help with my future :)

[B0ARDIN087]

as most of you know im a senior in high school. My two top schools are purdue and PSU and i was accepted into both. I want to major in engineering (either probably electrical) and most likely go to med school. Im leaning towards PSU strongly because of cheaper prices (im in state), closer to home (friends/family/girlfriend), and the fact that i loved the campus. i liked purdue because of thier strong engineering program and i liked the campus more then all but PSU. I didn't like the location and the weather is colder. Still its a better engineering school (by only about 10 spots on the top engineering schools list but....).

My dilemma is about med school. I keep hearing about the increased insurance that doctors must pay and i dont wanna get out of med school and work for a few years and make 120k a year as a radiologist. Is the situation for doctors going to get better or worse. I fear that the US is becoming an increasingly liberal country and whether i have plans to go to med school does have an impact as if i dont plan on goin to med school it will affect my decision. Please help and give me input on anything you have experience with. also anyone that is an engineer and would like to PM me with some personal information i am worried about my salary and whether or not Engineering salary would be enough for the lifestyle i wish to live. thanks!

 

[gotmilk]

Just curious, but why would you go to an engineering program and then think you could go to med school?

Most medical programs like Dartmouth or Harvard would never accept you out of an engineering program. You would somehow have to fit classes in to your schedule like Physiology, Kinesiology, Gross Anatomy, and Bio-chem (do engineering majors take organic chem classes?)

I work as Physical Therapist and Athletic Trainer and I can honestly say the insurance premiums are getting better. New legislation to cap lawsuits will help too.

By the way, you do not need to go to med school to be a radiologist. Most major teaching hospitals offer radiology school. The one near me at Central Maine Medical Center is a three year course. In-out with a degree and a job.

In the past, people could take any decent bachelors degree and go to med school if you scored well on your entrance exams. Now, med schools are looking more for pre-med and biology majors.

Sign of the times.

 

[samoth]

A competitive university GPA for med school is around 3.7 or higher. That won't get you in; it'll give you a chance. Majoring in engineering is going to kill that chance at having a competitive GPA. Not saying you won't keep a decent GPA as an engg major, but realistically... you don't see it happen often.

Salary for engg is pretty good... if you like working 80 hours a week. The average hours/week worked by engineers is very high; don't expect to find a 40-45hour/week job.

 

[hamstershaver]

you honestly are asking if malpractice ins rates are going to get better and they still accepted you into college??

 

[GoldenDelicious]

ok, im in medical (pharmacy) so i interact with, and am related to, a lot of docs. im also a good listener, so i hear lots and lots of bitching. heres how it is, at least in australia (which j howard is morphing into america, so yeah...)

medical indemnity means nothing from a long term, financial perspective. people NEED medicine, and so inevitably, costs are passed on to the patient. someone in your position shouldnt give a shit about those details just yet

if you want to be a doctor, you better not be doing it for the money, because being a doctor means fitting the mold of a doctor. youre going to fairly much dedicate your life to something along the lines of:

college: study your balls off. kiss some major ass. study your balls off some more. get used to the politics of medicine. study the leftover nubs of your balls off even more, then divert some clomid to plump them up cosmetically

internship: get used to slurping on diorrhoea smoothies, youre now the scum of the medical profession. kissing ass will now be second nature, hours are beyond long, study some more. workplace politics will rule your life, one way or another. oh, you no longer have balls, by the way.

when youre done with that, prepare to work horrendous hours (which by now you will think are 'normal', while your patients enjoy 4x the vacation time you have), and the money...well the money isnt all that great, really. you graduate from diorrhoea smoothies to shit sandwiches. really, when you work that much, it doesnt really matter what professional field youre in, youre going to make money.

bottom line is, you dont do medicine unless you really, really, really, really want to be a doctor. it isnt the money profession that it once was. if you want money, you want to be thinking "specialist", and specialist means kissing ass and busting balls until at least your mid thirties. usually.

number of happy doctors i know: 0.
number of divorces most doctors i know have had: 1
number of years most of them have studied post highschool: 12

have fun. its a great calling.

 

[bran987]

GD holy crap

 

[canadianhitman]

My father is a doctor (a specialist), and I can vouch for the statements GS made about horrendously long hours and workplace politics. Money is very good, but make no mistake...you do work your ass off for it, and have to make a lot of lifestyle sacrifices along the way.

 

[big_bad_buff]

what's wrong with being a radiologist man? that's probably the field i'm going into next year

 

[gonelifting]

I`m an Engineer and a Doctor. I actually build small bridges inside of peoples heads when performing brain surgery.

Does any EF member need brain surgery? I`ll do it free of charge.


Anyway, to answer your question, since I`m obviously the most qualified here, The answer is YES.

but That could all change to NO or maybe. Hope that helped bro.

