What Type of Health Professional Should I Become?

[m.mawas]

Greetings,

I am having a dilemma as to whether I should do Pharmacy(@Monash) or Sci/Biomed(@Melbourne Uni) if I don't get into Medicine. Possibly, at this stage even considering Nursing.

I want to ideally pursue something in the neonatal path, but still have not really decided as of yet.

However, I am scared if I go into Sci/Biomed and not get into Medicine as I would limit my options to find a job the following year. Hence, I am inclined to study Pharmacy but I have heard it is nearly impossible to one find a job after it, and that it is a really tough course.

Also, in regards to Nursing the reason I am thinking of doing it, is because that if I do, I hear it's a lot easier to find a job after it---but the catch is that it very low pay for the job you are doing. As others would tell me. Additionally, I want to have finished my course by 21-23yrs old ideally, I am 17 now.

So Basically...
I want to pursue a career as some sort of health professional, preferably working with children/babies and the elderly. The thing I am looking for is Job Security, Decent Salary and most importantly really it's just helping people, in any way I can.

What do you guys recommend I do?

Thank You

PS: Please feel free to recommend other courses and other types of health professionals that you think I might enjoy.

BTW I am not considering Interstate options at the moment.

[Quantum44]

Greetings,

I am having a dilemma as to whether I should do Pharmacy(@Monash) or Sci/Biomed(@Melbourne Uni) if I don't get into Medicine. Possibly, at this stage even considering Nursing.

I want to ideally pursue something in the neonatal path, but still have not really decided as of yet.

However, I am scared if I go into Sci/Biomed and not get into Medicine as I would limit my options to find a job the following year. Hence, I am inclined to study Pharmacy but I have heard it is nearly impossible to one find a job after it, and that it is a really tough course.

Also, in regards to Nursing the reason I am thinking of doing it, is because that if I do, I hear it's a lot easier to find a job after it---but the catch is that it very low pay for the job you are doing. As others would tell me. Additionally, I want to have finished my course by 21-23yrs old ideally, I am 17 now.

So Basically...
I want to pursue a career as some sort of health professional, preferably working with children/babies and the elderly. The thing I am looking for is Job Security, Decent Salary and most importantly really it's just helping people, in any way I can.

What do you guys recommend I do?

Thank You

PS: Please feel free to recommend other courses and other types of health professionals that you think I might enjoy.

BTW I am not considering Interstate options at the moment.

Assuming you don't get into undergrad med, I'd recommend doing either biomed at Melbourne or biomed at Monash, depending on your UMAT score. Pharmacy (at Monash) gives you options if you don't get into graduate med, but makes it more difficult to get into graduate med (as more places are reserved for biomed students).

If you want to do med, there is no reason to choose science over biomed. If you are willing to settle for a lower salary, you could consider nursing.

You could also consider becoming a medical officer in the ADF, an optometrist, a dentist or a radiographer.

Although take my advice with a grain of salt as I'm also a student and don't know a huge amount about the whole system.

[m.mawas]

Assuming you don't get into undergrad med, I'd recommend doing either BioMed at Melbourne or BioMed at Monash, depending on your UMAT score. Pharmacy (at Monash) gives you options if you don't get into graduate med, but makes it more difficult to get into graduate med (as more places are reserved for Biomed students).

If you want to do med, there is no reason to choose science over Biomed. If you are willing to settle for a lower salary, you could consider nursing.

You could also consider becoming a medical officer in the ADF, an optometrist, a dentist or a radiographer.

Although take my advice with a grain of salt as I'm also a student and don't know a huge amount about the whole system.

Thanks for the advice!
Honestly, if I was going to do Biomed for post-grad med, I will probably stick with Monash as it does not require GAMSAT. I might also consider doing dentistry, but the issue is that it requires the same amount of time as med so I will most likely just stick to med. XD

Thanks again though

[brenden]

Greetings,

I am having a dilemma as to whether I should do Pharmacy(@Monash) or Sci/Biomed(@Melbourne Uni) if I don't get into Medicine. Possibly, at this stage even considering Nursing.

