Major/Career Choice

Parents Forum
1

<p>For a long time I have wanted to become a doctor…however now I am having doubts about becoming one. The long hourand residency are a real turn off for me. </p>

<p>I am going to Columbia University next year and I am 95% sure that i will major in either Biology, Chemistry, or Biochemistry and eventually get a master’s degree in one of them…by choosing these majors would I end of having a worthless degrees or would i have degrees in which I could get high paying salaries right out of graduate school?</p>

2

<p>A degree in any of those things is not worthless, but salaries depend on what you do with it. If you end up being a basic science researcher in a university, you will probably earn less than if you are working in a biotech firm or pharmaceutical company. </p>

<p>BTW, you might be interested in the Abbott Labs internships when you are in college - they are supposed to be really good.</p>

<p><a href=“http://abbott.com/career/internships.cfm[/url]”>http://abbott.com/career/internships.cfm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

3

<p>i have always heard about biotech companies but have never really understood what they were…care to elaborate, please?</p>

4

<p>Well, here’s an example of the first name i thought of to look up - but there are TONS more:</p>

<p><a href=“What we do | Quest Diagnostics”>What we do | Quest Diagnostics;
You might work for a company like BASF, Dow Chemicals, or DuPont.
You might also find this page interesting:
<a href=“AffiPCR Biosystems”>http://www.whybiotech.com/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

5

<p>Don’t worry about what you major in! It is a suprisingly small group of people that are actually doing something related to their major. I recently read the music students actually make the best medical students, and I have several premed friends in all different fields (including dance).
Major in what you will enjoy, and don’t worry about your salary yet! IMHO it is better to be happy and making less money than wealthy and miserable…</p>