i'm planning on going back to school in january, and i'm not sure what i should study this time. i already have an associate's degree in sales, marketing and management (basic business degree), and i decided that i want something better. my credits will transfer in and make me a junior, so i don't have to take most of the basic 100 level classes.
i'm going to school at www.concordiacollege.edu because the place gives me good vibes, and i know people who've attended there and enjoyed it.

now the hard question... law or medicine? my mom is going to help with tuition, so that isn't the issue. i want to decide if i should set my sights on medical school or harvard?
obviously, medical school will require a different major (ie chemistry, biology, etc) than law school (philosophy, business, etc).

pm me or post here, i would like as much input as i can get

Automotive engineering and design. Or mechanical engineering.
The automotive industry needs more competent people designing cars. Especially when we've got unreliable-as-hell-P.O.S.--diamond star motor cars. (I.E. transmission? ECU? Crankwalk? Transfer Case? Inherent DSM problems.)

Be an engineer and build kick ass reliable cars.

i don't see that happening. i enjoy math, but i despise algebra. why? i how can one use an imaginary number to get a real answer? it's like using an imaginary axe to chop down a real tree.

no, engineering 1) isn't where the money is 2) offers no real prestige
hence the attorney or doctor ideas. i can do anything; i want to make money and be respected

Criminal Justice can lead u many different ways

out there said:

i don't see that happening. i enjoy math, but i despise algebra. why? i how can one use an imaginary number to get a real answer? it's like using an imaginary axe to chop down a real tree.

Click to expand...

yeah math isnt your high point

i say go law. god knows lawyers arent going away anytime soon...

Busniess Administration with a minor in Computer Information Systems

if i do decide to go the law route... criminal justice might not be the worst thing. medicine just sounds like something i'll enjoy because of all the science courses, while law requires a lot of critical thinking, and i'm more critical of many things that a lot of people that i know.

the idea of becoming any kind of doctor really seems like a great idea. i mean, in any society, doctors are treated like gods (and payed accordingly ). however, almost everyone respects a graduate of harvard

out there said:

i don't see that happening. i enjoy math, but i despise algebra. why? i how can one use an imaginary number to get a real answer? it's like using an imaginary axe to chop down a real tree.

no, engineering 1) isn't where the money is 2) offers no real prestige
hence the attorney or doctor ideas. i can do anything; i want to make money and be respected

Click to expand...

So you think you can just waltz into a major, go to a very respectable college...and then get a job just because its "prestigious" and "makes money"? You do understand the amount of effort, years of residency and schooling it takes, right?

You're the kind of assholes I hate seeing in my field. You'll be VERY sorry in a few years when you absolutely HATE what you're doing. It happened to many of my friends who went into programming. pays well, but they'd damn near contemplate suicide.

My advice to you is to find something you love, and are passionate about. Take it from there. People who go into jobs just for the money have no passion, which translates to often poor performance. i dont want to work alongside someone like that. do us all a favor please.

TheTSiGuy said:

So you think you can just waltz into a major, go to a very respectable college...and then get a job just because its "prestigious" and "makes money"? You do understand the amount of effort, years of residency and schooling it takes, right?

You're the kind of assholes I hate seeing in my field. You'll be VERY sorry in a few years when you absolutely HATE what you're doing. It happened to many of my friends who went into programming. pays well, but they'd damn near contemplate suicide.

Click to expand...

