Medicine/Dentistry vs CS

I’m currently in yr11, my grades are quite high (7-9s) and im struggling to decide between medicine/dentistry and cs.

for my A levels i will be taking either:
Maths Bio Chem
Maths Physics Chem
Maths Physics Compsci

I am passionate about healthcare AND cs however i can’t really decide between them. I enjoy biology and chemistry and i also have a good understanding on the human body and I would love to learn more about it. Also, the pay is quite good starting from 30k. however it takes YEARS of studying.

I am also passionate about Cs and I enjoy programming and the theory side. I absolutely love maths and physics more than any other subject so I think this puts me more towards cs. however the market is extremely saturated and it is difficult to get experience as a beginner, and it seems quite daunting to get into. the pay is alright but i feel like medicine is better pay-wise. I also like the idea of working from home and work-life balances. Furthermore I also want to go into entrepreneurship possibly and I feel like cs is better for that (free-time wise and networking wise). However I prioritise my salary a lot and ultimately I just want the job that pays more so my family can benefit.

Please can you guys help me decide?

Reply 1

issy_shep

7

Original post by fallxcy

I’m currently in yr11, my grades are quite high (7-9s) and im struggling to decide between medicine/dentistry and cs.

for my A levels i will be taking either:
Maths Bio Chem
Maths Physics Chem
Maths Physics Compsci

I am passionate about healthcare AND cs however i can’t really decide between them. I enjoy biology and chemistry and i also have a good understanding on the human body and I would love to learn more about it. Also, the pay is quite good starting from 30k. however it takes YEARS of studying.

I am also passionate about Cs and I enjoy programming and the theory side. I absolutely love maths and physics more than any other subject so I think this puts me more towards cs. however the market is extremely saturated and it is difficult to get experience as a beginner, and it seems quite daunting to get into. the pay is alright but i feel like medicine is better pay-wise. I also like the idea of working from home and work-life balances. Furthermore I also want to go into entrepreneurship possibly and I feel like cs is better for that (free-time wise and networking wise). However I prioritise my salary a lot and ultimately I just want the job that pays more so my family can benefit.

Please can you guys help me decide?

Hi! For reference, I did computer science at GCSE & A-level, and now I am studying Cyber Security and Digital Forensics at university.
My 1st bit of advice is look into the industries of CS more - there are jobs that you may be doing in 10 years time that do not exist yet! I would definitely say that cyber security is a very good area to look into. It is one of the few industry areas that has incredible job flexibility, and highly transferable skills. The skills you learn allow you to be working anywhere in the world, and they can allow you to move into another area such as software engineering or even an entirely different work environments such as the government or banking or law firms.
Do not be afraid of the unknown! CS seems daunting, and challenging, but OMG the pay is fantastic. Level 7 apprenticeships start you on a salary of £25k+! Which will only increase as you gain more experience. And even if you go to uni, then start a job, your starting salary would be £35k+ with the ability for it to become £55k-60k or even higher depending on how advanced you become.
The sky is the limit with computer science. Look into it more. Find an area within the industry, and don't forget you don't have to be certain. The skills are so transferable!
I hope this helps.

Original post by fallxcy

I’m currently in yr11, my grades are quite high (7-9s) and im struggling to decide between medicine/dentistry and cs.

for my A levels i will be taking either:
Maths Bio Chem
Maths Physics Chem
Maths Physics Compsci

I am passionate about healthcare AND cs however i can’t really decide between them. I enjoy biology and chemistry and i also have a good understanding on the human body and I would love to learn more about it. Also, the pay is quite good starting from 30k. however it takes YEARS of studying.

I am also passionate about Cs and I enjoy programming and the theory side. I absolutely love maths and physics more than any other subject so I think this puts me more towards cs. however the market is extremely saturated and it is difficult to get experience as a beginner, and it seems quite daunting to get into. the pay is alright but i feel like medicine is better pay-wise. I also like the idea of working from home and work-life balances. Furthermore I also want to go into entrepreneurship possibly and I feel like cs is better for that (free-time wise and networking wise). However I prioritise my salary a lot and ultimately I just want the job that pays more so my family can benefit.

Please can you guys help me decide?

Hello @fallxcy,

Firstly, congratulations on your grades so far! It seems you’re already thinking carefully about what you’re passionate about and how you want your future to look which is great. One thing to consider is that many people change course in year 12, so try not to worry too much if you are feeling unsure.

Both paths you are considering offer exciting and broad career options, so I would advise you to do more research into each one and write a pros and cons list so you can weigh up the factors that are important to you. You mentioned that salary is something that is quite important to you, something you might like to consider here is not only the starting salary but opportunities for progression and average salaries further into each potential career.

If you’re interested in exploring Computer Science career prospects further, there is some information on our website that may be helpful - https://bit.ly/47WCGZR

I hope that this helps!

Good luck! 😊

Becky

Medicine/Dentistry vs CS

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