 

[GoldenDelicious]

I`m an Engineer and a Doctor. I actually build small bridges inside of peoples heads when performing brain surgery.

Does any EF member need brain surgery? I`ll do it free of charge.


Anyway, to answer your question, since I`m obviously the most qualified here, The answer is YES.

but That could all change to NO or maybe. Hope that helped bro.

 

[B0ARDIN087]

:/ well. i dont declare major at psu until late 2nd year. I can switch to premed and my guess is almost all my classes would work for both engineering and premed. I want to be a doctor because i love science, people, and money and it seems lke te best mix of the 3. engineering is good because im great at physics and problem solving but not sure about this stuf. grrr why is it so hard :/

 

[Sweet_Bitch]

Go to Purdue. Kick ass school. Awesome eng program. Very cool campus life.

As for other questions-worry about it in 2 years. Eng's make great money and everyone I know who graduated from Purdue w/ their degree has gotten damn good jobs.

 

[jerkbox]

i think my only advice would be to do what you love to do.....if you just want to make money, get a degree in finance or something......practicing medicine should be something you love IMO.

 

[UA_Iron]

Engineering will be the hardest thing you ever do, period. Especially electrical engineering, it gets so intense that many people just end up switching their majors.

If your heart isnt set on engineering then around your second year you'll say f*ck it and switch to something where you can pull a good GPA like microbiology or something - a premise to getting into med school.

If you're doing engineering for the money then reconsider.

High school physics is different than college physics I must say. I put in 12 hours a week in my second semester physics class and that barely gets me passing grades.

Everyone is super ambitious going into college, then it kind of drops somewhat...sorry to sound negative, I just am trying to give a real world view of what happens.

 

[sawastea]

Penn State = State Penn

Go to Purdue. Better overall school in the field of study. Do well on your MCAT's and try to get summer internships for respected doctors.

 

[jh1]

it's all a big waste of time.

Listen... it's really all about pussy and money...

Start selling cocaine... make huge money, get into it big time... make huge moves...

Hot putang all around, lots of money, cars, houses, wealth...

Just watch the movie Blow or Scarface... it's all there maing...

That's the way to go orb... do it... do it now!

 

[jaded]

You would somehow have to fit classes in to your schedule like Physiology, Kinesiology, Gross Anatomy, and Bio-chem (do engineering majors take organic chem classes?)

This is a really good point... I'm not sure about the engineering programs at PSU and Purdue or how flexible the programs are, but the people in the engineering program at my university have a lot of classes that they're required to take, and very little room - if any - for electives. To keep the med-school option open you would somehow have to fit in Biology, Chem, and other prerequisite courses needed for med school, in addition to your required program-specific classes... do you think you'd be able to fit them into your schedule and maintain a high enough GPA to make you a competitive candidate for med school?

 

[vinylgroover]

You have definitely picked two of the hardest careers. I agree wth many of the comments here that becoming a doctor is something you need to be very passionate about, otherwise, you will hate your life.

Engineering is a tough career these days..........given the knowledge and intelligence required, the money engineer's earn is very poor IMO. Having said that, a lot of engineer's end up in business management roles at some point in their career's through their excellent analytical skills. This is what you should be aiming towards........maybe an engineering degree with an MBA in business or commerce to increase your options down the track.

 

[jaded]

........maybe an engineering degree with an MBA in business or commerce to increase your options down the track.

that's what my aunt did - engineering degree and then an MBA.

 

[Lestat]

it's all a big waste of time.

Listen... it's really all about pussy and money...

Start selling cocaine... make huge money, get into it big time... make huge moves...

Hot putang all around, lots of money, cars, houses, wealth...

Just watch the movie Blow or Scarface... it's all there maing...

That's the way to go orb... do it... do it now!

Posts like this really put all your advice into perspective man!


Boarding...

Engineering and pre-med requirements will likely add an extra year to college. It will be tough to get the grades, but if you can do it, more power to you.

And there will always be work and good pay for doctors. Its tough for the first 1/3 of your career... ok for the 2nd 1/3.. and really smooth sailing for the last 1/3

 

[sigweed]

say bye to your social life
my gf is trying to get into med school... shes one of the smartest ppl i know and works her ass off and it still wont be easy getting in.

 

[B0ARDIN087]

You have definitely picked two of the hardest careers. I agree wth many of the comments here that becoming a doctor is something you need to be very passionate about, otherwise, you will hate your life.

Engineering is a tough career these days..........given the knowledge and intelligence required, the money engineer's earn is very poor IMO. Having said that, a lot of engineer's end up in business management roles at some point in their career's through their excellent analytical skills. This is what you should be aiming towards........maybe an engineering degree with an MBA in business or commerce to increase your options down the track.

if i ccould be in a management position for a businesss taht would be more then ideal for me. I would major in business but everyone does and they degree isnt worth anything...... But to me trying to get a big management position seems like a gamble not a clear cut path.