and look at that you're exposing me haha (jk jk)
Ahhh yes a very good question, and a question I ask myself a lot.
As for why I did Biomed (UoM) was largely due to parental pressure to go to a 'top uni'.
I've always wanted to study medicine, so my immigrant parents didn't pressure me to do that, but rather that I had to study in the 'Golden M's' (Melb and Monash) obviously they made the name up, but they basically told me since I was in grade 6 that I should be aiming to study at either of these unis. And I don't wanna blame my parents, but their words definitely shifted my attention towards Melb and Monash, whereby attending another uni would have deemed me a 'disappointment'.
Thankfully, they have now gone past that notion, however, by then it was too late and I had already been enrolled in Biomed @ UoM.
I do want to premise that Biomed and Science are great courses (especially @UoM), you are correct they don't lead to a secure job right away but the degrees can really help widen and enrich upcoming students to decide what pathway they want to go.
Now as for medicine specifically, yes I agree Nursing would be a great course to study.
Its a shame how much stigma and underrepresentation Nursing gets because quite frankly Nursing preps students better for medicine than either a biomed or science degree. Nursing provides clinical training that biomed doesn't *however this may change in the future*
As for why I didn't enrol into Nursing, yes it was the stigma, and I am disappointed I was manipulated by the criticism Nursing gets when in reality it might have been a better option for me.
Now why did i pick Biomed?
Actually, Biomed @UoM wasn't my 1st preference initially, I actually wanted to study Biomed/Laws @ Monash.
After receiving my ATAR I was pretty certain I'd get in, I was interested in Law and wanted the chance to study it.
However, I knew, in the end, I would want to study medicine and doing a 5-year degree/s only to go to med school felt like a waste (this is although wrong, there is a lot of benefits coming from a double degree, I realised law was an interest and not somewhere I could see myself working in. Legal dramas are not an accurate representation of how working in law really is)
And after coming to that realisation, it made sense to just do Biomed. I won't go into the reasons why I chose UoM over Monash, but it was mainly just preference and the 'vibe' I got from UoM attracted me to it.
But, as the start of my post entails biomed and science are interesting courses, both equip students for med entry and although that pathway is confirmed the degrees broaden student's horizon into the exciting field of science/biomedical science. I started my degree believing I would not want to get into research, but I'm in my third year now and I am considering doing honours because there is so much to investigate and explore (it really is enticing).
So yes, a healthcare degree (nursing, paramedicine etc) does have the benefit of being able to secure a job, and the stigma against these degrees are groundless. However, enrolling into nursing with the aim to get into medicine, may not be everyone's cup of tea, and that's okay and pursing science/biomed should not be frowned upon since both degrees are comprehensive and exciting.
Some people may find it harder to motivate themselves to study medicine, when in a nursing (or other healthcare) cohort, so despite biomed/science may not be the most secure degree they provide other avenues that can indeed intrigue many students.
In the case of medicine, whether you apply through biomed, science or nursing it doesn't really matter since you end up in the same place eventually.
I would say that the higher ATARs that science/biomed has may encourage students to enrol into these degrees since they don't want to 'waste their high ATARs' and again although this notion is wrong, it is hard to change since that is how both the ATAR and uni's to lure students to achieve a high result and attend the 'best institutions'
Although your question has substance, I do think it is ignorant to claim that studying biomed/science has "low prospects" since that isn't the case, not everyone wants to study medicine and for those who do want to study medicine, biomed/sci provide students with the foundation knowledge skills to prepare them for medicine, which often attracts students to enrol in those degrees.
Overall, the flexibility in science/biomedicine may attract students who are not 100% sure what they wanna study, and these degrees also provide the stepping stones for entry medicine and as such remain to be popular degrees.