|
I graduated paramedic school and decided I wanted to try for med school, because it turns out I don't really like paramedic work. Between not being able to find any relevant medical part-time work and my closest friend and his fiancée (a highly trained medical professional) casting a great deal of doubt on my med school aspirations, I'm considering quitting and doing something really stupid like seeing if I can commission in the reserves or something since I have a bachelor's degree as well. Also I'm over 30 and have gently caress-all for practical work experience, so I'm not sure if that makes considering joining even dumber or somehow less dumb. There's also other poo poo weighing on me that I don't want to post online that further limits my options. Basically I'm depressed and hate my life right now and joining the military is "a" solution. Even if it's a bad one, I feel like I have no good solutions. I am an idiot.
|
#
?
Jun 3, 2017 20:10
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 5, 2024 13:40 |
|
|
Honestly, dude, the military is not your solution. It'll just make you hate life more if you go that route now. Even if it seems like your options are limited right now, you have far more than you would if you signed up. To be blunt, joining because "I don't have other options" is quite possibly the worst reason to join. If you want to go to med school, apply to med schools anyway. If you get accepted, give it a shot. In the meantime... poo poo, find something that you enjoy that pays the bills, or even just pays the bills. Even if you ultimately decide that you want to join, it's not a decision that should be made hastily or with other factors weighing on your mind. We're all idiots, but at least
|
|
#
?
Jun 3, 2017 21:51
|
|
|
French foreign legion
|
|
#
?
Jun 3, 2017 22:26
|
|
|
Zeris posted:French foreign legion If he stays in 5 years, he can get French citizenship, which means he can start going to first-world medical schools.
|
|
#
?
Jun 3, 2017 22:32
|
|
|
Dick Burglar posted:I graduated paramedic school and decided I wanted to try for med school, because it turns out I don't really like paramedic work. Between not being able to find any relevant medical part-time work and my closest friend and his fiancée (a highly trained medical professional) casting a great deal of doubt on my med school aspirations, I'm considering quitting and doing something really stupid like seeing if I can commission in the reserves or something since I have a bachelor's degree as well. Also I'm over 30 and have gently caress-all for practical work experience, so I'm not sure if that makes considering joining even dumber or somehow less dumb. There's also other poo poo weighing on me that I don't want to post online that further limits my options. Basically I'm depressed and hate my life right now and joining the military is "a" solution. Even if it's a bad one, I feel like I have no good solutions. Why don't you do Nursing or Physician's Assistant schools? The pay is better than paramedic and training is shorter than medicine. When you apply for medical school (MD or DO) you're competing against people who have prepared for it all their lives Most people in the Army Medical Corps are nurses or PAs anyway
|
|
#
?
Jun 3, 2017 23:17
|
|
|
Dick Burglar posted:I graduated paramedic school and decided I wanted to try for med school, because it turns out I don't really like paramedic work. Between not being able to find any relevant medical part-time work and my closest friend and his fiancée (a highly trained medical professional) casting a great deal of doubt on my med school aspirations, I'm considering quitting and doing something really stupid like seeing if I can commission in the reserves or something since I have a bachelor's degree as well. Also I'm over 30 and have gently caress-all for practical work experience, so I'm not sure if that makes considering joining even dumber or somehow less dumb. There's also other poo poo weighing on me that I don't want to post online that further limits my options. Basically I'm depressed and hate my life right now and joining the military is "a" solution. Even if it's a bad one, I feel like I have no good solutions. What kind of doubt are they putting on you going to med school? Why don't you like being a paramedic? Isn't being a paramedic a huge bonus to a career in firefighting, where you might be doing other things more frequently than giving medical care, but are still using it as a first responder? I am not in the military, but I am a merchant seaman, and can tell you from first hand experience the depression and self-doubt can make life very hard for you if you are in austere, stressful, situations especially if you are an introvert. I am relatively extroverted and self-confident and man, if you are really feeling the blues and you are on some crazy ride you can't get off, there is no worse feeling.
|
|
#
?
Jun 4, 2017 01:21
|
|
|
Merchant Marine, whatever the gently caress that is. Or civil air patrol. Run drugs for the cartel. You have so many better options than military.
|
|
#
?
Jun 4, 2017 01:56
|
|
|
Zeris posted:French foreign legion I am 100% serious when I say I wish I had done that instead of our military. Also gently caress them for casting doubts. You can loving do it if you put the work in, there is always a way.
|
|
#
?
