Course help!! (1 Viewer)

[occhiolisms]

Hi! I am a year 11 student and am torn between two uni degrees, both of which require VERY high ATARs (I would like to go to USyd) and am unsure as to what I should choose to pursure. The two degrees are Law and Medicine. Here are my pros and cons for both:
Med (REQUIRED ATAR: 99.95):
- I genuinely enjoy science and have taken subjects that are more science/math oriented
- Both of my parents are doctors (one works at the largest children's hospital in Sydney, and the other is Head of Department at a tertiary hospital) and making connections/internships will be easy (relatively) and professional advice will be very easy to access
- I know this industry like I know the back of my own hand - did work experience at a hospital, have spent most of my life sitting in hospital rooms, also means I am VERY aware of the ugly side of medicine e.g. night shifts, intra-department 'politics,' hard work required, intern salaries etc. (which is perhaps why I am unsure as to whether I should pursue this as a career or not)
- Of course, eventually, the large paycheck (esp. surgery, which I'm interested in anyway, and anaesthetics)
- Also the 99.95 ATAR lol idk if I can get that but UNSW is always an option
The only con is the huge amount of time and effort it takes to actually reach the point where you make that sort of money, and I'm not sure that I'm willing to put that much work into Med
Law (REQUIRED ATAR: 99.5, I would eventually like to pursue International Law):
- I have excellent communication skills
- I don't know much about it which is possibly why Law is as appealing to me as it is
- I do Mock Trial (same as Moot Courts), and while I am very aware that real law is VERY different to MT, I genuinely really enjoy it
- I think right now I want to do Law more, but this is also coming from a place of basically a complete and utter lack of understanding as to what the career actually entails
- Con: not as much money as medicine, no connections

 

[pistachioman]

Do MED.
Your gonna have to put nearly the same amount of time and effort into your law career where you can make that sort of money or achieve a high position.

 

[jjnn]

No offence but much of your reasons to get into medicine is to get the money, and then you say your unsure if the amount of work you put in to get minimal return like lower pay at the beginning and night shifts, etc might not be worth the money later on. In all honesty, medicine is not about the money you receive and is not only just about the subjects you like ALONE. It is really about putting yourself last in the hope of putting others first in the front line of medicine and health and most of all SAVING LIVES. Of course the experiences you have in the medical field with volunteering and experiencing first hand is great, but are you really looking at it to get the money, or purely because you actually want to save lives.

Medicine isn't a profession, it is a passion. Of course no one, even people who want to do med for the right reason, won't like the long and arduous shifts of a doctor, and the countless patients that threaten to sue you just because you made an error even if it is your first mistake you made in your whole medical career. We are all human and of course you won't enjoy the physical and mental strains of being a doctor, but no one should do it for the satisfaction of money they get at the end of the day. Instead, people should do it for the satisfaction they get at the end of the day when they have saved a young child's life from cancer or saved someone from a neurological disease they have been suffering from their whole lives. That's the real reason why you should be a doctor, not for the money, but for the satisfaction of putting all the hard work to save lives.

Reconsider your reasons for getting into med, if not reconsider getting into med at all. Your still in year 11 so you have time to reconsider your options and remember, money doesn't bring happiness even if you think it does, it doesn't. Last year in fact, a census in Australia showed that 49% of doctors regret going into med and 90% of those people admitted the real reason they wanted to get into medicine was because of family pressure, money and/or reputation. No one else will suffer the hardcore mental and physical strain of being a doctor, but you. If you choose med for the wrong reason, the only person that will suffer for the rest of your life will be yourself. And also, if you do your research medicine//dentistry is the profession with the highest suicide and depression rates.

If you want to do a job for the money, literally any job can get the same as doctor in a shorter amount of time then a doctor and the fraction of the stress a doctor gets. Pilots after 7 years experience, and get a job as a pilot for an international flight, can get a salary of up to $300,000, and $500,000 if they fly the a380. And what do doctors get... just scrapping off $250,000 after what, like 12 years of hard work. So doing med for the money is the stupidest reason to go into medicine, because hundreds of other jobs like a pilot can get the same, if not more then a doctor. The richest people are from the business sector, not doctors. SOoooo reconsider your reasons.

So take a real long and hard think about the real reasons you want to get into med. Its your life your putting on the line, no one else. And take money OUT OF THE EQUATION.

Good luck with everything and hope you get into what you enjoy!

 

[RishBonjour]

Medicine is just another degree and being a doctor is literally another job. Stop romanticizing the profession.

There are PLENTY of people I know who were not sure between law and medicine - how is EVERY 17 year old supposed to 100% know what they want in their career? This is why so many med students were ex engineers, lawyers etc etc. Not because these guys were necessarily rejected from medicine but because they came to it e.g. one of my colleagues was in medical negligence law and then decided to actually study med.

I do however agree that you should NOT be doing medicine for the money because guess what - there isn't that much money at all. Medicine will give you a 'comfortable' life objectively speaking. You won't be rich. If you want to me rich and worshiped by your peers, go into Investment Banking - you will be making bank from first year out of uni while your medicine mates are still slugging it out in the hospital system get relatively poor (still decent) pay.

And what do doctors get... just scrapping off $250,000 after what, like 12 years of hard work. So doing med for the money is the stupidest reason to go into medicine,

lol what, that's a GP salary mate. If a GP own's their own practice, they can make WAY more. If you move into private practice and actually want to make money, there is plenty of avenues to make more than whatever a commercial airline pilot makes.

And what do doctors get... just scrapping off $250,000 after what, like 12 years of hard work. So doing med for the money is the stupidest reason to go into medicine,

Agreed but law has an incredible amount of problem solving which everyone with a mathematical brain will appreciate. First day of usyd comm/law the lecturer straight up said people think people who are good at English excel in law, but its the people who did science/maths in high school that do even better.

Plus, comm/law opens up investment banking pretty much.

Source: studied comm/law + medicine and absolutely loved both.

 

[studygirl118]

Keep in mind that Medicine and Law are very long, hard roads and you really should only do them if you're 100% passionate about them. You're only in Year 11 so perhaps take the time to think about it a bit more.

My suggestion would be to do a general undergraduate degree in something you're interested in (say science or maths) and then after that if you still want to do Law you can do the Jusidoctor of Law, or if you still want to do medicine you can do the Doctor of Medicine.