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2008-01-10 19:39:12
CommieChipmunk
Member
+488|7054|Portland, OR, USA
So I come to the interwebs.

Alright, so I'm currently a high school senior who is going to college next year.

Now my plan has been to get a four year degree in something (anything from molecular biology to English because it doesn't really matter) and take all of my pre-med courses.  Then go on to med-school and with a final goal in pathology (maybe).  Easier said than done, I know... but I'm probably going to school at Tulane on a ~$24,000 per year scholarship and they have their own med school.  So depending on how many scholarships I get, my undergraduate could be pretty well paid for and I wouldn't have too many undergrad student loans.  Then I'd have to pay for med-school.... I'd be in debt for a while.

Here's where I need help.  I have a friend who knows a pathologist and asked him if I could ask him some questions, in the initial email he says this.

doctor wrote:

Best of luck with your academic pursuits:  education is always good.  I had a dream (nightmare) earlier this week about going back, stethoscope in hand, and repeating my internship.  Yikes!   Yes, by all means, please pass on my contact information to your friend (me) the budding pathologist:  one must really love medicine to pursue it as a career these days:  while I would like to think that our society will always reward its physicians, there could be some major changes coming in our health care system.  Nevertheless, if one looks forward to a lifetime of learning, I can’t think of a better career.
If I do end up in the medical field, that would mean that I have spent over a decade of my life in post high school education alone and stuck with a lot of bills.  I don't want to end up getting paid the same as I would have had I just worked for my four year degree and got a job in some other field...

Does anyone know how exactly (or what exactly) these major changes coming in our health care system will impact it down the road.

I'm guessing he's not referring to universal healthcare, because there is no way in hell our government could afford that.
2008-01-10 19:40:47
Liberal-Sl@yer
Certified BF2S Asshole
+131|6941|The edge of sanity
I thought you said you had 100,000 in scholarships?
2008-01-10 19:41:31
Flaming_Maniac
prince of insufficient light
+2,490|7191|67.222.138.85
I don't think he's talking only of rewarding through monetary means, but rewarding with respect. One of the things my dad dislikes the most about being an engineer is the being treated like dirt part, by corporate leaders and society in general.
2008-01-10 19:42:31
CommieChipmunk
Member
+488|7054|Portland, OR, USA

Liberal-Sl@yer wrote:

I thought you said you had 100,000 in scholarships?
$24,000 x 4 years =$96,000
2008-01-10 19:43:48
Schwarzelungen
drunklenglungen
+133|6781|Bloomington Indiana
i wouldnt worry too much about the changes in the field. every job changes at some point or another.
10 years of work wouldnt be anything compared to a lifetime of doing something you enjoy.

as someone once said. "if you love your job, you never really have to work"
2008-01-10 19:43:56
cowami
OY, BITCHTITS!
+1,106|6774|Noo Yawk, Noo Yawk

Liberal-Sl@yer wrote:

I thought you said you had 100,000 in scholarships?
24000 X 4 = 96000 = ~100000

AZN MATH SKILLZ

On topic, there will always be a demand for doctors. If you're thinking about pathology, that may be even more true, especially with new diseases such as the avian flu and whatnot. I'd say go for it, but I'm pretty much in the same predicament as you.
https://i.imgur.com/PfIpcdn.gif
2008-01-10 19:44:23
nukchebi0
Пушкин, наше всё
+387|6808|New Haven, CT

CommieChipmunk wrote:

Liberal-Sl@yer wrote:

I thought you said you had 100,000 in scholarships?
$24,000 x 4 years =$96,000
I was just going to do that.

And, why are you interested in pathology?
2008-01-10 19:48:50
DesertFox-
The very model of a modern major general
+796|7169|United States of America
Wow, I am in nearly exactly the same boat at you except I'm staying in state and my college doesn't directly have a med school and I'm not interested in pathology specifically but am more open-ended in my preference.
2008-01-10 19:50:17
CommieChipmunk
Member
+488|7054|Portland, OR, USA

nukchebi0 wrote:

CommieChipmunk wrote:

Liberal-Sl@yer wrote:

I thought you said you had 100,000 in scholarships?
$24,000 x 4 years =$96,000
I was just going to do that.

And, why are you interested in pathology?
I have a friend who had leukemia and I've shadowed a pathologist and I think it's really interesting.  I'd probably get into either cyto or hemo pathology but that's just where I am right now.  Once I actually get into med school, I have absolutely no idea where I'll turn.  Chances are I'll change my mind a million times.

and I'm not sure that I'll go to Tulane.... I've been accepted into both the University of Oregon and Oregon State University Honors colleges and I could go to med school at OHSU here in Oregon (Oregon Health Sciences University)

Last edited by CommieChipmunk (2008-01-10 19:53:04)

2008-01-10 19:55:49
Ryan
Member
+1,230|7328|Alberta, Canada

Im still in high school, so I can't help that much. What I can do is wish you luck in your choices and your future.
2008-01-10 19:57:18
KEN-JENNINGS
I am all that is MOD!
+2,993|7117|949

