- Joined
- Aug 12, 2016
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Hello fellow readers!
I'm here to seek wise counsel about a possible change of career fields into medicine. I'm a 24 y/o Speech therapist assistant with approximately 1 year of experience. I've worked in outpatient and private practice settings with mostly the pediatric population. I hated my first job, but that could be a commonality for most of us. However, this past year has been a timeline full of lessons learned about teammwork, ethicality, having a gracious heart, and maintaining professionalism in the work place.
Now reflecting on my previous four years of undergrad, I was a solid (89.5 to be exact haha) B+ student, and of course I could've tried harder. Lets just say I was a late bloomer lol. I didn't get into any grad schools my senior year as expected, so I took a year off and gained some quality experience as an SLP-A. I went into speech pathology because of my interest in the organic and physical ailments like Dysphagia. As an assistant you're not allowed to treat patients with hearing, feeding or swallowing disorders, so your scope is limited to treating expressive and language disorders. The medical setting is out of the picture until I get my Masters, which is why I find myself at a place of disnterest because of my small scope of practice. I'm a natural care-giver and want to serve those who feel the most vulnerable. In April, I did some deep reflecting and made my mind up to start the trek to med school. I planned to start knocking out pre-reqs this fall. AN AMAZING OPPORTUNITY ARISES.
This past week, I'm fixing to register for classes at my local university and I get an email from an old professor, asking if I was interested in starting grad school for Speech Pathology this fall and offered me on the spot.
So confused and shocked, because this is a position that is highly sought after. Ya'll may know but Allied Health Services admissions just as competitive as med school. I'm in the biggest pickle now, because my old graduate school is a private university. A 60k masters degree with decent aid. I'm currently at 68k from undergrad, and the ultimatum comes down to how much financial aid I'll receive. Let it be known that I'm well aware of the sacrifices that will need to be made in the route to getting into and enduring med school and i'm willing to accept the challenge. (Time commitment, debt burden, putting off having a family) I know what it comes down to my happiness, but i'm just not at peace right now.
Certainty: Go to grad school and end up with 128k worth of loans, but i'll make close to 80k depending on setting. (Just throwing that out there, its not about how much money i'll make though)
Uncertainty: Raise GPA. 2 year commitment for pre-reqs for medical admissions, research and shadow MDs. Work part time. Apply when i'm 27-28.
24.
Single/no kids
68K In student loans
3.01 GPA
I'm here to seek wise counsel about a possible change of career fields into medicine. I'm a 24 y/o Speech therapist assistant with approximately 1 year of experience. I've worked in outpatient and private practice settings with mostly the pediatric population. I hated my first job, but that could be a commonality for most of us. However, this past year has been a timeline full of lessons learned about teammwork, ethicality, having a gracious heart, and maintaining professionalism in the work place.
Now reflecting on my previous four years of undergrad, I was a solid (89.5 to be exact haha) B+ student, and of course I could've tried harder. Lets just say I was a late bloomer lol. I didn't get into any grad schools my senior year as expected, so I took a year off and gained some quality experience as an SLP-A. I went into speech pathology because of my interest in the organic and physical ailments like Dysphagia. As an assistant you're not allowed to treat patients with hearing, feeding or swallowing disorders, so your scope is limited to treating expressive and language disorders. The medical setting is out of the picture until I get my Masters, which is why I find myself at a place of disnterest because of my small scope of practice. I'm a natural care-giver and want to serve those who feel the most vulnerable. In April, I did some deep reflecting and made my mind up to start the trek to med school. I planned to start knocking out pre-reqs this fall. AN AMAZING OPPORTUNITY ARISES.
This past week, I'm fixing to register for classes at my local university and I get an email from an old professor, asking if I was interested in starting grad school for Speech Pathology this fall and offered me on the spot.
So confused and shocked, because this is a position that is highly sought after. Ya'll may know but Allied Health Services admissions just as competitive as med school. I'm in the biggest pickle now, because my old graduate school is a private university. A 60k masters degree with decent aid. I'm currently at 68k from undergrad, and the ultimatum comes down to how much financial aid I'll receive. Let it be known that I'm well aware of the sacrifices that will need to be made in the route to getting into and enduring med school and i'm willing to accept the challenge. (Time commitment, debt burden, putting off having a family) I know what it comes down to my happiness, but i'm just not at peace right now.Certainty: Go to grad school and end up with 128k worth of loans, but i'll make close to 80k depending on setting. (Just throwing that out there, its not about how much money i'll make though)
Uncertainty: Raise GPA. 2 year commitment for pre-reqs for medical admissions, research and shadow MDs. Work part time. Apply when i'm 27-28.
24.
Single/no kids
68K In student loans
3.01 GPA
