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2nd Year College Student- Be an Engineer or Doctor?

Hi, I'm in my second year at college. Third year is when you begin taking major intensive courses and preparing applications for graduate school, yet I'm still not sure what I want to be an engineer or a doctor (However, neither choice will affect my major- which is currently BioPhysics and English). So here's my pro-con list so to speak: DOCTOR Pros- - I'd be either a psychiatrist (I'm very fascinated by the mind and am dealing with depression so I feel a connection to those with mental illness) or a family practitioner (I'd live in a rural area and aid the disadvantaged, was considering opening a hospital in Nigeria- where I'm from- because healthcare there is severely lacking). - I genuinely love people and would enjoy directly helping them - I like learning about various medical conditions and how the body works (LOVE Biology) - Salary is great - My mother really wants me to become a doctor. It's something she always wanted to do, but due to poor economic circumstances and five children was unable to achieve (she's a nurse) Cons- - However I tend to procrastinate a lot and feel medical school would be too overwhelming and that I'd fall behind - Unsure if I'll even get into medical school. I mean I have good grades, but my extracurriculars aren't stellar and I'd only get okay recommendation letters from professors (I'm too shy to establish a deep connection with them). - I'm shy and don't exactly have great people skills which is necessary to be a doctor. Also I'm still dealing with depression and social anxiety... not exactly the makings of a doctor. - Ultimately I want to have a family and children and I feel the medical profession won't leave me with enough time to be a loving wife and mother and pursue my own hobbies. - The years of schooling and residency are daunting. I feel like I'll be an old maid by the time I'm able to have kids. ENGINEER Pros- - I'd be a biomedical engineer (mixes my interest in science and medicine with my tolerance of math and my fascination with physics) or a chemical engineer (they do cool things like design food recipes, yum!) or a mechanical engineer (most flexible degree I can be involved in anything from medical devices to bicycles to running shoes). - It seems like a very challenging and fun career. It also sparks the curiosity and utilizes the creativity - Hours seems less demanding, thus balancing my career and home life will be easier. - Education isn't lengthy: With a bachelor's degree I can enter the work force (though I'd get a PHD just to have one... it's a great academic accomplishment). - Though I have math anxiety, I'm pretty good at mathematics. Physics interests me. - The salary is good. Cons- - Though Physics is interesting, I am completely knowledge-less on the subject. Moreover its very difficult. - Because I have math anxiety the thought of taking the engineering exam, which is very math intensive, frightens me. - I'm not very good at building things and engineering seems very hands on. - Because I'm so shy I'm not sure how well I'd do working in a team and sharing my ideas for various projects and such. - My mom wants me to be a doctor. So that's my entire list. I'd really appreciate help making this decision. It's literally driving me crazy I mean it's only the rest of my life! Thanks. =]

Public Comments

1. goin in to medical proffesion is like the up most thing ever! trust me, DO NOT..i repeat..DO NOT go in to if if you ar ebeing forced to go in to it. Im at uni now doing biomedical and it seems pretty hard, not even that, i plan to go med school which will add another lovely decade or so of education, its pretty darn hard and im glad to know that you yourself understand the cons of it, off course every family member wants the other to be in medical proffesion. salary and that is awesome, plus ul gain a name and will be of great importance and looked upon as well. If its something that YOU want to do, something you totaly enjoy then i suggest you do it, .. maths is also needed in medical!!! engineering is something more of what is creativity then a settled job like being a doc, and yes it will be way more flexible to balance home time and work time, it doesnt matter if your mom wants u to be a doc or not, shes only syaing that because she wants u to be on the top of the game! my parents used to do the same thing, but i never took medical because of them, i actually enjoy it. i think you should watch documentaries or drama's based in these settings. would provide you help, u can also get perspectives of people that actually work with in these settings. my advice is do what comforts you! just remember you gotta work ur ass off in both, and ul be doing it forever! its what you enjoy, not anyone else!
2. I'm someone who's had to deal with the same sort of dilemma for a long time...I thought I wanted to study physics in high school, in college I majored in Mechanical Engineering and am now doing a Master's in Biomedical Engineering, and will be applying to medical schools to pursue an MD/PhD this fall. So from someone who's literally tried it all, here are some words of advice: Firstly, make sure that whatever you choose is really what you want to do. Doing something because someone else wants you to do it will inevitably lead to unhappiness for everybody. I'm sure your mom had nothing but your best interests in mind, and would love to have someone to share her passion with, and you should definitely take her advice into consideration because she does know you pretty well :) but ultimately, it is your choice and yours alone. Secondly, make sure to go out there and get as much experience as you can in the fields you're considering. Whether it's internships, coops, shadowing (especially useful with doctors), or research, there's no substitute for actually seeing what doctors and engineers do on an everyday basis...no amount of classes will ever give you a complete picture. So it may understandably be tough as a shy person to go out there and proactively seek out people to meet and opportunities to work with them, it's crucial to figuring out what you want to do! Thinking about it and making pro/con lists is something I did ad nauseum, but what finally helped me realize what I wanted to do when I figured out the best thing I did was to just go out there and take on some research projects, do some real-world work, shadow some people, and see what the real deal was! That said, classes are important too, engineering and medicine are both careers where you should make sure that you're taking the right prerequisite classes during undergrad, so talk to your career office at your school and any advisors you may currently have or be able to get in the future. Engineering has its own strict requirements, especially with accredited programs, and pre-medical studies can literally be a major in itself at some schools. I can't say enough how important it is to talk to as many people as you can...in many ways, there's a huge difference between being a doctor and being an engineer, but in other ways there's not very much difference at all. But there is definitely a wide spectrum between the extremes of basic science, bio-heavy medicine and applied science, physics-heavy engineering. Like you said, you could be a straight up engineer, work with medical devices, biomedical research, be a doctor, be a physician/scientist (most doctors that go to school these days are doing some sort of research), or anything in between that you can imagine. I'm sorry that even though I've considered pretty much every career choice you've considered and have tried out all of them, I can't tell you which one you should pursue based on your list of pros and cons...but I do hope that you'll be able to derive something from my experience. Best of luck, and feel free to contact me with any more questions you may have! I'm sure with your passion and talents you'll find your calling soon enough and be great at it. Not many people can claim to have both your abilities and your desire to help other people.