Jun 4, 2017 02:04
|
|
|
Naked Bear posted:Honestly, dude, the military is not your solution. It'll just make you hate life more if you go that route now. Even if it seems like your options are limited right now, you have far more than you would if you signed up. To be blunt, joining because "I don't have other options" is quite possibly the worst reason to join. If you want to go to med school, apply to med schools anyway. If you get accepted, give it a shot. In the meantime... poo poo, find something that you enjoy that pays the bills, or even just pays the bills. Even if you ultimately decide that you want to join, it's not a decision that should be made hastily or with other factors weighing on your mind. I am aware "I don't have options" is a terrible reason. That's why I'm an idiot. Suicide Watch posted:Why don't you do Nursing or Physician's Assistant schools? The pay is better than paramedic and training is shorter than medicine. When you apply for medical school (MD or DO) you're competing against people who have prepared for it all their lives PA is shorter but just as intense, and frankly I don't want to be a nurse. shovelbum posted:What kind of doubt are they putting on you going to med school? Why don't you like being a paramedic? Isn't being a paramedic a huge bonus to a career in firefighting, where you might be doing other things more frequently than giving medical care, but are still using it as a first responder? I am not in the military, but I am a merchant seaman, and can tell you from first hand experience the depression and self-doubt can make life very hard for you if you are in austere, stressful, situations especially if you are an introvert. I am relatively extroverted and self-confident and man, if you are really feeling the blues and you are on some crazy ride you can't get off, there is no worse feeling. The intensity of the schoolwork required. And I don't blame them for doubting--I was never a good student back when I went to college the first time around, and paramedic school is pretty drat easy. They're not convinced I'll be able to essentially devote my life to studying/school which is basically what med school and PA school require. They're afraid I'm wasting time where I'm better served starting a proper career rather than chasing something that (they think) probably won't happen. I've started to doubt if I even want to devote myself to school. As for fire and EMS: A lot of places have fire run EMS because fire basically has nothing to do otherwise. Where I am they're separate services and the difference in the amount of work, pay, and quality of life is absolutely massive. Fire has it far, far better. I envy the gently caress out of the firefighters who get to hang out at the station all shift, and get to leave the scene after five minutes if they ever do get dispatched. Getting a job as a firefighter here is much more competitive than EMS, and the burnout for fire is hilariously low whereas EMS burnout is shockingly high. And this is a nationally-recognized EMS system so it's not some privately-run dumpster fire. Edit: the reason I haven't pursued fire is because I would need to get my fire cert, which I don't think I could do while also doing pre-med. And before anybody asks, no I cannot be a cop. Would've liked to, but no. Dick Burglar fucked around with this message at 03:06 on Jun 4, 2017 |
|
#
?
Jun 4, 2017 02:34
|
|
|
Dick Burglar posted:The intensity of the schoolwork required. And I don't blame them for doubting--I was never a good student back when I went to college the first time around, and paramedic school is pretty drat easy. They're not convinced I'll be able to essentially devote my life to studying/school which is basically what med school and PA school require. They're afraid I'm wasting time where I'm better served starting a proper career rather than chasing something that (they think) probably won't happen. I've started to doubt if I even want to devote myself to school. Devoting yourself to school as a full grown man at 30 where you know who you are and know how to hold down a job and don't want to go out and party every night is a lot easier than it is at 18. When I first tried college at 18 I was constantly torn between having my entire identity staked on failure and desiring to gently caress and drink every second. If you are the kind of person who can succeed at a good state university, you can be a doctor, especially if you are older and less incredibly retarded. That said, if you are starting with a clean slate there are much shorter and cheaper things to do that can have you in a good career faster than med school. If you want to start over at your age, you can probably succeed at basically anything because you will have an incredible advantage at both studying and networking in school or at the point where you are a basically non-moronic addition to a non-schooly job. I went back to school at 24 or something and it is amazing how easy everything is when everyone assumes you are a fully functional adult, talks to you like a peer, and never has to put up with any of your juvenile BS.
|
|
#
?
Jun 4, 2017 03:31
|
|
|
So, let's say I do well at everything and become an MD. Would I still be an idiot if I joined the reserves or something (assuming they'd still take me at ~40) as a doc? I know it's stupid but I wanted to do something in the military back when I was young and decided I was better off not, but the urge to be an idiot never fully left me. If I went in as a doctor I'd at least get to be an officer and stuff 
|
|
#
?
Jun 4, 2017 03:38
|
|
|
Dick Burglar posted:So, let's say I do well at everything and become an MD. The reserves would kiss your rear end so hard it would chap, no matter what your age. e: we have trouble retaining docs, and i think a lot of it is that docs don't get to actually practice on reserves because reserves don't rate government health. all reserve docs do unless they activate is fill out paperwork telling reservists to go pay for civilian doctors to fix them.
|
|
#
?
