Should I change my career choice?

[technodoc]

Hello, Im a senior in high school who's gonna attend college next year. I want to become a doctor, and I know that it will take Hard Work. But right now that " Hard Work" is making me MISERABLE. More specifically, AP Biology. I just Hate it. I dont know how to explain it but I just can't stand the class. Maybe because it actually requires me to work hard, and as a big procrastinator, I just cant bring myself to study... As a result, I always pull all nighters, and wait till the last minute to study. My grades arent great, abe it kills my self confidence to see other kids acing in that class.... I remember how easy chemistry was last year along with my other science classes. But I just cant sand ap bio. I dunno if I change my study habits it will be better, or I should just forget about medicine...but right now, I wish I had never taken ap bio...

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[ZeaL6]

I'm going to be as honest with you as I can. First off you don't need to be a biology major to go to medical school. Secondly high school does not require hard work (within reason) and if studying in high school is miserable for you then during undergrad and medical school you'll want to kill yourself. I am one who didn't have the greatest grades in high school either, but you are definitely able to turn it around. You're still 4-5 years out from applying to med school so don't worry about sdn so much and go study AP bio!

 

[Lya]

I'm going to be as honest with you as I can. First off you don't need to be a biology major to go to medical school. Secondly high school does not require hard work (within reason) and if studying in high school is miserable for you then during undergrad and medical school you'll want to kill yourself. I am one who didn't have the greatest grades in high school either, but you are definitely able to turn it around. You're still 4-5 years out from applying to med school so don't worry about sdn so much and go study AP bio!

+1

Focus on your obligations, and don't get too intimidated by others around you.

 

[Funke]

Major in whatever you're interested in. Take some time during the summer to go shadow various physicians, and if you like it enough, do a pre-med track with whatever you want to major in. That way, if you decide to go to med school two or three years from now, you'll have your pre-reqs. If you decide you hate it at any point or don't enjoy your shadowing experiences, then you're already majoring in what you enjoy. That's what I wish I would have done!

 

[Euxox]

I agree with what ZeaL6 said. As far as I remember, AP Biology was one of the easier AP classes (it was the classes like Chemistry and Physics C that required real work), and if you aren't able to handle AP Bio, you are going to be in for a really hard time when you have to take Organic Chemistry as an undergrad or Anatomy as a med student. These are courses that you will have to take regardless of your major.

Spending four of undergrad and two years of preclinicals years doing coursework you hate is going to drive you nuts. If you really want to be a doctor, you are going to have to learn to enjoy these classes at least a little, and it's all about attitude. If you go into class everyday expecting to hate it, then you will. If, on the other hand, you make a point of looking at the silver lining (labs can be tedious, but at least micropipettors are kind of fun; plant biology is boring, but now I know why leaves are waxy on one side but rough on the other -- kind of cool), you will find it a lot easier to work your way through the class. In other words, think of AP Bio as being an acquired taste: Try hard enough and you will begin to like it eventually. (True story. It worked for me and calc-based physics.)

My guess is that procrastination will start to be much less of an issue once you learn to like AP Bio. When it comes to procrastination, I also highly recommend reading Study Hacks. It's an entire website that documents the studying techniques used by the best students.

 

[youmed]

Hello, Im a senior in high school who's gonna attend college next year. I want to become a doctor, and I know that it will take Hard Work. But right now that " Hard Work" is making me MISERABLE. More specifically, AP Biology. I just Hate it. I dont know how to explain it but I just can't stand the class. Maybe because it actually requires me to work hard, and as a big procrastinator, I just cant bring myself to study... As a result, I always pull all nighters, and wait till the last minute to study. My grades arent great, abe it kills my self confidence to see other kids acing in that class.... I remember how easy chemistry was last year along with my other science classes. But I just cant sand ap bio. I dunno if I change my study habits it will be better, or I should just forget about medicine...but right now, I wish I had never taken ap bio...

Having the drive to become a doctor isn't going to get you through college. You need to learn how to study too .

My guess is that procrastination will start to be much less of an issue once you learn to like AP Bio. When it comes to procrastination, I also highly recommend reading Study Hacks. It's an entire website that documents the studying techniques used by the best students.

+1. You should check out Study Hacks.

 

[Escape_Goat]

It's too early to tell anything other than you dislike AP biology. The amount of personal growth and development you'll experience once you get to college is staggering. By the time you're a senior in college, you're opinions, beliefs, and philosophies you ascribe to will be very different from what they are now.

I wouldn't worry too much about it and just focus on getting through your class.

 

[MEN2C]

I hated biology too. Though I didn't take any AP courses in high school, so I can't tell you.

You'll need better study habits in med school. Major in spanish, in astronomy, in history, in frisbee throwing. It doesn't matter. It'll separate you from the other five thousand bio majors applying, if anything.

 

[Law2Doc]

It's fine to hate bio, but hating studying and hard work will make any professional career beyond your reach. Either change your mindset, or figure out a vocation you don't consider "hard work".

 

[kyamh]

Please shadow asap OP - it's the one true way to figure out whether you are interested in becoming a doctor. The faster you can figure out whether a career in medicine excites you the better. If you decide that it's not your path, you can cut your losses and move on to finding something else you are interested in. If you decide that it's your dream after all then you should have an easier time motivating yourself to get the work done.

In general, unless you truly want to be a physician then you are better off taking an easier career path. In other words, there are easier ways to make money and get societal props.

 

[MEN2C]

Shadowing to me is weird. I know it's something you need to have but I don't know if it contributes anything, truthfully. There are so many different specialties (and practice styles within specialties) that doing a couple shadowing sessions here and there are not going to be representative at all? Don't want to see patients at all directly? There are specialties for you. Want to see them for 45 minutes at a time? You can do that. Only want to see them for short bursts? Yup, you can do that.

 

[Mavs88]

I encourage you to shadow or volunteer asap as others have said.

Another thing to keep in mind is that studying more/harder IS NOT better than studying more efficiently/smarter. Even within the course of a semester I find better ways to study for classes and shorten the amount of work/time I need to put in.

 

[Longshot6]

I would just recommend that you change your study techniques before even thinking about anything else.
For bio, I would try flashcards since biology for me was pure memorization. Study these flashcards during downtime where you would have nothing better to do such as when your on the bus or taking a ****, etc...