| Author | Message | ||
| Tyler (Bahiaau)
Intermediate Member Username: Bahiaau Post Number: 1058 Registered: 12-2001 |
kid enzoz, feel free to email me: [email protected] | ||
| t szutz (Roentgen)
New member Username: Roentgen Post Number: 12 Registered: 5-2003 |
I did dentistry for 10 years and decided I didn't want to continue for another 30 years so quit and went into medicine, radiology. It's the best job in with world and wouldn't want to do anything else but to be the best you can be that's how you should feel about whatever you decide to do. Radiology as said before is daunting, but the rewards, challanging, intellectually stimulating, good pay, far outweigh the effort. I work 8-5 five days a week. | ||
| Dr. J C928 (Attitude928)
Junior Member Username: Attitude928 Post Number: 101 Registered: 11-2002 |
Hey Kid enzoz - If you're good at law & the sciences - you could always sue doctors for a living. I'm sure a bunch of them have Ferraris by now. | ||
| Russ Turner (Snj5)
Member Username: Snj5 Post Number: 535 Registered: 2-2003 |
Medicine has a lot of options and like everything else is what you make it. I have to echo what's said before - do something because you love it - that goes for about anything. Medicine is good because you can mix and MD (or DO) with other things that you love to do as well. More on this later. For a physician the up front training is daunting, more than most could understand without doing it. Other options that are cool (I think) and worth looking at are: Optometry (trying to talk my daughter into this) Less training tail and generally most well adjusted. Dentistry. Similar to Optometry with some cool subspecialties I've been an Air Force Flight Surgeon for nearly 20 years mixing my love of taking care of people with a love of flying. Not to mention (to steal a Navy line) - It's an adventure!  The people are great, and the main reason why I stay in. I've had 5 overseas assignments throughout Europe and Asia, flown in F-15s and F-16s, although most in the mighty F-4 Phantom in which I have combat time over Iraq. I've flown emergency rescue missions out at sea and and led the medical rescue mission to the Embassy bombing in Nairobi. One assignment I did medical software development for medical surveillance and Homeland protection. Now that I am more senior, just finished being a hospital commander in Japan where you really can make a difference. Not for everybody, of course. The Air Force (or other services) will pay you as you go to school as well. Again, not for everybody, but it's been the best time of my life. Quite a hoot along the way as well with great friends and a terrific sense of doing something important that I believed in. The point I'm really trying to make is not so much one for recruitment (although would hope you think about it ) but that you can combine medicine (or whatever) into other things as well. What ever you do, do something that you have fun doing and that you enjoy the people in it. Worked for me. Good luck! best rt | ||
| Me Myself (Kid_enzoz)
Junior Member Username: Kid_enzoz Post Number: 171 Registered: 4-2003 |
Tyler, what does medical sales consist of? The reason I was looking at bioengineering as undergrad is because it's supposed to be hot I guess, and it also interests me. Anything with 'bio' or 'nano' is the way to go from what I hear... What other interesting fields are there in medicine? Do they all require post med school training for another half decade making peanuts in return? School will be expensive and a big turn off is that afterward I might be stuck making only peanuts total after the 5 years after med school during training... when would I pay off school? The sixth or seventh year? I'll be up to my neck in loans. Another thing... well... everybody in my family tells me to go into law because I'll be good at it. And it's strange, even some of the people I hang out with say the same thing. And it's always been in the back of my mind... however, I'm better at science courses then humanities course, which I hear is what I should be focusing on if I want to do law. I know next to nothing about what I could be doing. I don't want to be a lawyer, I know that, but what else is there? Can I study science then get into a part of law that deals with biotechnology or something like that? Will I be able to get a job after law school and start earning my pay check like everybody else or what? I always had an interest in computer science and electrical engineering. But with the fall of the Valley I've always been scared about going that route. I love the stuff too. Well, I think I've made it obvious to everybody that I love to learn and enjoy many things, even though I excell more in science than anything else. I what to get into something that I not only become stable finanically but more importantly, that I enjoy. The reason radiology sparked my interest is because I read up on it and it seemed like a very satisfing career that looks like something worth learning and practicing. Thanks guys. Oh... and I want to paid enough so I can get a shiny 328 of my own. | ||
| Tyler (Bahiaau)
Intermediate Member Username: Bahiaau Post Number: 1053 Registered: 12-2001 |