Jun 4, 2017 04:00
|
|
|
If you're a really stupid sack of poo poo who can't cut it and want to physically ruin people through pure negligence yes please become a doctor in the military
|
|
|
#
?
Jun 4, 2017 04:24
|
|
|
Dick Burglar posted:So, let's say I do well at everything and become an MD. Lots of Docs join later, and they get crazy bonuses. I knew a surgeon that came in as an LTC.
|
|
#
?
Jun 4, 2017 05:32
|
|
|
As a doctor, you join at a rank roughly commensurate with your experience as a doctor. So a new doc who's in/recently done with residency is going to join as a captain probably. A guy with 10 years' practice is probably going to join as a major. Old guy = Lt Col.
|
|
#
?
Jun 4, 2017 05:34
|
|
|
That would explain the Air Force Major who forgot to prescribe me antibiotics after surgery.
|
|
#
?
Jun 4, 2017 05:49
|
|
|
Godholio posted:As a doctor, you join at a rank roughly commensurate with your experience as a doctor. So a new doc who's in/recently done with residency is going to join as a captain probably. A guy with 10 years' practice is probably going to join as a major. Old guy = Lt Col. Just dont join up if you got cold clammy hands. Also dont join if you got really fat fingers. Yeesh. Soulex posted:That would explain the Air Force Major who forgot to prescribe me antibiotics after surgery. Mine forget my pain meds for my hemorrhoid removal. It was a .... pain in the rear end. 
|
|
#
?
Jun 4, 2017 05:49
|
|
|
Soulex posted:That would explain the Air Force Major who forgot to prescribe me antibiotics after surgery. Also explains why as an OTS cadet I was saluted by a Lt Col.
|
|
#
?
Jun 4, 2017 07:42
|
|
|
One thing I'm hearing from both docs I know that work with schooling side of things and from some people that I know that have recently applied for med school is that the schools don't really want the perfect grade point average over achiever that has zero common sense or personal skills anymore and would rather take on someone with less than stellar grades that can communicate with other humans, isn't a total rear end in a top hat and is able to to use something akin to critical thinking. I have a friend that was just accepted to a program at 29 and have had co-workers who got accepted at 27 and 35. Also, seconding school is much easier later in life, even if you have to do the whole full time work and full load of classes thing.
|
|
#
?
Jun 4, 2017 08:58
|
|
|
I'd like to think I'm in the delta between not dumb enough to try for med school (at 29 + ~2yrs left on BS) and not smart enough that I'd feel confident in trying anyway. Already shifted goalposts forward from RN/BSN to PA, anyway.
|
|
#
?
Jun 4, 2017 11:48
|
|
|
Joining the military medical corps isn't a bad idea. You get to play medicine with a guaranteed job and you get your medical school paid for... But joining in a non medical position is stupid especially if you have the actual skills to perform medicine. I'm still confused on why you don't want to be an NP/PA when you mentioned you'd be cool with being an MD in the army reserves at 40? NP/PA is like the ultimate area of medicine because you have decent autonomy and make good money but don't suffer from crippling debt/depression. Most doctors I know hate their life and no amount of money/prestige makes up for coming to work wishing you worked at a grocery store instead... The nurse thing: Being a nurse is actually a pretty sweet gig. Being the backbone of the hospital and the individuals who provide a majority of patient care get treated really well on the east/west coast and pockets of the north and south portions of the U.S *gently caress the midwest*. Schooling is easy and with a paramedic cert you can bridge to RN pretty fast. After you get your RN/BSN you can go nurse prac, PA, CRNA, or start a life towards management and administration.. All which pay pretty loving well. I looked into E.D management in a hospital here in Oregon which had a salary range of 120-155k, which isn't bad when all that's required is a bachelors degree of nursing as far as education goes. There's nothing wrong with wanting to go for that M.D you desire but if you're hung up on the schooling aspect of the medical world there are so many other routes and opportunities to do something medical and make good money and enjoy your life. Using the military to pay for said routes/avenues is good too and you get experience and get to say you served yer countries and fought talibans/ISIS with chest tubes and bedside urinals.
|
|
#
?
