higher education question

1. 0

   mariexotoniposted 11 years ago

   I'm entering my second year and I'm going for my BS in physics. I am interested in med school for reasons of my own- but there's a side-step that I want to fulfill along the way, and I was just wondering your opinions on the matter.
   
   Right now my gpa is pretty low- got a 2.8 my first semester, and a 3.43 my second semester- so right now I have a 3.1. Plenty of time to bring that up, and I will  Going to try to get involved with some physics related research hopefully next summer or junior year.
   
   I dream of first going to grad school to pursue my phd in physics. I love physics- I want to become an expert in the field. After grad school, I would like to go to med school and hopefully land a residency dealing with radiation. Would it be foolish to do this? If it is.. how can I decide between the two?
   Ideally, I'd want to eventually retire from being a doctor and become a professor. That would be the best..
   
   Want to do the phd because studying physics is fulfilling, but I do not want a career in physics.
   
   Please don't be snarky- I know that this will take a long time to do.. but anything that takes time is worthwhile.

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2. 83

   psycheskinnerposted 11 years ago

   I think you should plot out how long this is going to take, and think about how you are going to afford it.  Bachelors (4 years), masters or honors (1 or 2 years), PhD (2 to 5 years), M.D. (4 years), internship (1 year), residency (2-6 years).  So, a few hundred thousand dollars in direct costs and 14-22 years. And that is assuming you can achieve the grades to get in ( http://www.washington.edu/uaa/advising/ … pamcat.pdf ).
   
   If this is feasible start networking now.  Make sure you have a PhD supervisor who understands your goals. Make sure you are ready to be very poor for a very long time and work all the hours in the day.  I did just a PhD and that was more than enough for me.

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   1. 0

      mariexotoniposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      would it be financially better if i pursued the med school first, and become a doctor? Then maybe, years later, I can pursue my phd?

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3. 83

   psycheskinnerposted 11 years ago

   Realistically it won't matter either way.  While you do either actively you have no free time and very little earning capacity.
   
   I would quite like to do an MBA but I can't postpone earning any more or I will be eating kibble in my retirement.
   
   I was very fortunate to get my PhD under a socialized system so at least I have no debt.

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   1. 0

      mariexotoniposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      think i'm just going to pursue med school and enjoy a career in health for most of my career.

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