Leaving Cert student wondering are they suitable for med. please help!!

grrrrrrrrrr

Hi all,

Im currently doing my leaving cert and am hoping (i think) to study med.
I know ill prob be stoned for putting up a thread like this but i thought it better that i asked than diving in and learning too late i messed up.

I am just afraid i may be going for med for the wrong reasons. i was first interested in med cause i love the idea of talking and meeting people and helping them. im also very interested in how the body works and all things biology.

But over the last few months ive been considering the financial side of things. is the tough training, hours, conditions etc worth it? i understand there is no such thing as easy money, but no offence, alot of med students seem to be constantly complaining about the work loads and conditions!
Does the pay compensate for this in any way?

Thanks

(will be interesting to see hw many people give out for my wrong reasons for wanting med)

A Neurotic

Try giving this and this a read, might give you a better idea of what you're getting into

bythewoods

I think doing Medicine for the money's a bit silly mate.

It's hard old work... It's nearly 2am and I'm still awake trying to learn anatomy, for example... and tbh there won't be a big pay cheque for many many years down the line. Many, many. I keep hearing "age 40".

If you're genuinely interested in Science (and not just Biology either, there's quite a bit of Chemistry and a wee bit'a Physics thrown in here and there) and you're willing to put a good bit of work in, it's well worth it. That's only from my limited experience- I'm but a wee first year m'self.

If it's money you're after there are easier career paths you can choose.

mardybumbum

I know ill prob be stoned

He he he

grrrrrrrrrr

bythewoods wrote: »

I think doing Medicine for the money's a bit silly mate.

It's hard old work... It's nearly 2am and I'm still awake trying to learn anatomy, for example... and tbh there won't be a big pay cheque for many many years down the line. Many, many. I keep hearing "age 40".

If you're genuinely interested in Science (and not just Biology either, there's quite a bit of Chemistry and a wee bit'a Physics thrown in here and there) and you're willing to put a good bit of work in, it's well worth it. That's only from my limited experience- I'm but a wee first year m'self.

If it's money you're after there are easier career paths you can choose.

but sure what career do you start making money straight away on anyway?? none id say..

thanks tho

candlegrease

grrrrrrrrrr wrote: »

but sure what career do you start making money straight away on anyway?? none id say..

thanks tho

dentistry

dissed doc

grrrrrrrrrr wrote: »

Hi all,


I am just afraid i may be going for med for the wrong reasons. i was first interested in med cause i love the idea of talking and meeting people and helping them. im also very interested in how the body works and all things biology.

Then that's a perfect reason to do medicine, as that is pretty much what psychiatrists are: you understand the brain, neuroscience and biology and use it with people in a manner that improves their lives.

One thing to remember, and it is a good aspect of medicine, is that although the basic undergrad courses train your for nothing at all in a practical sense, you have a huge knowledge base to work from, when you do start to specialise. The main task at undergrad is building that library in your head. I read once that your vocabulary increases 2-3x fold by the time you graduate: you are effectively learning the basic building blocks and nothing more. This is why it really only opens up later, where you see that there are 80+ different brances in medicine. For example, in surgery again, the first few years are learning a new specialised set of building blocks, then go on to ENT, Urology, Transplant, Vascular, Cardiac, etc., etc., . General Medicine itself branches into a huge amount of fields. Pathology, Microbiology, etc.,. Psychiatry has Forensics, Adult, Child, Old-Age, Learning Disability, etc., etc., . You find that people can specialise in so many sub areas, there is always something for you to excel at.

You'll find, if speaking to a few doctors who are out a few years from college, that they all do enjoy their chosen fields a lot, and that it is the lousy conditions and logistics that they dislike; not the job itself which is amazingly rewarding.

Long-term, around half of all graduates in Ireland become GPs; around 20% make it to consultant level.

But over the last few months ive been considering the financial side of things. is the tough training, hours, conditions etc worth it? i understand there is no such thing as easy money, but no offence, alot of med students seem to be constantly complaining about the work loads and conditions!
Does the pay compensate for this in any way?

Forget the "tough training" or long hours. You do it because you want to learn more. The more patients you see, the better you get, it's as simple as that. Even though NCHDs complain, they would rather get experience in a particularly difficult condition at 4am than be home in bed. If you enjoy it, you do it. This is the same for the types that do MBAs and work 18hrs a day, or the investment bankers working 80-100hrs/week. The reward is always their, but for doctors, it's not based just on the financial aspects but mostly on that you do get better and better, as the years go by, you become more senior, more confident, and can treat people faster and with greater accuracy. That is worth much more than financial reward.

Do not get distracted by the HSE ad EWTD nonsense; it's as much a distraction from things as the Public vs. Private sector debates were when neither were the cause of the economic collapse in Ireland. Keep focussed on what you enjoy doing, and you will find that money will never be a problem. You will make top 5% of income in pretty much any country you choose to live in. The key is to enjoy it, genuinely and be enthusiastic about your field.

Have a read at the www.studentdoctor.net forums. It's primarily US based, but does discuss salaries, and the debates between different fields and earnings. Primarily, if you enjoy your job, you'll do it well, and make plenty of money. Medicine is one of the only degrees that will offer that, as so many people enjoy their jobs, work hard, and make very little. Money will not and never should be the primary incentive for any degree; hence why it's neutralised in the EU and most consultants make the same, so people pick based on genuine interest and not out of financial gain (IMHO).

Just for some perspective: doctors may complain at a junior level about money, but's probably more to do with being expected to work 80hrs a week and being paid for 40. That does not make you feel like a valued employee. As we hear so many times, over and over, that the "public" are the people paying for the public service like doctors, it's natural to assume the said doctors start to feel considerably unwanted as they are being mistreated and havign contracts broken by their "employer" over and over. This is nothing to do with life as a doctor, so don't be dissuaded.