Jun 4, 2017 15:30
|
|
|
NP would take longer than PA, so not a lot of reason to do that unless I want to have nurse as a fallback plan. PA is faster than med school, yeah, but I'm being stubborn and want an MD. I'm a spoiled brat and my folks have offered to help me pay for med school (dad is a doc and wanted very badly for his children to follow in his footsteps) so the debt won't really be a problem. The new PAs I know are working just as hard as MDs so I don't know that there would be much difference in stress levels. I'm confused about the military paying for your schooling though. I thought you need to already be finished with school before you join, so how could they pay for your schooling if you've already paid for and completed it? Is it as simple as paying off your loans? This is admittedly probably a stupid question but hey, I'm not in the idiot thread for nothing. Also hey, chest tubes are rad. Dick Burglar fucked around with this message at 02:27 on Jun 5, 2017 |
|
#
?
Jun 5, 2017 02:24
|
|
|
Guard and Reserves have a loan repayment program though I'm not sure how it works.
|
|
#
?
Jun 5, 2017 02:28
|
|
|
The Army will agree to pay for college in exchange for service. Would you like to know more?
|
|
#
?
Jun 5, 2017 09:46
|
|
|
Dick Burglar posted:NP would take longer than PA, so not a lot of reason to do that unless I want to have nurse as a fallback plan. PA is faster than med school, yeah, but I'm being stubborn and want an MD. I'm a spoiled brat and my folks have offered to help me pay for med school (dad is a doc and wanted very badly for his children to follow in his footsteps) so the debt won't really be a problem. The new PAs I know are working just as hard as MDs so I don't know that there would be much difference in stress levels. https://www.navy.com/joining/college-options/ncp
|
|
#
?
Jun 5, 2017 13:04
|
|
|
Guy that just shot up those people in Orlando was an Army Vet
|
|
#
?
Jun 5, 2017 19:50
|
|
|
Ayyyyyyy
|
|
#
?
Jun 5, 2017 19:52
|
|
|
Re: med school: Any time you tell a doctor that you want to go to medical school, we will give you all of the reasons not to do it, and then if you still think you want to, we tell you you'd better follow some doctors around and see what it's really like. Medical school is rough, but it's actually the easiest part of medical training. 3-7 years of residency will crush your soul even when it is your calling. If you're not certain about wanting to be a doctor in a concrete way (i.e., you've actually seen what we do day in and day out), then don't do it. Put another way: Don't be a doctor if you can imagine being happy doing anything else. It consumes your life like no other profession with a huge opportunity cost up front. If P.A. school, nursing, engineering, carpentry, HVAC repair, law, Spanish teacher, or any other thing you can imagine also appeals to you, do that instead. The people who said "midlevel" school like N.P. or P.A. are on to something. If it were me, I'd go the P.A. route since you don't have to work as a nurse first. In the military, you'll almost certainly be doing primary care, but there are other jobs out there. Just realize that midlevel/physician extender/etc. positions are there to do the scut work for the physician. E.g., surgeons will use them to round/see clinic. Every once in a while you see one that scrubs in regularly. In the military, they just call everyone a "provider" to mask the fact that they no longer have enough physicians to properly oversee the military population. The upside is that you'll work more independently than in the civilian world. The downside is that there may be times you wish you had more supervision...P.A.s are not prepared for the hairy stuff, and you may be on your own during a deployment.. Even stateside, primary care is an exceptionally awful practice in the military because the DoD turns everything it touches to poo poo. If you (or anyone) have specific questions about medical training, other types of Medical Corps, Nurse Corps, etc. jobs, then let me know. If you really look hard at it and decide it is your life's calling, I'll be happy to advise you on the path, but your comments so far make me think you have too much doubt to take that huge leap. Being a "nontraditional" medical student (i.e., not an undergrad with a science degree) actually gives you an advantage. Med schools are always looking for people with other life experience to round out the usual college nerds. My best friend in med school was a former Rivet Joint Nav in his mid-30s.
|
|
#
?
Jun 6, 2017 03:28
|
|
|
Derek Dominoe posted:Put another way: Don't be a doctor if you can imagine being happy doing anything else. It consumes your life like no other profession with a huge opportunity cost up front. If P.A. school, nursing, engineering, carpentry, HVAC repair, law, Spanish teacher, or any other thing you can imagine also appeals to you, do that instead. Not that one.
|
|
#
?
Jun 6, 2017 04:05
|
|
|
Soulex posted:Guy that just shot up those people in Orlando was an Army Vet Have you met a veteran
|
|
#
?
Jun 6, 2017 05:24
|
|
|
I feel like every career field comes with the caveat of "Are you sure you want to be a doctor/lawyer/soldier/poo poo shoveler? Can you imagine yourself doing anything besides doctor/lawyer/soldier/poo poo shoveler? If so, go do that instead of going to medical/law/your recruiter/poo poo shoveler school."
|
|
#
?