who do you think you are? do you really think you know anything about me?
i'm on a car site, i must be a dolt. i deliver pizza, i must not be very bright. i just graduated from a technical college, i must be pretty slow.
i've got news for you. i dropped out of high school because the one i was attending was too unfriendly. i proceeded to get a second and then a third job (while living at home) and worked excessive hours for about a year. my mom reminded me that i should start college and that if i took the ged test i could get into the spring semester at a local college (we are now oct/nov of 01). i scheduled my tests and passed everything with 94% or better. happy?
when i took the act and the sat (i was ill when i took the sat), i was working umpteen hours a week and barely sleeping. this of course explains my slacker scores (29 and 1170, respectively).
after quitting one job and making both of the other part-time, i opted for the tech school (which later became a college) because i thought i knew that i would like to enter a sales career or perhaps start climbing the management ladder (hence the degree in sales, marketing and management). i chose the associate's degree so that i could go to the university of mary (15 months of night school to earn a bachelor's degree) sometime in the future to expand my degree.
i know i can do better on the sat, and i will when i retake it. as far as getting into a prestigious school, it's just a matter of my name getting picked from a hat.
i know that i can do well at whatever field i choose to work in, it's just a matter of deciding to stay with it. this is the reason that i still deliver pizza, it's a mentally challenging job that keeps me thinking and planning all day. the reason that i quit some of the things that i do is either because they don't challenge me, or i don't foresee myself getting ahead.
enter new college plans. i originally didn't want to go to a "real" college because i thought it would "waste" too much of my life; i thought the tech school would be perfect. now that i've been out and about for a few years, i know that a bachelor's degree is an excellent basis for a good career. i want to earn lots of money, and i'm willing to work for it, no matter what i takes. perhaps that would explain why i was willing to work full-time while going to school full-time?
what more do you want to know? how much more do i have to prove myself to you? you don't think that i can succeed in anything that i choose?

My advice to you is to find something you love, and are passionate about. Take it from there. People who go into jobs just for the money have no passion, which translates to often poor performance. i dont want to work alongside someone like that. do us all a favor please.

Click to expand...

there is nothing that i'm passionate about, and i love so many different things. i used to experiment with and read about computers all the time, music was my obsession for several years and cars have captured my fancy for the time being.
quite honestly, that's why i want to go to law or medical school, i want a real challenge. this is where my problem lies, i can't decide which to opt for, and choosing both is definitely out of the question
/rant

I have reported this thread to the moderators, you should have knows your childish antics would get this thread locked, smooth one. :thumbdown

sexehtopper said:

I have reported this thread to the moderators, you should have knows your childish antics would get this thread locked, smooth one. :thumbdown

Click to expand...

Look fine to me except for the guy missing his CAPS LOCK key.

out there said:

if i do decide to go the law route... criminal justice might not be the worst thing. medicine just sounds like something i'll enjoy because of all the science courses, while law requires a lot of critical thinking, and i'm more critical of many things that a lot of people that i know.

the idea of becoming any kind of doctor really seems like a great idea. i mean, in any society, doctors are treated like gods (and payed accordingly ). however, almost everyone respects a graduate of harvard

Click to expand...

I'm kind of in the same boat. Right now I'm in pre-med but I'm getting my major in criminal justice just incase later on I decide its something I don't want to do. You don't have to have a science major to get into med school. You can get in with a degree in music if you want. BUT you have to take the pre-med classes. So its easier to get a science degree because alot of your pre-med classes will fit in it. If you have advisors at your school, you really need to talk to them early. I'm a freshman and there are class's I have to take now so I can get into others my Jr. and Sr. year.

Not to sound like an ass, if you want to got to med-school for money and to be treated like a god, then don't. Here is pretty much what you have to aim for before you apply for med-school. I'm trying to remember these off the top of my head. You'll need around a 3.5 gpa, need to score above a 27 on your MCAT, you'll need three years of leadership experience, 48 hours of patient exposure, 48 hours of physician shadowing, 832 hours of comunity service and I know there's another big one I can't remember. Thats just to get into med-school. About 2/3's don't get into med-school the first time the apply. Also most people coming out of med-school are usally in debt around 200k. After you get out your an MD but you can't go out on your own. You have to do your residency, which depending on your field, can be 1-7 years long. Then you take another test and become board certified. Then your a full fledged "god". Also durring your residency you'll make between 30k and 45k right out of med-school. The only way your gonna make it through all that is if you actually want to help people and be a doctor, and not because you want all the good stuff that comes with it. There are tons of easier ways to become rich.

