Is medicine worth it?

[crayolé]

Well I"m going to try for medicine/dentistry/pharmacy next year but I'm starting to get second thoughts and I dont have any backup plans. :/

I heard its a pretty fulltime/after-hours job with average pay on top of the 6+years or study and uni fees.

What are some backups I could consider? (Ones with good money~sorry if that sounds selfish)
I'm doing Bio, Chem, Methods, Further and English

Also, Whats specialisation?

[kyzoo]

Specialization in regards to Medicine is when you specialize in a field such as skin problems, eye problems, delivering babies, etc (sorry don't know official terms). Medicine is too vast a field for one person to know all, so practitioners become an experts in a particular field rather than being weak in all areas.

[stonecold]

As kyzoo has stated, if you choose to specialize, the pay is anything but average.  Also MBBS can take only 5 years plus internship, so it really isn't that long.  You're done by he age of 24, and then you can choose to specialize and by age 30 you will be very well off financially.

Compare this to business/finance/law, which is the other major field where you have the potential to earn a lot of money in Australia.  Most people who finish their degree are lucky to get employment for 40k per year when they leave Uni, and then it is just a matter of climbing up the corporate ladder.  You won't be earning big money until you are 40+ years old.  This is when it becomes very rewarding, as there is the potential to make huge amounts of money being a lawyer or board member of a corporation, but it takes a while to get there. 

As far as engineering goes, that is another field with the potential to earn a lot of money, but jobs are very limited here in Australia.  You would probably have to move to Europe if you wanted to be an engineer and earn amounts comparable to medicine and business/finance/law here in Aus.

It ultimately depends on what field you prefer and how long you are prepared to wait to see the fruits of your labour. 

[jimmy999]

There are also the benefits you'll get that doesn't include money. For example making a person feel better, saving a life, but then there are also the major stress and emotional issues such as losing a patient and what would happen if you accidentally diagnose someone. Being a Doctor is one you need to be emotionally strong for, but at least you know that overall you'll be helping people

[ninwa]

Don't choose law if you want to be earning big bucks. Not going to happen for most of us law graduates.

Engineering is a good area. Mining engineers consistently earn one of the highest salaries in Australia. I actually thought most engineers were quite in demand too, but maybe I'm wrong here.

You could do actuarial studies, that is a very very well-paying job if you don't mind working long hours. (Not sure if that needs specialist maths as a pre-req though)

[jimmy999]

Don't choose law if you want to be earning big bucks. Not going to happen for most of us law graduates.

Engineering is a good area. Mining engineers consistently earn one of the highest salaries in Australia. I actually thought most engineers were quite in demand too, but maybe I'm wrong here.

You could do actuarial studies, that is a very very well-paying job if you don't mind working long hours. (Not sure if that needs specialist maths as a pre-req though)

A couple of years back engineers were in high demand. Maybe now they still are, but the thing is a large portion of this year appear to want to do engineering. It'll be funny when we all graduate and try to get a job at the same time /sarcasm

And actuarial studies doesn't need spesh as a pre-req, though it is very useful

[dejan91]

You could do actuarial studies, that is a very very well-paying job if you don't mind working long hours. (Not sure if that needs specialist maths as a pre-req though)

Funnily enough, my mum's friend said she has an actuary at her workplace, and the actuary apparently does hardly any work and always goes home early lol.

Anyway, back on topic. My friend's brother-in-law does medince. He's specialising in gastroenterology and at the moment he's completing a PhD in it (oh and I guess I should mention, he's going to be moving to somewhere in England for a year to complete his studies). From what I've seen/heard he studies a lot and is usually called to work in long hours (not sure about this though). But he loves what he's doing and that's why he's doing it. No idea what he gets payed, but I'm sure it's a fair bit.

[jimmy999]

Go watch Scrubs and get an idea of medicine. (Yes Scrubs is stated as the most accurate medical show by actual doctors)

[Voltaire]

Go do work experience at a hospital during highschool...
boring and stressful work IMO, basically all patients are very old and should be left to die

[xXNovaxX]

The job security is also very good.

Sure is, money keeps being pumped into it as the population grows.

[Greggler]

From various work experience and talking with doctors they all say medicine is what you want it to be.

You want to travel? You want a steady 9-5 job? It's all possible as a doctor. Sure, the first few years out of uni are apparently some of the hardest years of your life, but after that your free to do what you want from there. If something extremly challenging due to awkward work hours yet highly rewarding, then emergency medicine might be for you etc. If you want a less stressful job, become a GP.

I've talked to a doctor who is 35, a GP earning a comfortable living with a family, working 3 days a week and surfinng every other day.
And another i've met through work experience is a dedicated surgeon constantly studying and travelling overseas to keep up with medical advances and further his knowledge and his field of expertise. However he has no family and is basically married to his work.

Also if you're so worried about money go do something in Engineering or become an Accountant or something. My cousin graduated 2 years ago as an engineer and got some job first year out working for some big company earning 90,000. And all he does is deskwork.

[stonecold]

There are also the benefits you'll get that doesn't include money. For example making a person feel better, saving a life, but then there are also the major stress and emotional issues such as losing a patient and what would happen if you accidentally diagnose someone. Being a Doctor is one you need to be emotionally strong for, but at least you know that overall you'll be helping people

Yeah absolutely.  That is why I wan't to do medicine.  To me it seems so much more fulfilling being able to help people compared to the backstabbing and greed that goes on in the corporate world.

@Nova, are you really a girl?  I think so, but everyone in the other thread was like nah, you're a guy.....please prove me right

[xXNovaxX]

Tezza, are you genuinely INTERESTED in the careers you listed?? Or are you being forced to do them due to family ><

There;s nothing wrong thoguh with wantign a career which HAS good money, since you need to survive and maybe start a family...

@stonecold, I really don't know what conclusion we reached in the thread dedicated to me.

Hermaphrodite didn't seem to cut it with them, everyone seems eent on proving I have male organs, when I'm not too sure about that =/

http://vcenotes.com/forum/index.php/topic,20823.0.html

[crayolé]

Yeah I am interested in these, there isnt really anything else that has stricken me but thats probably because I havent been exposed to a lot so far

[d0minicz]

if ure interested then it shouldnt be a problem with it being worth it
if u do what u wanna do then it should all be worth it no matter waht