I want to ideally pursue something in the neonatal path, but still have not really decided as of yet. This interests me,
 coz it sounds like, kinda specific to refer to the "neonatal path", and specificity can be a pretty good indicator of interest sometimes!!

However, I am scared if I go into Sci/Biomed and not get into Medicine as I would limit my options to find a job the following year. Hence, I am inclined to study Pharmacy but I have heard it is nearly impossible to one find a job after it, and that it is a really tough course. Definitely no expert but from years of hanging around ATAR Notes, people who know better than me always crop up and say that the Golden Age of Pharmacy is over and that it's a pretty oversaturated job marketing (but by the same token... what job market isn't oversaturated outside of IT LOOOL)... so yeah, Science or Biomed might be better if you don't have a passion for pharmacy specifically.

Also, in regards to Nursing the reason I am thinking of doing it, is because that if I do, I hear it's a lot easier to find a job after it---but the catch is that it very low pay for the job you are doing. As others would tell me. Additionally, I want to have finished my course by 21-23yrs old ideally, I am 17 now.You'd finish a nursing degree by 23 but honestly, this is the shittest thing you could think about in terms of course choice. (100% no offence intended). It's a natural line of thought when you're 17 but,
 I'm 22 now and do you know what the difference is between me and a 24 year old? Spoiler: there is none. Would my life be worse if I was in uni until I was 23? Literally not. Would have the same friends, talk about the same stupid shit, and eat the same junk food. Lol. Age milestones are not useful, and by the time you're in your early twenties you won't have the same "I want this by 22, and then a cool job by 25, and then kids by 29" and so on.

As far as the pay thing goes....... Yeah - for the job that you're doing (pretty hard), nurses could definitely get paid more but like,
 if you're still taking home a good amount of money after tax week-by-week and you can live a comfortable life and travel to great places... That's a good thing, right? I just had a quick look at wages and a clinical midwife can earn $90k a year. I understand that you can earn $90k a year doing a way easier job but at the end of the day... You could finance a mortgage by yourself on $90k a year, so I wouldn't necessarily rule out nursing just because they deserve more pay than they get. It's still a very rewarding job for many people, and certainly an honourable one - it might bring you more satisfaction than other things so I wouldn't throw it away because other people think it's an underpaid profession!

So Basically...

I want to pursue a career as some sort of health professional, preferably working with children/babies and the elderly. The thing I am looking for is Job Security, Decent Salary and most importantly really it's just helping people, in any way I can. Both nursing and paediatric medicine seem to fit the bill really well . I'd recommend you pursue either of those courses  

What do you guys recommend I do?

Thank You

PS: Please feel free to recommend other courses and other types of health professionals that you think I might enjoy.

BTW I am not considering Interstate options at the moment.

I really hope everything in your life is going well at the moment... thinking about this now says something about you so, even if it feels like you're a bit lost, you're probably still a fair way ahead of everyone else

[m.mawas]

Greetings,

I am having a dilemma as to whether I should do Pharmacy(@Monash) or Sci/Biomed(@Melbourne Uni) if I don't get into Medicine. Possibly, at this stage even considering Nursing.

I want to ideally pursue something in the neonatal path, but still have not really decided as of yet. This interests me,
 coz it sounds like, kinda specific to refer to the "neonatal path", and specificity can be a pretty good indicator of interest sometimes!!

However, I am scared if I go into Sci/Biomed and not get into Medicine as I would limit my options to find a job the following year. Hence, I am inclined to study Pharmacy but I have heard it is nearly impossible to one find a job after it, and that it is a really tough course. Definitely no expert but from years of hanging around ATAR Notes, people who know better than me always crop up and say that the Golden Age of Pharmacy is over and that it's a pretty oversaturated job marketing (but by the same token... what job market isn't oversaturated outside of IT LOOOL)... so yeah, Science or Biomed might be better if you don't have a passion for pharmacy specifically.

