Eazey88

I will be a sophomore this upcoming year @ Penn State. I have plans to go to grad school @ Stanford or Columbia (I know, long shot). Problem is,
I am stuck between wanting to be a Psychiatrist/Lawyer/Broker. I am a Business/Finance Major. From what I seen throughout my research, it would
be tough but, possible to be in position to do any of the 3.

To Attend Med School:
Undergrad Major doesnt matter
Only Requirements:
Biology - 1 year
Chemistry & Organic Chemistry - 2 years
Physics - 1 year
Calculus (included in business curriculum) - 1 year
Writing (general studies, core curriculum) - 1 year
MCATs

To Attend Law School:
Undergrad Major doesnt matter
Pray to God/Buddha/Moses I ace the LSATs

To Attend Business School:
My Undergrad Major is Business/Finance
Get Good scores on GMATs


I was insistent to Major in Business as it is where I am most confident and comfortable. But, I still have questions.


1. Would it be feasible for me to major in Business & still have the flexibility to choose any of the 3 pathways
as I finish Undergrad????


2. Out of Psychiatry/Law/Finance.....in your opinion what career would be the most rewarding?????


I know you dont know me but, I would greatly appreciate the feedback.
Thanks

Eazey88

thank you man....i appreciate that

Solomonm

I would suggest looking into exactly what medical or law school entails. A lot of kids think they want to go and then are completely blown away when they find out what these programs actually entail. If your school has a medical or law school within it email the professors and ask permission to sit in on a few classes. This will definitely give you an idea of what the programs are actually like. As far as law, talk to a few lawyers. What people think lawyers do and what they actually do are two very very very very different things.

Ultimately, go with what interests you the most. If you love the law go into law, if medicine fascinates you, pursue psychology etc. etc.

mshaddal

From the three choices given, all are potentially financially and professionally fulfilling paths. They are all also remarkably competitive and difficult fields to pursue, but given the right education, proper guidance, and-more than anything-the dedication, you could be successful in any. I'll give some words of advice about each:

Finance: This sounds like the one that you are (as of now) most prepared for. I do not know very much about Finance since I've never considered it as a career, but if it truly interests you, and not just for the money since that is not always guaranteed, then this could be a good choice

Law: Being a lawyer (in my opinion) is a very challenging career. There are no specific prereqs so any major is possible, as long as you "ace the LSATS" as you said. Law school is only 3 years, and after that you take the bar and pick a field to practice in. I find that it helps to read not only the positives about a potential career path, but also the negative aspects. I was considering law but then I read things like this Law and Letters: Why you shouldn't go to law school.
(Disclaimer: I'm not easily susceptible to what people say, and I'm not timid about hard work, but I realized that a lot of my attraction to law was misguided and too naive. That wasn't going to get me anywhere in the field so I backed away and kept looking for something I would be more interested in.) Lawyers also have the highest divorce, substance abuse, and suicide rates (I believe) of any profession. Also on the list? See next section.....

Psychiatry (yes, I know): If I had to make a list, this would probably be the last one. You're a quarter of the way into your undergraduate college career and pre-med requires LOTS of undergrad preparation. These are difficult classes across the board, even if you have an aptitude for science and math. Keep in mind that most pre-med students take their MCATs sometime during their junior year or at least during the beginning of senior years. Most take off a year while they wait for responses from med schools. The applicants (usually) go to other countries to work with the underprivileged, do considerable scientific research, and become EMTs/Paramedics/Phlebotomists/CNAs or even Physician Assistants BEFORE even applying. Even then, out of all med school applicants (those who are intelligent enough to complete premed prereqs including the killer ochem), only 50% get into at least one of the schools they apply to. That means 1 out of 2 applicants get in NOWHERE, regardless of how many safeties they had. I've heard of 4.0 people getting accepted nowhere, even the tier 3 schools, so it's not as easy as getting into college as an undergrad. It's killer. You need 110% commitment to becoming a doctor. Some re-apply two or three times if they don't get in the first time. I was considering a career in medicine and I know quite a few doctors and premed kids and believe me it is tough as hell. If you're lucky enough to even get into med school, that's still the relatively easy part according to many. You should read up on residency sometime, which is what med school graduates need to complete before they can legally practice in the US. If you plan to specialize beyond general practitioner, which you do, you need to complete psychiatry residency so you'll spend an additional 4 years after med school doing MORE work and learning. That's a total of 12 years after high school before you can even start your "job." I know this sounds incredibly pessimistic, but the point is it is reality, and if after all of this you still want to pursue psychiatry, then by all means go for it. It is intimidating, but being a doctor can be very very rewarding, if helping people is your biggest passion in life and you cannot imagine anything else you'd rather be doing (this is IMPORTANT. make sure you want it more than absolutely anything in the world. volunteering helps!) For these people, it is not so much a choice as it is a necessity-they MUST be doctors. If you still want further literature, read this Med School Hell It will change your opinion about the medical profession forever haha hint: read this 101 Things You Wish You Knew Before Starting Medical School : Med School Hell

anyway, I hope this put some things in to perspective and I wish you the best of luck!

