Should I do medicine or a broader science degree?

This is my first post so apologies if I’ve posted it in the wrong place.
I’m in Year 12 and all I know so far is that I want to do something science-related at university. Pretty much everyone in my life has been pushing me to do medicine for a very long time but I’m still hesitant on whether or not I want to do that. The more books and articles I read, and the more videos I watch, the more unsure I become. I find the content medics learn during their degree interesting but I’m not sure whether I want to be a doctor or not. Even though the job has a few pros, I feel like the cons outweigh it for me (overworked, underpaid, lots of personal sacrifices etc). I’ve considered applying for a more general science degree, such as biomedical sciences / medical sciences / biological sciences but I’m worried about the career prospects of these degrees. Any advice? :/

Reply 1

mike23mike

16

Medicine is a broad science. The 5 years at uni is just the foundation. You then can specialise in a multitude of different areas. Watch some of the TV programmes to get a feel. My cousin specialises in neuroradiology and spends all day looking at brain scans for abnormalities - like cancer or blood clots. He was not a people person so does not have to interact with patients at all. My other cousin went into psychiatry so there is a multitude of specialisms you can focus on after your medical degree.

Reply 2

McGinger

18

Look at courses like these : http://www.bristol.ac.uk/cellmolmed/study/undergraduate/
Medical scientists are going to be in high demand in the future, you wont have a problem building a career.

UK jobs https://www.biomedicalscientistjobs.co.uk/
USA jobs https://jobs.sciencecareers.org/jobs/

Reply 3

Golden Crow

10

Original post by anon (:

This is my first post so apologies if I’ve posted it in the wrong place.
I’m in Year 12 and all I know so far is that I want to do something science-related at university. Pretty much everyone in my life has been pushing me to do medicine for a very long time but I’m still hesitant on whether or not I want to do that. The more books and articles I read, and the more videos I watch, the more unsure I become. I find the content medics learn during their degree interesting but I’m not sure whether I want to be a doctor or not. Even though the job has a few pros, I feel like the cons outweigh it for me (overworked, underpaid, lots of personal sacrifices etc). I’ve considered applying for a more general science degree, such as biomedical sciences / medical sciences / biological sciences but I’m worried about the career prospects of these degrees. Any advice? :/

Have you done any work experience in a healthcare setting or related field? If you want to see whether medicine is for you or not, the best thing to do is to get work experience, which you would eventually need to anyway if you want to apply for medicine. Due to the current times, healthcare services might not offer medical work placements and/or volunteering roles, so look for virtual work experiences that are run for aspiring medical students, like the one by BSMS. See how you find it and make your decision based on that.

Reply 4

QuentinM

Universities Forum Helper

17

Original post by anon (:

This is my first post so apologies if I’ve posted it in the wrong place.
I’m in Year 12 and all I know so far is that I want to do something science-related at university. Pretty much everyone in my life has been pushing me to do medicine for a very long time but I’m still hesitant on whether or not I want to do that. The more books and articles I read, and the more videos I watch, the more unsure I become. I find the content medics learn during their degree interesting but I’m not sure whether I want to be a doctor or not. Even though the job has a few pros, I feel like the cons outweigh it for me (overworked, underpaid, lots of personal sacrifices etc). I’ve considered applying for a more general science degree, such as biomedical sciences / medical sciences / biological sciences but I’m worried about the career prospects of these degrees. Any advice? :/

I think the general advice I've heard from doctors who regularly comment on posts like this (if they were in the medicine forum at least) is that if you aren't close to 100% sure you want to do medicine, don't apply! Its an extremely competitive degree (I'd argue probably the most competitive in the UK), others applying are already laying the groundwork for a strong application (I know I was trying to when I was prepping for med school applications in year 12). I'd argue doctor's aren't really underpaid (especially when they qualify as consultants, one of the better paid jobs in the UK at the moment IMO).

Doing medicine because parents/friends/relatives/whoever told you it was a good idea is NOT a good idea, so its great you are doing your own research now.

As for "basic science" degrees like biomed, it depends which university you choose. If your course is accredited you have the option of going into NHS lab work, alternatively research labs would be a more "obvious" choice. I've gone down this route and now work in neuroscience research looking for new treatments for ALS. Personally I'd say the overworked/underpaid/personal sacrifices triad you mentioned above applies more to myself right now than junior doctors :colondollar:

. Plenty of other options such as teaching, scientific communication etc.

Should I do medicine or a broader science degree?

Quick Reply

Related discussions

Latest

Trending

Trending

Articles for you