Also, in regards to Nursing the reason I am thinking of doing it, is because that if I do, I hear it's a lot easier to find a job after it---but the catch is that it very low pay for the job you are doing. As others would tell me. Additionally, I want to have finished my course by 21-23yrs old ideally, I am 17 now.You'd finish a nursing degree by 23 but honestly, this is the shittest thing you could think about in terms of course choice. (100% no offence intended). It's a natural line of thought when you're 17 but,
 I'm 22 now and do you know what the difference is between me and a 24 year old? Spoiler: there is none. Would my life be worse if I was in uni until I was 23? Literally not. Would have the same friends, talk about the same stupid shit, and eat the same junk food. Lol. Age milestones are not useful, and by the time you're in your early twenties you won't have the same "I want this by 22, and then a cool job by 25, and then kids by 29" and so on.

As far as the pay thing goes....... Yeah - for the job that you're doing (pretty hard), nurses could definitely get paid more but like,
 if you're still taking home a good amount of money after tax week-by-week and you can live a comfortable life and travel to great places... That's a good thing, right? I just had a quick look at wages and a clinical midwife can earn $90k a year. I understand that you can earn $90k a year doing a way easier job but at the end of the day... You could finance a mortgage by yourself on $90k a year, so I wouldn't necessarily rule out nursing just because they deserve more pay than they get. It's still a very rewarding job for many people, and certainly an honourable one - it might bring you more satisfaction than other things so I wouldn't throw it away because other people think it's an underpaid profession!

So Basically...

I want to pursue a career as some sort of health professional, preferably working with children/babies and the elderly. The thing I am looking for is Job Security, Decent Salary and most importantly really it's just helping people, in any way I can. Both nursing and paediatric medicine seem to fit the bill really well . I'd recommend you pursue either of those courses  

What do you guys recommend I do?

Thank You

PS: Please feel free to recommend other courses and other types of health professionals that you think I might enjoy.

BTW I am not considering Interstate options at the moment.

I really hope everything in your life is going well at the moment... thinking about this now says something about you so, even if it feels like you're a bit lost, you're probably still a fair way ahead of everyone else

Hey Brenden,
Thanks for the advice!!!! Yeah, everything's all good haha
It's just really hard for me to study when I have no goal, no direction or pull etc...
Also, relation to Nursing I will be 20-21yrs old when I would finish my degree XD
The only thing is with Nursing, I see it good now. I just can't imagine doing it when I am in my late 30's to early 40's. The only thing that seems to fufill that is Medicine so I will probally go towards that or maybe even dentistry*even when I personally hate dentists:P*.

Thanks Again!!!

[brenden]

Hey Brenden,
Thanks for the advice!!!! Yeah, everything's all good haha
It's just really hard for me to study when I have no goal, no direction or pull etc...
Also, relation to Nursing I will be 20-21yrs old when I would finish my degree XD
The only thing is with Nursing, I see it good now. I just can't imagine doing it when I am in my late 30's to early 40's. The only thing that seems to fufill that is Medicine so I will probally go towards that or maybe even dentistry*even when I personally hate dentists:P*.

Thanks Again!!!

You can always do Nursing then postgraduate medicine as well, don't forget!

[m.mawas]

You can always do Nursing then postgraduate medicine as well, don't forget!

XD
I was thinking of that, but I honestly don't know how to go about it. Would you mind elaborating? Like which course should I do if I was to do that? Because that's probably what I reckon I would enjoy the most.

Thanks Brendan XD

[Russ]

You can do nursing, work as a nurse and then study medicine (quite a few people do this).
You can go straight from nursing into postgraduate medicine, but if you wish to do this then you're almost certainly better off just doing a science or biomedical degree instead.

Nursing pay isn't amazing though and comes with the downside of rotating shiftwork forever (I only mention this because the 90k figure above is misleading, since a clinical midwife is not the same thing as a 'midwife' - if you want to try nursing, go for it)

[m.mawas]

You can do nursing, work as a nurse and then study medicine (quite a few people do this).
You can go straight from nursing into postgraduate medicine, but if you wish to do this then you're almost certainly better off just doing a science or biomedical degree instead.
Nursing pay isn't amazing though and comes with the downside of rotating shiftwork forever (I only mention this because the 90k figure above is misleading, since a clinical midwife is not the same thing as a 'midwife' - if you want to try nursing, go for it)

Oh okay, thanks Russ for that input!!
If I were to do Medicine through a nursing degree I would most likely work as a nurse for a year or two then apply to postgrad med.