Criminal Justice major will be so fun.....If I could go back to college, I'd get a major in that rather than Communication.

I took this class called Community Policing 409....my God, that class was great. All we had to do was pick a local department and "study" it for the semester by goin on ride-alongs, talkin to the cops and stuff like that. Then in the last class we presented what we found about the department and if they have a more traditional policing strategy or are community focused.

Not to mention all the other classes....especially upper level ones....Fun stuff.

for law school you dont have to do pre-law, you just have to do well on the lsat and have a good transcript in whatever you've done (at least thats the impression i'm under).

I dont think pre-med is the same, find one that applies to both maybe?

Do the pre-med courses and then apply to law school later if you want.

today i spoke with someone at concordia that is a professor of law (if i understand correctly). i'm trying to set up a time to go speak with a professor in the biology dept about what he would recommend doing.
from the first meeting, i gleaned that i should be proficient in sciences if i expect to succeed in getting into a medical school. in fact, he suggested that i reach for the medical field because law schools are willing to accept any major, depending on how well i do. furthermore, i have one cousin that attended this school who is just about done with his requirements to become a pharmacist, and another from the same immediate family that has finished his training and is a practicing doctor in minneapolis (though what field he specializes in escapes me).
if i need assistance with anything, or inspiration, family will always make time for family (at least, that's how mine works). i want something challenging that i can see as having a substantial reward, medicine and law fit the bill. i excel in science fields, i enjoy science and research, so why shouldn't i attempt to enter a medical school?
anyone can sell insurance, learn to deliver pizza, work on cars, install networking hardware, etc... it's the mental capabilities of problem-solving and thinking outside common knowledge that make attorneys, doctors, engineers and brokers.
i am interested in science, which leads me to believe that i will succeed if i choose to pursue the title of "Doctor." at the same time, i enjoy problem solving and analyzing, so i think that i could become a lawyer if i chose to.
at this point in my life, i can still do anything that i want, so i'm exploring the options that offer the greatest rewards (in my opinion). as i get older, perhaps i will develop an altruistic outlook and will enjoy what i do because i do help people, but right now (and likely for a long time to come) i want a career that is rewarding financially and mentally.
does this make sense? i know that it does, because all the counselor-type people that i've spoken too have told me to go for medical school.
sure, parents always tell their children that they can do whatever they want when they get older, but my mom knows that i can. many teachers and professors that i've spoken to and spent time with throughout my life agree that i have the ability to achieve whatever goals i set for myself. i'm not going to be satisfied with a lowly career of selling, sales is a numbers game that anyone can win. i refuse to be happy repairing cars, anyone can follow directions.

Have you thought about Forensic science? I considered this for sometime before deciding I wanted to go medical school. It would include both fields in a sence.

Also when you get interviewed for med-school it might hurt your chances when you tell them your just looking for a challenge. You really have to have a passion for the job. I talked to a pediatric oncologist today and she said 30% of her patients die. When your taking care of little kids that are dieing at a 30% rate, its going to start to get to you. And it doesn't matter how smart or how good you are, if you in the job for the wrong reasons you aren't going to last. Also people like to be seen as a patient and not a challenge. There are also many other apsects and careers in medecine that won't require med school and still be very challenging. I'd sugest doing some volunteer work or some physician shadowing to really see if its something you want to do.

If your looking for a challenge and to make good money I think law school would be a good fit. But forensic's would involve both fields and still be challenging and rewarding. You just won't make the same money. But I think it would be more exciting then law school. Just trying to help.

forensic science is an interesting idea... i hadn't considered it mainly because it just doesn't seem like a desirable position, you know? as far as some form of medical practitioner, maybe i'll have a better idea after i speak to someone in the biology dept (i don't remember what he specialized in) to figure out just what will be a better plan.
i agree that the law thing does seem like a good fit, but i want to rule out all the higher options before taking that route.
my godfather (attorney of many years) suggests that i should consider medicine first, then psychology, and law last. i can't say that i agree with putting psychology second, except that it is and will always be in high demand.

