Psychiatrist to pay off the debt? Is there a chance I won't be able to find a job?
Please, be straightforward. I am ready for any answer, I just need it to be impersonal and candid.
Thank you in advance!
 
You can still practice as a clinical psychologist with a PsyD or PhD, if you're really interested in therapy. You won't be able to prescribe medicine, but prescribing doesn't seem to be as big a problem for you as having time for your family may be. Your concerns are valid and important—going to medical school and specializing is always possible (per se), but it isn't always feasible. Your situation seems like one of those instances, I think.
 
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