Career as a Civil Engineer, or as a Physician

[Domn]

Hello everyone, I am relatively new to this forum. My name is Domn, I am seventeen, and will be graduating from a community college this June with my AA, and my high school diploma. During my two years at junior college I took a lot of math classes, and am currently in Calculus 2. My math history is as so: Pre-Cal 1: 1.5, Pre-Cal 2: Self Study, Calculus 1: 3.0, and so far I received a 94% on my first Calculus 2 exam, and a 54% on my second exam. For some reason, I did not understand calculus work problems whatsoever, but I know how to take integrals well. I've also taken the second biology course in the biology for majors series, I received a B, but I decided to not continue with the series (last year). My overall college GPA is 3.39, my science GPA is terrible due to my 1.5 in Pre-Cal. I've noticed that my grades are primarily related to my study method, by that I mean I have no study method.

For the majority of my sophomore, and junior years of high school/ start of college, I have had a strong interest in the field of architecture. During my trips through Seattle, the thing that astounded me the most was the artwork, and the look of the buildings, and the design of the city itself. My high school was just rebuilt, and every time I walk past it, I always imagine different ways it could have been designed to be more efficient, and more aesthetically appealing. I really have a drive to push our society into the future whether it be in building design, road design, or railroads. I really love the idea of architecture, but I feel that architecture tends to be more art oriented, where as civil engineering seems more realism oriented. For all of these reasons, in the back of my mind I want to become a civil engineer, but I have read from numerous sources that civil engineering is rough for finding a job.

Another career that I have been looking into has been internal medicine. In particular, I have an interest in infectious disease. My reason for looking at this career is because I like working with, and helping people. I really enjoy problem solving, and love the idea of actually being able to solve different health issues in people. My grades aren't that strong for this line of work however, and I believe that to become a physician, I would have to go to a Caribbean med school.

Overall, money does not matter to me. I am also willing to work internationally so that I can see, and learn more about different cultures in this world, but I am not sure what career I should be pursuing. I love the ideas of creating, and designing things, but at the same time, I want to help people medically. If anyone has any insight into any of these two fields, or work experience in either, I would benefit greatly from your input.

 

[cdotter]

You can apply to medical school as any type of a major, as long as you complete the required classes. Don't go to a Caribbean medical school unless it's an absolute last resort.

 

[OldEngr63]

Sounds like you are not really ready to lock in on any particular major. You need to try something, via a summer job, a semester off from school, or something to get your feet wet in some area to see if you like it. That could help you decide which way you want to go.

 

[Pyrrhus]

You can apply to medical school as any type of a major, as long as you complete the required classes. Don't go to a Caribbean medical school unless it's an absolute last resort.

Why not? I did my undergraduate in a Caribbean school, and I will be finishing a Ph.D. in Economics in a few months in top Econ program.

I guess it depends whether you go to a TRUE University, where they offer many careers not just medicine, and avoid diploma mills.

 

[Domn]

I was looking into AUC. I figure that since I would want to be going into either family medicine, or internal medicine, I don't have to worry so much about the rarity of attaining residency as an IMG.

 

[cdotter]

Why not? I did my undergraduate in a Caribbean school, and I will be finishing a Ph.D. in Economics in a few months in top Econ program.

I guess it depends whether you go to a TRUE University, where they offer many careers not just medicine, and avoid diploma mills.

If you absolutely must go to a Caribbean medical school, consider only the big name schools: Ross, Xavier, and SGUs. Even at those 'top' schools, the medical students have a much harder time than their U.S. counterparts. Attrition rates at U.S. schools are in the single digits vs 20-30% at Caribbean schools. Students face difficulties in landing good rotations in their third and fourth years and they also need a significantly higher Step I score to get the same residency slot as a US MD or DO student.