Medicine or Law?

I am currently an AS Level student, studying Maths, Chemistry, Economics and English Literature. At GCSE I managed to achieve 12 A*-A grades. Now I'm really confused.
When I was choosing my A Levels, I wanted to do Law and so picked my subjects with that in mind, but also tried to leave doors open fr other careers. But recently I've been finding myself very drawn towards medicine.

All I really want from my career is to be able to help people in the best way possible. I'm also quite interested in biology, but I only realised this recently... I;ve spent a long time not giving myself the chance to like the sciences, and convincing myself I hate them when that is not the case and they are actually the subjects I have always done best in. Even though I've been doing quite well academically to date, I'm afraid that now I may have closed off the doors to medicine by not taking biology at A Level. I know just how competitive it is and am afraid I probably won't get in. Is it worth a shot?

Also, how do I decide between the two? There are things I really love about both. I really enjoy the theory behind medicine and the human anatomy, but what if I get on the course and find that I;m not good enough or not motivated enough? Similarly, with Law I enjoy the communication side of it, but I'm not the best at essay writing and have always found the sciences easier. Also, with law I have a very specific career in mind; I would like to be a human rights lawyer for Amnesty international... anything other than international law and human rights does not particularly interest me.

I am terrified of making the wrong choice and ending up in a career I do not enjoy. I have spent so many hours looking at future careers and have decided I would like to enter either the field of law or medicine, but they're just so different. I just want to give back to the world and improve people's lives, it's all I've ever wanted to do. How do I decide between the two? And can I still do medicine with only chemistry and maths?

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 1

medicboy2014

Most medical schools require you to take Chemistry and another science out of Biology, Physics or Maths, so you certainly meet most medical school's entry requirements in regards to AS Level choices. Although, you are at a disadvantage by not taking Biology both for the application process and if you do get onto a medical course.

That said, you're grades seem ok, so providing you get enough work experience and volunteer work, you can put in a strong application. Attaining medical work experience at a hospital or GP may also help you decide between law and medicine. It's never too late but explore your interests further to make a firmer, more resolute decision come next October.

Reply 2

Elys

Right now, getting some quality work experience is your best bet.

That can be difficult though, so try and talk to people within both professions and currently on the respective training pathways.

This should give a better idea of what you may prefer in the future.

With regards to Medicine (the course I applied to this year), it is important that you are committed and really are keen on Medicine as the training is long (effectively never stops!) and quite difficult. However there isn't really another career like it - relatively stable and well paid, with the opportunity to do some real good (something which you seem keen on).

If you truly love science (and helping others), Medicine is the way to go.

Edit: Your subject combination is fine for most Med unis, however some Cambridge colleges like 3 science AS levels.

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 3

nadimchowdhury

Original post by Elys

Original post by medicboy2014

Thank you both so much! I'm applying to the UNIQ summer school for law and I've been looking into medicine work experience for a while, and whilst it hasn't been easy so far I guess I still have some time, there's still a few places I haven't asked. I just hope that it becomes clearer within the next few months, cos I really don't want to make the wrong choice. Thanks for your help :smile:

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Reply 4

Bridget Jones

Work experience. Speak to people in each field. Read up on the courses and see which you prefer. Find the advantages and disadvantages of each and decide. Good luck! :h:

I was in a similar position (but the other way round and only for a day)

Reply 5

Crazy Jamie

Careers Forum Helper

Original post by nadimchowdhury

All I really want from my career is to be able to help people in the best way possible.

Similarly, with Law I enjoy the communication side of it, but I'm not the best at essay writing and have always found the sciences easier. Also, with law I have a very specific career in mind; I would like to be a human rights lawyer for Amnesty international... anything other than international law and human rights does not particularly interest me.

How do I decide between the two?

I can't speak for medicine, but it sounds to me like you need to do more than a little bit of research into law careers before you dedicate yourself to that particular career path. Mainly because from what you've said I'm not convinced that you have much of an understanding of what lawyers do on a day to day basis. For example, you cannot be a 'lawyer' in the UK; you must be either a solicitor or a barrister. It's a split profession. Now there are solicitors and barristers who specialise in human rights law, but their jobs are actually very different. Your ambition of being a lawyer 'for Amnesty International' may well be fatally flawed, because I doubt AI actually have their own lawyers. They will have solicitors and barristers that they use, but I expect these will work for firms and chambers independently of doing work for AI. If AI do happen to have legal professionals that they employ, you need to find out in what capacity they do practice and what their jobs entail.

The problem is that at this point your choice of career is motivated by your desire to help people. I'm afraid that is not a useful starting point for a legal career, for a whole host of reasons. There are a huge number (relatively speaking) of students that want to be human rights lawyers, and most never do because they just don't appreciate what the jobs of solicitors and barristers entail. Most students who wish to defence barristers people in criminal proceedings, for example, don't realise that they will have to represent people who they think are guilty, and that they will inevitably also have to prosecute to some degree.

My advice to you would be to research legal careers further to gain an understanding of what the day to day life of a solicitor and barrister entail. If you like the idea of either of those jobs then by all means aim for a legal career, but you have to do it because the job appeals to you, not the human rights aspect. If you then go on to specialise in human rights then that is great, but it is a competitive area, and frankly plenty of students at undergraduate/high school level probably end up practising in areas other than the one that they were originally interested in because these things just work differently in practice to how most students perceive them.

By all means aim to specialise in human rights law, but aim for a legal career because one of the main jobs appeals to you, not because human rights appeals to you primarily. Frankly when most students say that they want to work in human rights, it is from a position that is mostly steeped in a fantasy pipe dream and is not realistic. You need to get a handle on the reality of a career in the law. Once you've done that you'll be in a better position to decide whether it is for you or not.

Reply 6

Jkizer

You can't do medicine without biology or physics in your set.

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 7

medicboy2014

Original post by Jkizer

You can't do medicine without biology or physics in your set.

You can apply for medicine without biology and physics so long as you have 2 other sciences. Looking at his choices, he has picked chemistry and maths, with the latter counting as a science. Although, he has limited the universities he can apply to, should he choose medicine.

Reply 8

Jkizer

Original post by medicboy2014

Ahh yes the mathematical science, completely forgot on that. I suppose, though a quick scan down the tsr a level unis, I would say there's ~7 ish unis that take maths and chemistry. Sucks to be limited straight away to that extent.

Also I imagine the user may be disadvantaged still, since majority of students I imagine will have 2 lab sciences. Though I suppose a very good UKCat score may tip the balance.

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Reply 9

hslakaal

Original post by Elys

Honestly, everyday, I ask myself why the **** I applied to medicine over dentistry. Seriously. Dentists have it soooo much better than medics, especially with training and the constant !@$#%@^!#!$#%^ handed by the government to the medical profession. :rolleyes:

To OP:

Try and get a feel of both professions. Both require hard work, and have relatively long training/working up the ladder kinda careers. On the medicine side, there'll be days when you feel like you've chosen the worst possible degree, where you look up and you realise you have another 4 years to go before you graduate, and another year on top of that before you are officially a doctor, and another 4 years or so until you're a respectable rank, and another 3 to 4 exams after graduation to be "certified". I imagine law is similar with the whole "junior" (pardon my lack of proper knowledge), exams and whatnot. So make sure you have a chance to at least talk to some people in either profession, if you can't get work experience. Even family members, if any of them happen to be in either field.

Also, if you like science, pure natural sciences aren't a bad choice either. I'd say a PhD who discovers a new drug will make a far greater impact than most doctors imo.