Only consider this if you absolutely LOVE medicine. You will need to eat, sleep and breathe it. I'm not very familiar with radiology, I work with orthopaedic and neuro-surgeons. I can tell you that the hours are very long and the pay is not commensurate with the effort you have to put forth. If you have both an interest in medicine and the ability to sell then consider medical sales. The hours are better and if you are a top producer the Doc's paycheck will seem like a cruel joke compared to yours. | ||
| Dr. J C928 (Attitude928)
Junior Member Username: Attitude928 Post Number: 100 Registered: 11-2002 |
Medicine is still the best job. It is extremely interesting and you get paid to help other people. When I first started in practice ~20 years ago alot of the older docs were complaining alot about insurance cuts & malpractice, and some were throwing in the towel. It didn't feel "bad" to me though. It was great to take care of the patients, teach, and do research over the years. However, as the years wear on in practice & you "pay your dues", it gets harder to sustain your inertia. One must continue to adjust to the ongoing outside regulatory and financial pressures on the practice. Having youger docs to help pic up the load is essential. So are outside interests (cars, boats, etc.). The field of medicine is very diverse. Radiology wasn't for me. 9-5 and it's in black & white. For others, it is very rewarding in all ways. The whole medicine thing doesn't come easy. Pre-med, med school, internship & residency are not a picnic. Alot of sunny days studying. Ultimate debt levels can be high. Notwithstanding, I'd certainly do it all again. | ||
| Mark Moon (Enzomoon)
Member Username: Enzomoon Post Number: 297 Registered: 4-2002 |
Stay away from Medicine...the field has been completely gutted by managed care insurance and Trial attorneys. I plan to quit in the near future. | ||
| Me Myself (Kid_enzoz)
Junior Member Username: Kid_enzoz Post Number: 170 Registered: 4-2003 |
I go to a community college and I want to transfer to UC Berkeley and major bioengineering, which should be excellent for pre-med. What happens after medical school? Will I have work? Will I need to get training? Would I get paid for that? As far as I know, radiology deals with using radioactive substances in diagnosis and treatment of disease. Do x-rays and medical imaging have a lot to do with it? From what I was looking into and all I hear, it sounds like something I would love to be doing. Very interesting work indeed. | ||
| t szutz (Roentgen)
New member Username: Roentgen Post Number: 11 Registered: 5-2003 |
I'm a radiologist. The work is very interesting and incredibly challenging, the amount of information needed is mind boggling, tends to keep one very humble. How does one know everything about the human body? Much of what we do is deal with anatomy and pathology. The pay is also wonderful but as stated previously never do any job for pay. The pay nationwide average somewhere around 300k. You must enjoy what you do. Also as stated previously the training is formidable, only the top students in medicine are accepted into radiology trainging. The technology changes rapidly. Lots of science, physics, computer use. Very exciting field. Most students have undergraduate biology degrees, but anything in science, chemistry, physics, math, would be the most practible, however in reality any degree with the required prerequisites is ok. | ||
| victor v villarreal (Vvvmd)
New member Username: Vvvmd Post Number: 28 Registered: 1-2003 |
There is a shortage of radiologists nationwide. Bill and Hillary the two smartest people in the world put a scare into medical circles that resulted in few people going onto fields like radiology and anesthesia. They also cut funding for training programs. The result is that programs have shut down so there are fewer MD in these fields. These programs have gotten very difficult to get into. IF you are thinking about going into radiology you need to have a strong science background as an undergrad. Once out of college you need four years of med school a year of internship the four or more years to train to be a radiologist. Pay varies across the US. If you do decide to go into medicine pick a field you love not the one that will make you wealthy. There are other specialties that pay more and have better life styles than Surgery which is what I do, But I would go nuts if I had to do someting else. email me if you have other questions | ||
| Brad K (Speedfreek)
New member Username: Speedfreek Post Number: 18 Registered: 7-2003 |
The field of medicine in general is going through changes effecting insurance and medical malpractice. Read up on medical economics and decide if medicine is something you want to become involved with because the days of big $ were gone a long time ago for most specialties. There are radiologists on here that can specifically answer what they do. | ||
| Me Myself (Kid_enzoz)
Junior Member Username: Kid_enzoz Post Number: 168 Registered: 4-2003 |
Is it a good field? What would be a good undergrad prep for it? How broad is the field? What does it pay? |