Jun 6, 2017 05:31
|
|
|
Zeris posted:Have you met a veteran He's got a good K/D. I never doubted his skill
|
|
#
?
Jun 6, 2017 07:07
|
|
|
redneck nazgul posted:I feel like every career field comes with the caveat of "Are you sure you want to be a doctor/lawyer/soldier/poo poo shoveler? Can you imagine yourself doing anything besides doctor/lawyer/soldier/poo poo shoveler? If so, go do that instead of going to medical/law/your recruiter/poo poo shoveler school." Naah, go to business school and be smarter than the average frat boy. Then get a job anywhere doing anything 
|
|
#
?
Jun 6, 2017 07:14
|
|
|
Just finished business school, accounting major with information systems minor. Currently doing a graduate cert in data analytics and having zero luck finding work. My strongest prospect is actually the VA, the most boring "accounting" job you can imagine for poo poo pay with amazing benefits.
|
|
#
?
Jun 6, 2017 12:47
|
|
|
redneck nazgul posted:I feel like every career field comes with the caveat of "Are you sure you want to be a doctor/lawyer/soldier/poo poo shoveler? Can you imagine yourself doing anything besides doctor/lawyer/soldier/poo poo shoveler? If so, go do that instead of going to medical/law/your recruiter/poo poo shoveler school." Only the ones that have exceptional requirements for training like law and that plus brutal workloads like medicine or a huge gap between workload and pay like teaching. Nobody has ever said "you really need to make sure you want to be a mid level HR manager before you get that business degree at state school" or "unless you can't imagine doing anything but sitting at the IT desk you shouldn't apply for that job."
|
|
#
?
Jun 6, 2017 13:01
|
|
|
Faster Blaster posted:I'm spending my summer doing an externship at Buckley AFB's JAG office, and I'm thinking real hard about going out for DAP next semester. Am I the idiot? It's me, right? Any prior military experience? What do you want to do with your law degree?
|
|
#
?
Jun 6, 2017 14:42
|
|
|
redneck nazgul posted:I feel like every career field comes with the caveat of "Are you sure you want to be a doctor/lawyer/soldier/poo poo shoveler? Can you imagine yourself doing anything besides doctor/lawyer/soldier/poo poo shoveler? If so, go do that instead of going to medical/law/your recruiter/poo poo shoveler school." Certain fields have exceptionally high opportunity costs, workloads, and stress. Lots of jobs have one or two of those, which makes a big difference. A high stress, high tempo job that only takes a year or two of training is a lot easier to walk away from than the one that takes $250-300k up front, 4 years of post graduate school, and 3-7 years of low paying 80-100 hr high stress weeks before you even start to recoup your costs (while still maintaining a high stress, high tempo environment with unique ethical obligations that put the job ahead of self and family). I like being a doctor most of the time. I'm proud of what I do, and when I get to do things like humanitarian missions I'm reminded that it's still a noble profession underneath all of the political and financial muck in our system. But if I could convince 20yr old me that engineering would be just as satisfying, I'd get years of my life back.
|
|
#
?
Jun 6, 2017 15:00
|
|
|
quote:Two active-duty Marines stationed in North Carolina are back at their duty stations after being reportedly being arrested for trespassing at a pro-Confederate rally and allegedly unfurling a banner with a slogan used by white nationalists, Corps officials said. https://www.marinecorpstimes.com/articles/marines-arrested-at-pro-confederate-rally-with-white-nationalist-regalia
|
|
#
?
Jun 6, 2017 18:31
|
|
|
Derek Dominoe posted:Certain fields have exceptionally high opportunity costs, workloads, and stress. Lots of jobs have one or two of those, which makes a big difference. A high stress, high tempo job that only takes a year or two of training is a lot easier to walk away from than the one that takes $250-300k up front, 4 years of post graduate school, and 3-7 years of low paying 80-100 hr high stress weeks before you even start to recoup your costs (while still maintaining a high stress, high tempo environment with unique ethical obligations that put the job ahead of self and family). Under what category, then, do you file time spent posting on a dead internet forum?
|
|
#
?
Jun 6, 2017 18:31
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 5, 2024 13:40 |
|
|
`Nemesis posted:https://www.marinecorpstimes.com/articles/marines-arrested-at-pro-confederate-rally-with-white-nationalist-regalia
|
|
#
?
Jun 6, 2017 18:51
|
|