Ok, heres my advice, but a little background first. I too was in a similar position last year (although I knew I didn't want to do medicine), I went to an excellent prep school in pennsylvania, and come spring I had acceptance letters to some excellent schools. My father is a doctor, an extremely specialized cardiologist. And as you probably already know, money is not the reason to go into medicine, money can't really alleviate the stress that comes along with being in a field where you have the life of a patient in your hands; it must be a genuine love and desire. Fast forward 1 year: I am finishing up with my first year at the University of Chicago, where I am studying Chinese, Economics and Math. I also trade options on the side. I know I want to go into finance. I am a total finance dork, my bookshelf is filled with finance books. (Haha, I was excited when I bought a graduate level text on corporate finance at the library sale) I found what I want to do, and it is true, not that many people in S&T/M&A/Ibanking/Fund management are that successful, but I feel like I have a genuine interest in the markets. I enjoy my econ and math classes a lot. So, basically, what I am saying is, enjoy your years of college, if you are truly going to a great school, make sure to take all the opportunities you can. Most of all, get to know your peers, people at the university of chicago miss out on this (some are less than social). Work hard, use your first two years to find some classes that you enjoy and do well in. If you find that those classes are sciences like Chem and Bio and maybe you volunteered in a hospital for awhile and enjoyed the atmosphere, consider medschool. If you like math or b-school classes, that option is always available.
adamchicago, chicago is a great school. I have a friend who will attend chicago next year. I personally did not know chicago was so good for finance until recently, I wish that I had applied there. I mainly applied to schools that had a good premed reputation. Medicine has always been the path that I had wanted to take. Yeah, I've heard that some people are antisocial at chicago, but that's probably true at all universities.
I don't think looking at pay is wrong. I do think that most doctors (and PAs, CRNAs, NPs etc..) look at their career as a way to make great money, gain prestige and give back to their fellow man. Is it wrong to want all three?
If you are considering medicine mainly for the money, forget it now. The dedication required to be a quality physician will need to come from a burning desire to serve people in the medical field, a willingness to go the extra mile and do the best for the patient regardless of monetary consideration, and a desire to excel in the field. Meditating on a pile of money you might make from it will not keep you motivated enough to really do the job well, if you make it at all. Just having the ability to learn the pre-med stuff and pass the exams is not even close to a reason to do this. You have to be passionate about medicine, and dedicate your life to it. If not, do everybody a favor and please do something else. My father was a pediatrician for more than 30 years ( retired 3 years ago ). He was excellent in his field, and was in a clinic in rural northern Illinois for more than 25 years. Although he was not in the highly paid specialties, he knew many doctors in those specialties. Mostly orthopedic surgeons, neurosurgeons, cardiologists, etc. A lot of those individuals made lots of money, but there were also many who were burned out, multiple divorces, substance abusers,alcoholics (yes, that is scary in a surgeon), and stress that would kill. There were also a few good ones who were satisfied. But those who were in it for the money were disillusioned very quickly, and were almost all in the first category. They got paid a lot, but there were a lot of expenses, and drawbacks that they didn't really anticipate. Medicine has become much harder to deal with these days. Paperwork is insane, you must order many needless tests (ie defensive medicine) just to cover yourself against possible malpractice claims. Malpractice insurance is exorbitant and on the rise, in urban areas if you are working in hospitals often you are required to service welfare recipients, illegal aliens, Medicare patients, etc. Very very few of these ever pay their bills, there is basically nearly zero productive doctor-patient interaction anymore, people are demanding more and more access to medical care ( ie night hours during the week, weekend hours, constant on-call responsibility ). Many people are sue-happy if anything goes wrong, even if it was their fault or an unavoidable consequence and occurred before you even saw the patient. Depending on your specialty you may have the responsibility to tell parents that their son/daughter just died from a disease such as meningitis because they brought them to the doctor too late. Of course, they will blame you for this. My father was very satisfied with his work, but there was a definite toll in the home life. There were calls every night between 1 and 3 AM, without fail, we spent many holidays at home waiting for Dad to come home from hospital rounds that were supposed to be 2 hours but often ended up being 8-12 hours. Every Saturday, Dad was at the hospital by 8 AM and we would be lucky to see him home by 4 PM. Vacations were rare in the early days ( before my Dad was 45 or so ). My mother nearly divorced Dad along the way from the stress of all of it. Expect to spend considerable time in continuing education on weekends in required medical meetings, and staying up to date with the latest information in medical journals. Say goodbye to any hobbies you might have ( including trading ) until you are at least 35-40. Don't expect your marriage to have a good chance of survival unless your spouse is in the medical field ( ie nurse ), or has a definite understanding of what the job entails. If after reading this, you are still excited by this career choice, push ahead and do it! Otherwise, pick something else.
now you know, dude. that's what i was trying to tell him yesterday, though in a slightly more gentle fashion. apparently, dazed thinks he knows everything. sorta makes you wanna let him land on his face. all the really arrogant, uptight premed/med types my brother went to school with used to really tick me off. but they kinda got their lunch handed to them in the long run. i guess life tends to be the great equalizer. i also agree with smoss on another thing. if a cv surgeon has devoted that much time/energy/money working single-mindedly to become something, i say pay the man - he earned it. hopefully, at the end of all that grueling training and financial investment, he absolutely loves what he does for a living.
My parents have been on call before, but they are only on call every 7th night, (q7) so I know what you're talking about. Sometimes they work from 7AM to 9PM, they like their job, so what can I say?
rofl- i've noticed (have you?) that all the people saying how great and lucrative medicine is are people who are not in it. recruiters and other assorted types who see it from the outside in, not folks who see it close up, who are in it, or have loved ones in it. sure, some docs make a mint. as others have said before, those are few and far between. moreover, the toll on personal life is absolutely ridiculous and most who go into it for money, status, etc., end up bitter. it's why most end up EXTREMELY unhappy and looking for the door. also, just because you're smart doesn't mean you will match in a highly paid field. ask an internal medicine resident how hard it is to become an interventional cardiologist, how hard you have to work to MAYBE get in to the fellowship, and how hard it is all the way through. then ask an interventional cardiologist about the hours, the stress, the toll on personal life. differential equations is one of the hardest math courses in college, lovingly referred to as "diffie q's" by those who have to take it. if you have a real math aptitude, can get through it.
Thanks for all the comments, I've decided that I'll still pursue medicine, it's one of the main reasons I chose my university. I'll continue my research and add more medical ECs. I talked to my mom yesterday and she was slightly annoyed with me even contemplating trading. She went on to tell me a story about how one of her patients is an accountant and how that accountant has a lot of clients who are traders. The accountant went on to say that traders have no stability whatsoever, some of the good ones earn about 300-400K and one of his clients earns in the millions, but even the good ones have DOWN years during which they earn nothing! I have always liked medicine, I sorta considered trading because my friends heard about it and were excited. Let the discussion end here. thanks to everyone who contributed, hope I didn't annoy anyone.
Wall Street. Because you don't have a basic requirement to become a doctor. Please do not screw up this prestigious and respectful domain as medicine. If you still do want to become a doctor please prepare your answers, not like the one you currently think, for in case if there is an interview for entry to study in medicine. I understand it's a tough decision and I wish you will come up with a good decision that you will benefit and enjoy through your life.
Quality medical care will be hard to find in 10 years when Dazed finishes, as all the doctors will be idiots like him.