mshaddal

From the three choices given, all are potentially financially and professionally fulfilling paths. They are all also remarkably competitive and difficult fields to pursue, but given the right education, proper guidance, and-more than anything-the dedication, you could be successful in any. I'll give some words of advice about each:

Finance: This sounds like the one that you are (as of now) most prepared for. I do not know very much about Finance since I've never considered it as a career, but if it truly interests you, and not just for the money since that is not always guaranteed, then this could be a good choice

Law: Being a lawyer (in my opinion) is a very challenging career. There are no specific prereqs so any major is possible, as long as you "ace the LSATS" as you said. Law school is only 3 years, and after that you take the bar and pick a field to practice in. I find that it helps to read not only the positives about a potential career path, but also the negative aspects. I was considering law but then I read things like this Law and Letters: Why you shouldn't go to law school.
(Disclaimer: I'm not easily susceptible to what people say, and I'm not timid about hard work, but I realized that a lot of my attraction to law was misguided and too naive. That wasn't going to get me anywhere in the field so I backed away and kept looking for something I would be more interested in.) Lawyers also have the highest divorce, substance abuse, and suicide rates (I believe) of any profession. Also on the list? See next section.....

Psychiatry (yes, I know): If I had to make a list, this would probably be the last one. You're a quarter of the way into your undergraduate college career and pre-med requires LOTS of undergrad preparation. These are difficult classes across the board, even if you have an aptitude for science and math. Keep in mind that most pre-med students take their MCATs sometime during their junior year or at least during the beginning of senior years. Most take off a year while they wait for responses from med schools. The applicants (usually) go to other countries to work with the underprivileged, do considerable scientific research, and become EMTs/Paramedics/Phlebotomists/CNAs or even Physician Assistants BEFORE even applying. Even then, out of all med school applicants (those who are intelligent enough to complete premed prereqs including the killer ochem), only 50% get into at least one of the schools they apply to. That means 1 out of 2 applicants get in NOWHERE, regardless of how many safeties they had. I've heard of 4.0 people getting accepted nowhere, even the tier 3 schools, so it's not as easy as getting into college as an undergrad. It's killer. You need 110% commitment to becoming a doctor. Some re-apply two or three times if they don't get in the first time. I was considering a career in medicine and I know quite a few doctors and premed kids and believe me it is tough as hell. If you're lucky enough to even get into med school, that's still the relatively easy part according to many. You should read up on residency sometime, which is what med school graduates need to complete before they can legally practice in the US. If you plan to specialize beyond general practitioner, which you do, you need to complete psychiatry residency so you'll spend an additional 4 years after med school doing MORE work and learning. That's a total of 12 years after high school before you can even start your "job." I know this sounds incredibly pessimistic, but the point is it is reality, and if after all of this you still want to pursue psychiatry, then by all means go for it. It is intimidating, but being a doctor can be very very rewarding, if helping people is your biggest passion in life and you cannot imagine anything else you'd rather be doing (this is IMPORTANT. make sure you want it more than absolutely anything in the world. volunteering helps!) For these people, it is not so much a choice as it is a necessity-they MUST be doctors. If you still want further literature, read this Med School Hell It will change your opinion about the medical profession forever haha hint: read this 101 Things You Wish You Knew Before Starting Medical School : Med School Hell

anyway, I hope this put some things in to perspective and I wish you the best of luck!

lydia423

Wow. You're just like me!! I'm trying to decide among these three as well.

lydia423

Also what is the difference between markets and banking?

BigMike3541

Sometimes people really should do at least a little bit of research before asking to get carried by other people on a forum.

These three career paths have almost nothing in common.

openedskittles

If you had done a bit of research on your own, you would have found that worthwhile MBA programs practically require 5ish years of work experience. In other words, you will be choosing between law school, med school, and work (as opposed to business school).

If you go with business, consider your first job an extension of your education. You won't be as concerned with salary as you will be with the prestige of your company, because work experience is a huge part of your application. Yeah, business school only takes 2 years, but by the time you're making comparable money to a good doctor or lawyer, you'll have put in your time.

Also, as the previous poster noted, these careers are pretty different. You may seriously want to consider how well you like each of them a bit more.

ManOfFaith

Psychiatry, law, or finance. Soo...you're basically interested in money?

acetone

Yes, you can do all the finance major and still go the law or med pathway. For law you just need gpa and lsat. For med you'd need pre reqs, gpa, mcat, volunteer, research, and maybe save a few babies in africa or cure aids (i tease, i tease). Anyway, gpa is important, make sure if you do med that you don't hurt the gpa by overloading yoruself. Med school is a little forgiving in gpa as you can get in with about a 3.4 if your mcat is high and you volunteer and do research. However, law school pretty much comes down to how high your gpa can get and how high you can get that lsat. There are a lot of law schools in the US, so name of law school matters more than name of med school. Personally, medicine would probably be the most rewarding career out of the three, but to each his own. You have plenty of time to explore.