<p>I’m an incoming freshman at a LAC, where I’ll be majoring in a very niche field (ethnomusicology.) For the past four years, I’ve wanted to study this field; and, if asked what my ideal career would be, I’d say a professor of ethnomusicology engaged in research, (though that is by no stretch of the imagination the only path I could see myself going down.) On a more broad, non-career oriented level, I’d say that I’d like to help and/or teach and enrich the lives of individuals.</p>
<p>Though I’ve made in my mind the commitment to follow through with this dream of ethnomusicology with the greatest fervor (at least at the undergraduate level), I realize that in four years, I may very well not feel confident with following through with a PhD program, be it for tenure-related worries, oversaturation of graduates, or what have you. And, unfortunately, if that ends up being the case, ethnomusicology leaves me at a dead end, as it is not a degree conducive to any of the other numerous potential life paths I see for myself.</p>
<p>As such, I’ve considered a number of options, most of which entail engrossing myself in another subject in addition to the ethnomusicology and completing a double major, such as in sociology, with which I could find myself in a number of positions conducive to helping others and bettering their lives. I find counseling, social work, and related careers appealing.</p>
<p>I’ve also recently started considering pre-med. I feel this to be quite logical, yet at the same time, I feel I may be grossly underestimating the daunting prospect of being successful pre-med. I feel it may be logical for two reasons, primarily. The first of which is quite simply that it would put me on the path to a stable, important, fulfilling, and to a large degree appealing career, especially if within the next four long years my devotion to professorship in ethnomusicology wavers. I’d also like to say here that I could truly see myself as a doctor – it is not merely a “backup plan” or something so half-hearted in connotation. The second logical reason is that I feel that I have an extremely strong humanities background already, yet my science experience is quite poor (I’ve taken a few AP science and math courses, I suppose, but it doesn’t feel like much.) I feel a very, very strong desire as a member of the human race to expose myself to as much of the sum of its creation as possible; and though this interest was, in the past, confined to literature, culture, history, and (quite naturally) music, it has now expanded to include the sciences. The pre-med track seems to provide such exposure to the broad spectrum of sciences, such that even if I, conversely, do follow my current dream of ethnomusicology scholarship, I would not feel the time and energy wasted, as I would have spent that time gaining a better appreciation of the grand aggregate knowledge of humanity. Additionally, from what I can tell, as my major only entails 11 or so courses, as does pre-med (not including the English), so I would still have a degree of flexibility in college with regards to electives and general education.</p>
<p>But, of course, at the same time, it may be illogical. To repeat, perhaps I am grossly underestimating the difficulty of pre-med, the MCATs, and medical school admittance (or conversely overestimating my own ability.) Perhaps my previous apathy, and thereby inexperience, with regards the sciences and math in high school will come to bite me when I attempt such courses. Perhaps the general philosophy is that one oughtn’t consider medicine as a career, lest the desire be a inferno rather than merely a burning match. I don’t know.</p>
<p>At any rate, I’m looking for feedback and opinions.</p>