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Neurosurgeon vs Maths professor

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More respected - Neurosurgeon

More money - Neurosurgeon
Original post by Talkand...Talk
Im torn between these two career options that i have in mind. Through your experiacne witch job is more rewarding, as in money (but i KNOW its defo not about the money!) and about how respected u are. Also which job is easy to get ?? Tuvm.


Do you know what neurosurgery entails? Do you want to spinal cord, brain, paediatric, trauma, neuro onc etc? Or are you the sort that wants to do craniotomy after craniotomy and doesn't realise that in fact open brain surgery is becoming less favourable with the rise of interventional rads? Do you understand the training pathway and that in fact the time they spend operating is only about 30% of their shift time (probably on call with very ill patients :frown: )

Get into medschool first :smile: then consider it after your pre-clin neuroanatomy and neuroscience modules. That usually puts people off! 😂 If you have a long term ambition go for it, but please don't go into a field without comprehensively searching all that it involves because it might not be all you thought.

I've done plenty of work with neurosurg at medschool and I do love parts of it, but if there's one thing I'd say, keep your mind open. Nearly every medstudent changes which speciality they want to do at some point as they get exposed to the reality behind that speciality!

Good luck on your quest :smile:
Original post by oShahpo
No, physics actually.


Okay. But that's bad advice in my opinion sometimes.
Original post by oShahpo
To be genuinely honest, the fact you're asking this question makes you a very unlikely candidate to be either.


Now now, that's not very fair. There's no such thing as a stupid question. I've asked tonnes of questions that people have scoffed at, but then I end up in a better situation than them.

I mean, come on, you're expecting OP to know if he wants to become a neurosurgeon without even asking any questions!
Original post by KyleH123
Okay. But that's bad advice in my opinion sometimes.


You see, I have seen many students who went into engineering/computer science because they wanted to be engineers/hackers, in the end they realise that the course is utterly boring (to them) and they don't actually enjoy all the maths and computer work.
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Aiming for a specific job is fine if you know precisely what kind of stuff you enjoy, for example if you enjoy computer science, did a course in it and found you enjoyed for example graphics work, you might want to aim to get into the gaming business. However, to base your university decision on the job you want to do and not the course is a recipe for disaster.
Original post by Princepieman
Do you think you could put up with the long slog of 5-6 years med school + up to 10+ years of training before you become a consultant?


10 years postgraduate is the bare minimum for neurosurgery. 15 is probably more realistic!
Original post by nexttime
10 years postgraduate is the bare minimum for neurosurgery. 15 is probably more realistic!


Yeah, it's slightly crazy. My cousin just qualified as an attending neuro this year in the US that was 4 undergrad + 4 med + 5 residency + 3 fellowship

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In fairness to the OP, he is probably only just beginning to look at careers and is probably quite young. Be kind.
Original post by Abstract_Prism
Now now, that's not very fair. There's no such thing as a stupid question. I've asked tonnes of questions that people have scoffed at, but then I end up in a better situation than them.

I mean, come on, you're expecting OP to know if he wants to become a neurosurgeon without even asking any questions!


Where did I say the question is stupid? I am only saying the question belies his genuine interest in either careers.
If the OP is 14 or 15, he might be inexperienced enough to make such decision and it's absolutely fine, but the fact that he is making such a wide choice indicates that he's not actually interested in either subjects for their own sake. How exactly does one plan to become a professor in mathematics without having a massive interest in mathematics for its own sake, not for the prestige or anything else at all?

That said, OP could be a genius or a savant who could afford to become a professional mathematician without having much interest in it, it's not entirely impossible.
Original post by oShahpo
You see, I have seen many students who went into engineering/computer science because they wanted to be engineers/hackers, in the end they realise that the course is utterly boring (to them) and they don't actually enjoy all the maths and computer work.
.
Aiming for a specific job is fine if you know precisely what kind of stuff you enjoy, for example if you enjoy computer science, did a course in it and found you enjoyed for example graphics work, you might want to aim to get into the gaming business. However, to base your university decision on the job you want to do and not the course is a recipe for disaster.


I don't know.. I've seen the damage that a useless degree can do to a person.. I work part-time in Asda, and I see a lot of people with degrees who completely regret their choice.
Original post by KyleH123
I don't know.. I've seen the damage that a useless degree can do to a person.. I work part-time in Asda, and I see a lot of people with degrees who completely regret their choice.


I see where you're coming from, perhaps I shouldn't generalise my point. I was mainly talking about STEM. Usually in STEM it's better to do the course you enjoy rather than the job you want to do.
Original post by KyleH123
I don't know.. I've seen the damage that a useless degree can do to a person.. I work part-time in Asda, and I see a lot of people with degrees who completely regret their choice.


I work in Asda -> I see grads with what I perceive to be 'useless' degrees -> therefore these said 'useless' degrees are pointless in undertaking because of my experience seeing a few grads in underemployment

Come on dude, degree subjects mean bugger all these days. What's holding people back is a hodge podge of factors that don't include degree subject.

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Original post by Abstract_Prism
More respected - Neurosurgeon

More money - Neurosurgeon


I have much more respect for a mathematician than for a neurosurgeon, but outside STEM I think you're right.
Original post by oShahpo
I have much more respect for a mathematician than for a neurosurgeon


I'm interested in why this is.
Original post by Abstract_Prism
I'm interested in why this is.


I am a wannabe-physicist so I have an understanding of how difficult mathematics can be, and thus massive respect for mathematicians in general.
Definitely try both.

Solve something easy to see if the maths is in your blood. Perhaps the Herzog–Schönheim conjecture would be a nice entry level thing to have a go at in your break at school :tongue:

If that fails then become a Brain surgeon. We all know that Pinky is eventually going to cause him to take some serious damage so he will need your help if he is top take over the world.

But seriously OP, don't worry too much about such things now. It is highly likely that you will change your mind about the career you wish to follow many times in the coming years.
Original post by ByronicHero
Solve something easy to see if the maths is in your blood. Perhaps the Herzog–Schönheim conjecture would be a nice entry level thing to have a go at in your break at school :tongue:


I just looked this up on Wikipedia and my eyes melted.

THIS is easy?!?!
Original post by Abstract_Prism
I just looked this up on Wikipedia and my eyes melted.

THIS is easy?!?!


Well, I suppose it depends on who you ask :lol:
Original post by oShahpo
I see where you're coming from, perhaps I shouldn't generalise my point. I was mainly talking about STEM. Usually in STEM it's better to do the course you enjoy rather than the job you want to do.


Inside STEM I completely agree with you.
Original post by Carnationlilyrose
In fairness to the OP, he is probably only just beginning to look at careers and is probably quite young. Be kind.


im a female lol, in neursurgery the majrity is males so i undertsand lol. And that u for being kind :biggrin:

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