Career/College Advice *help*

[Lexie Grey]

(I posted this in the college life forum as well, I'm not totally positive how this site works, sorry )

In all of high school I never considered that I might not be good at what I planned to do in college. I decided at around 16 that I wanted to be a doctor. So I applied for the biggest STEM school in my state as a pre-med neuroscience major. However, after my first year at this school, I've realized that this might not be the path for me. I want to be a doctor so badly, but I've done very poorly in my premed classes (three Cs) , all with the knowledge that my courses will only get harder from here. What takes my classmates an hour to understand, takes me five. I am not inclined or gifted in my science/premed courses (chemistry, labs, maths, etc) even a little bit, no part of me even enjoys learning about science. But I know that these are really just the classes I have to take to get into medical school, but I'm feeling more lost than ever at the concept that right now, I have no idea what I'm supposed to be doing.

As a result of this I've began considering other options, and things I would be good at. People keep telling me that I'll excel the most at life with doing things I'm good at and generally enjoy. My favorite job I've ever had was at my town's elementary school, I love children and are very naturally gifted with them. However, I feel like I'd be an awful teacher. Additionally, I love reading and writing, and have always excelled in English courses. I have no idea what to do with this though, in an ideal world I could be a book editor, but I know that's not at all realistic. I've trapped myself in a pre-med trap and after a year of trying to convince myself I liked science and math and that if I just worked really hard I would enjoy it, I haven't. In fact, I kind of hate it. All I wanted was to be a doctor, to help people, but at this point I feel like it's all out of reach.

At the end of the day, I just want to have a career that will allow me to be able to take time away to be able to take care of children and a family, or I can at least go back to once my children grow up. However, I know I can't just plan on being a stay at home mom, and that having a good education and job to fall back on is crucial to supporting my life and the family I want someday.

I'll take any advice. Thank you!

 

[HereIStand]

An English major is fine. Try to learn to read at least one foreign language and minor in a technical field. That way, it will be easier to find work and/or pursue graduate study.

 

[PloverWing]

You're not trapped in a pre-med trap. You've only completed a year of school. If you don't like studying science, it's really good that you found out now, instead of three or four years from now. Lots of students try out a major, find that they hate it or aren't good at it, and switch to a different major. Your college probably has some kind of general math and science requirements for all the students, so there's a good chance that your math and chemistry classes from this year will count towards those requirements.

What did you like about being a doctor that made you choose that profession when you were 16? Did you like the idea of helping people, or having a solid career path with good employment possibilities, or making a good salary, or the respect that doctors get, or being in charge of your own medical practice (a kind of small business owner), or ...? If you can identify what you liked most about the idea of being a doctor, then you might be able to find a different profession that meets some of those same goals.

 

[faithful_blacksmith]

... after a year of trying to convince myself I liked science and math and that if I just worked really hard I would enjoy it, I haven't. In fact, I kind of hate it. All I wanted was to be a doctor, to help people, but at this point I feel like it's all out of reach.

At the end of the day, I just want to have a career that will allow me to be able to take time away to be able to take care of children and a family, or I can at least go back to once my children grow up. However, I know I can't just plan on being a stay at home mom, and that having a good education and job to fall back on is crucial to supporting my life and the family I want someday.

As the son of a doctor and as a science major, I can tell you that if that's what you want, a doctor is not the way to go. I've broken down my thoughts on the topic as follows:

First: I love my mom and she tries to spend as much time with me and my siblings as she can, but it is hard and stressful for her because of her work. Doctors don't get flexible hours. If someone's sick, they need you. (Especially in the specialist fields like neuroscience)

Second: You don't have to be a doctor to help people! For example, a teacher gets to help many people (think about all that your teachers, especially your elementary teachers, taught you).

Third: Without enjoying science, you will almost certainly fail. Becoming a doctor is an immensely daunting task. Even for people who love science and math, it takes an incredible amount of hard work and discipline to even get into med school.

tl;dr I think you should look at becoming a teacher.

 

[Knee V]

It is difficult to find jobs that pay well that aren't STEM-related. If that is not your main concern, then that shouldn't be too much of an issue for you.

Have you thought about things that would allow you to work from home? Perhaps things like certain kinds of law, software/computer programming (although it is STEM), etc?

 

[Sketcher]

As a result of this I've began considering other options, and things I would be good at. People keep telling me that I'll excel the most at life with doing things I'm good at and generally enjoy. My favorite job I've ever had was at my town's elementary school, I love children and are very naturally gifted with them. However, I feel like I'd be an awful teacher.

Why do you feel that you would be an awful teacher?