Need some Advice about my "future" professional life

[ichbins]

Hello everyone!

I know it's a bit weird to use a forum like this one to ask a question related to my professional life, but since I'm convinced there are a lot of smart people here, I thought I'd do it anyway.

I'm 22 years old and atm I'm in a bit of a crisis, so to speak. I've got a master in some subject, where it's pretty hard to find a job - my only option would be to do a doctorate, that I could do from January on. If I'd do this, later I'd have the option to teach the subject I study, but this is only a possibility. The option to finance my doctorate would be to apply for a scholarship in March next year. The chances of getting it are at around 30%.

So because continuing with this doctorate is not a 100% safe way to move forward, I figured out a second option, that is I could start to study medicine. For this I would have to pass some exam, that would be happening at May next year. The studies themselves would start Autumn next year. I was always interested in medical stuff and questions and try to keep myself informed. Of course it's not clear if I would pass this test, and also it's a big question if I could even pass medical school. So this entails a high level of uncertainty too.

So now I'm not sure how I should proceed. Should I apply for the doctorate and then do this exam for the medical school anyway? Or should I leave the doctorate aside? And isn't it a bit too late to start another 5-6 years of studies at my age?

What do you think? Do you have any advice as to what I could/should do? I know that in the end it's my decision, but still I'm curious as to what other people think about this situation.

Many thanks in advance 🙂

Greetings

 

[desdemona]

First, is this in the US? I can tell you I took the MCAT (medical school entrance exam) many years ago (over 20+). You have to have a very strong understanding of all the sciences (Biology, Biochemistry, Chemistry, and Physics) along with Math. There were also 2 or 3 essays required.

Second, the cost of medical school is also becoming more prohibitive. For veterinary school, the average debt is in excess of 200k for four years. There were grants to help cover some costs and some work/study programs available, but for the most part, it requires student loans. At 9% interest over 30 years. I'll let you do the math.

Make sure this is what you really wish to pursue before committing to such an extensive endeavor - medical school is 4 years, then a 1 to 2 year intership and then a 4 year residency is required of most physicians as I understand it. My DVM degree only required the 4 years for me to be able to practice surgery, medicine, dentistry, etc on multiple species.

Good luck!

 

[rdhd]

Since we don't know what your possible doctoral studies are, we can't really comment whether to choose that path, or the medical. Although, as Desdemona mentioned, it will likely be expensive. Depends what you mean by "medicine". Pharmacy? Likely a good route, you still gotta be beaver-structured good with them basics. Being an actual doctor - at this point, you may have missed the boat. For that route, you have to be danged smart. The big option being pushed these days is nursing - and, it's not just for women. That is another possible path, which may actually be attainable, and apparently pays well (in the right locations.....).

 

[Bohemianne]

Hate to say it... no matter how hard the track you have taken, you should work on getting a job first to keep the money flowing at least, since you mentioned that your chances of passing scholarships and exams are low anyway. Otherwise, work hard on passing the scholarship, then that would take you off.

 

[ichbins]

Hello everyone

Thank you for your answers!

Well it's not in the US. It is in Switzerland, and here we don't have an entry exam that depends on knowledge of the sciences. It's rather like an "intelligence test" where you have to succeed in a lot of intelligence test-like tasks like reading a text and answering questions about it, or mark everytime a "3" appears in a succession of different numbers and letters etc.

To pass this you just have to practice these kind of tasks, and they have shown that people who pass this entrance exam with a high score have quite high possibilities to pass medical school.

In Switzerland you also don't have to pay so much for medical school. It's around 1'500 Euros per year. Since one of these years would be working in a hospital it's even less.

My current studies are in Philosophy, and as I said, the chances of getting a scholarship are around 30%. So I'm thinking about applying for it, and, if I fail, try the entry exam in medicine in May next year. If I fail this too I could still switch to another subject that is more practical than philosophy, like law school or something like that (I already have a "college" degree, so I can study everything I want at this point).

But of course you guys are right, I have think this through, since it will determine how my life will go on at least in the next few years. And also I have to think about how I will earn my living, and to do this I have to do something practical.

I have saved quite a lot of money from working the past year, so I could use that money to pursue a second degree maybe?

Thank you again for your help 🙂

Greetings

 

[Bohemianne]

LOLOL! It turned out, you really don't have any problem at all. You are vying for doctorate degree at age 22 and with ample savings... Some can't even start a life at age 40 and didn't even finish any college degree at all.
So...Goodluck then. 😀 😀 😉