You have plenty of time to figure it out, buddy.  If I were you, I'd take the scholarship, then go with whatever you feel you want to do.  I don't know specifics, but I can say from personal experience and observation that plenty of people change their majors, even two years in.  If you feel like you want to pursue medicine, pursue it.  The medical field will be different 5-10 years from now, sure, but the need for medical practitioners of all fields will still be there.  Don't base what you want to do on earning potential, base it off what truly inspires and interests you.  If you have a professional degree, regardless, you will likely make a great income anyway.
2008-01-10 20:02:42
CommieChipmunk
Member
+488|7054|Portland, OR, USA

KEN-JENNINGS wrote:

You have plenty of time to figure it out, buddy.  If I were you, I'd take the scholarship, then go with whatever you feel you want to do.  I don't know specifics, but I can say from personal experience and observation that plenty of people change their majors, even two years in.  If you feel like you want to pursue medicine, pursue it.  The medical field will be different 5-10 years from now, sure, but the need for medical practitioners of all fields will still be there.  Don't base what you want to do on earning potential, base it off what truly inspires and interests you.  If you have a professional degree, regardless, you will likely make a great income anyway.
True but I still need to figure out where I'm going to college... I've been accepted into 7 so far all with pretty nice financial aid packages with three applications still pending.  Bah this stuff is stressful.

I've taken college anatomy, psychology, biology and chemistry courses already, worked in an eye clinic for 4 years and volunteered in a local hospitals ER for about 6 months.. and I'm pretty sure that the medical field is where I want to be...
2008-01-10 20:03:14
ig
This topic seems to have no actual posts
+1,199|7007

KEN-JENNINGS wrote:

You have plenty of time to figure it out, buddy.  If I were you, I'd take the scholarship, then go with whatever you feel you want to do.  I don't know specifics, but I can say from personal experience and observation that plenty of people change their majors, even two years in.  If you feel like you want to pursue medicine, pursue it.  The medical field will be different 5-10 years from now, sure, but the need for medical practitioners of all fields will still be there.  Don't base what you want to do on earning potential, base it off what truly inspires and interests you.  If you have a professional degree, regardless, you will likely make a great income anyway.
listen to this guy
2008-01-10 20:05:43
ig
This topic seems to have no actual posts
+1,199|7007

CommieChipmunk wrote:

KEN-JENNINGS wrote:

You have plenty of time to figure it out, buddy.  If I were you, I'd take the scholarship, then go with whatever you feel you want to do.  I don't know specifics, but I can say from personal experience and observation that plenty of people change their majors, even two years in.  If you feel like you want to pursue medicine, pursue it.  The medical field will be different 5-10 years from now, sure, but the need for medical practitioners of all fields will still be there.  Don't base what you want to do on earning potential, base it off what truly inspires and interests you.  If you have a professional degree, regardless, you will likely make a great income anyway.
True but I still need to figure out where I'm going to college... I've been accepted into 7 so far all with pretty nice financial aid packages with three applications still pending.  Bah this stuff is stressful.

I've taken college anatomy, psychology, biology and chemistry courses already, worked in an eye clinic for 4 years and volunteered in a local hospitals ER for about 6 months.. and I'm pretty sure that the medical field is where I want to be...
things will change when you get there. it may not be big, but i guarantee that you will have different views on a few things when you're in college. just play it by ear man. you're way too young to have your whole life planned out.
2008-01-10 20:06:15
KEN-JENNINGS
I am all that is MOD!
+2,993|7117|949

CommieChipmunk wrote:

True but I still need to figure out where I'm going to college... I've been accepted into 7 so far all with pretty nice financial aid packages with three applications still pending.  Bah this stuff is stressful.

I've taken college anatomy, psychology, biology and chemistry courses already, worked in an eye clinic for 4 years and volunteered in a local hospitals ER for about 6 months.. and I'm pretty sure that the medical field is where I want to be...
Go where you get the most free money.
2008-01-10 20:08:51
AussieReaper
( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
+5,761|6637|what

The wages you would've earned over 4 years is meager in comparrison to the advantages a 4 year degree will offer you in terms of employment, income and hapiness.

You obviously like medicine, and you can make a successful carreer out of it. Your obviously smart if you have the potential to earn scholarships. Flipping burgers is not for you.

Do what you want to do. If you can't do that, do something you will enjoy doing. Or do something your skilled at. An advanced education will give you the option to pick a career and not be forced into one.
https://i.imgur.com/maVpUMN.png
2008-01-10 20:10:39
mcgid1
Meh...
+129|7201|Austin, TX/San Antonio, TX
It's good to be thinking ahead, but you have time.  Asking to talk to your friend's pathologist friend was a good idea.  Ask as much as you can about the profession to see what it's really like.  Even if you start down the road to become a pathologist in undergrad, and decide you don't like it, it really isn't a big deal to change what you're studying (unless you happen to do that second semester senior year, then you might have a few problems).

 

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