[Zephyrus]

Originally Posted by AKA_Monet

Well, for me I did this "switching" after I got my Bachelor's. If you do want to become a physician, you have to have that goal in mind. Meaning, I don't know too many folks who switch around a lot when they want to be a clinician...

Now, I know quite a few physicians who were NOT biology majors--while most med students are bio majors, I do know chem, physics, engineering and English majors who have gotten into med school. There were compendium courses that HAVE to taken just to get a decent score on the MCAT. But, that can be done after graduation.

The other issue is admissions for Med schools generally do not accept anyone who wants to switch mid-stream. I mean, I have heard they really vet out to make sure someone wants to go to medical school--because education is that rigorous and there is an expectation that the student eventually will serve as a physician in their desired area. That is what most of these physicians are discussing in this Thread...

Grad school, depends on what you want your PhD in. You cannot get into a English Literature program and do DNA genotyping on mouse tissue. You'd have to justify that to your committee... What you are trying achieve in your PhD program is the question you must ask yourself?

If you are only seeking a Bachelor's, your best bet is to speak to your counselors, professors, etc. on your college campus.

Once you get your degree, then it is all on you...

I guess for my story, people switch careers all the time. I just realized my area of expertise is a strong "tournament market"--only the best wins, rather than another marketing system or merit system. Medical doctors do not undergo a "tournament market" system like biomedical research because they still treat human patients no matter what the numbers are of who they see--basically, as long as they are there, they get paid by insurance, etc. Whereas, all the money that comes in for biomed research are from grants: NIH, big pharma, state gov, DOD, etc. Only if the physician is a scientist does he/she undergo all of this. Most physicians I know are also MPH's, and some do global health. PhD researchers in biomed, are pretty much jacked because all the businesses want an MD/PhD combo... Since there are fewer MD/PhD combos with US degrees--due to the length of education--the businesses often get these "highly trained" people from foreign countries. The biggest "exporter" being China. And most of them are on H-1B visas. A lot of people are very angry about that... IDK how I feel, because basically this whole thing is probably driven by greed due to biomed being a "tournament market"... I do have references from which I speak, I am not making it up...

What did you get your bachelors in? To be quite honest, it would be something I would pursue, because of the pay. With a BA degree, it's almost hit or miss. My plan is to try music, but if I can't make a career out of it, then I would like to know that I can make the switch to medicine. I wait tables right now, while I'm not in school, but some of the people I work with have degrees that I've never even heard of. I wouldn't want to complete 4 years of college as a music major, just to see myself waiting tables. At least I know as a dr. I would have a decent well paid career. You mentioned some med schools would not accept someone who makes the switch, but my question is, are there some that would? Some of the majors you mentioned, were not way out there type of majors though. Physics, engineering, and English, I could see all of those being needed and used in any type of medical field. But a music major? That's the question I have. I've heard of some of the biotech companies too. I could also see the above majors you mentioned getting a career started with a biotech company. I think I would be taking a chance. I just want to be able to try music, see how well I do, see where I end up and if it doesn't work out, I would like to know with hard work that I would be able to make the switch.