-Out there-

First, I want to let you know that I am not criticizing you. You have no need to point out some validity to me, nor do you have anything to prove to me. That was not my intention to insinuate that.

If you believe you can excel greatly in a science field, please feel free to do so. Science is a very understaffed category, and there are MANY great opportunities.

If you think being a doctor will offer you some sort of mental challenge, so be it. I tend to think that medicine and physicians work is based on textbook knowledge, as a "textbook profession". It is your job to identify a condition based on what you have learned, offer some diagnosis, and present a treatment. Very standardized in my opinion. If you think that you may want to use some reasoning of some sort to exercise your brain, perhaps you should try medical research. My future brother-in-law has a degree in medical reasearch, and is in residency at Cornell right now pursuing his doctorate. It has a strong emphasis in Biology, and he finds it very challenging. Pioneering new technique or vaccination is exciting and requires "thinking outside the box" which you seem to express interest in.

By the way, Forensic Science is a hot field right now if you're willing to go through the many years of schooling. My ex girlfriend is going to school at Defiance College in Ohio for that right now. They are one of the top Forensic schools. Once again, it requires a doctorate in Physiology and Anatomy. Many people have seen CSI or TV shows like that, and think the idea of working with the police and FBI is cool. It is possible. Do consider that.

Pharmacy is a good field to go into. I can personally tell you about it as I am about to finish my undergraduate program, take my PCATS, and hopefully get into pharm school. It is highly competitive, as we only have 2 pharm schools in IL. Generally, you are required to have 2 years of undergraduate work, which prepares you enough for the PCATS. Generally you'll want to have at least 85% to get in. Once there, you have strictly classwork for the first 2 years, and then you move into residency during the last 2 years. Technically, it is a 6 year program, but most students typically take around 7-8 years, which is roughly equivelent to other people getting their docorates. In the end you recieve a PharmD (Doctorate of Pharmacy) and then are required to take the NAPLEX exam, which makes you a board certified pharmacist who is legally able to practive in the United States. Depending on the area you live in, starting salary will be between $65K-80k$ a year for retail pharmacists (local grocery store drugstore pharmacies) and you may earn up to $95K a year working in clinics and facilities near or in hospitals or physicians offices. Other jobs in the field include Pharmaceutical sales, which means you'd be selling the medication or compound to the pharmacies themselves. this rakes in BIG money. My dad has a friend who is in her mid 30's and makes roughly $250K a year. If you like sales, and you know medicine, it could be for you. The other major option is working for a company who makes the actual drugs. You must be strong in the laboratory, and have a very strong Chemical Engineering background. Typically, they can make 6 digits a year. All these jobs require a PharmD though. The field is suffering badly right now. If you have what it takes, and love Chemistry/Medicine, it would be for you. Big signing bonuses now too.

Whew, off the soapbox.

ahh yes... chemical engineering, i had somehow forgotten all about that precious field in my tirades... that is something i was greatly interested in once i entered chemistry in high school, but slowly forgot about with all the other things that i started learning about later in school and college.
pharmacist is a line of work that i had considered... but only as a second choice if i decided that medicine wasn't for me but i still would like to deal in that ballpark.
i'm sorry to have gotten so defensive, i sort of got the feeling that you were telling me i would fail and couldn't hope to succeed.
anyway, i spoke to a friend of mine in the school i'm about to start at, and her roommate this evening. her advice is to get my required general things out of the way and to start core classes in a couple of fields. i'm leaning towards starting with a couple of difficult courses and a couple of easier ones until i get back into the habit of classes, work, tests, etc

I am kinda in the same boat as well trying to figure out what i want to do in life i am currently attending The University of Toledo right now i am undecided but I really love cars and all that so i was thinking maybe finnishing this year then going to a tech school to become a porsche, audi, bwm machanic and become the best i can and then open my own shop that do matinance and also performance stuff but who knows?