Assist Me with My Future Career.

[Leigh 87]

Leigh, you seem to think that you know exactly what this course is like and you simply don't

 

The physics isn't basic. You will always be doing maths. Just because 'physics' isn't in the subject title doesn't mean it isn't in everything you do, all of your clinical practice and planning involves applying principles of radiation physics.

 

You seem adamant this course is basic. It isn't. Anything with dosimery is physics.

 

http://medicalphys.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/faiz-khans-01.pdf

 

Start reading this PDF, you can discuss with your tutor and get a head start. Given your academic interest you should enjoy getting your teeth in to it.

 

The job situation is ok for graduate radiation therapists. Not as good as when I graduated where there was 38 graduates and over 60 jobs. I had a friend return from the UK recently and then only job she could get was in Orange. So you may need to be prepared to relocated.

 

Also, this approach of insisting you are right despite evidence to the contrary doesn't really convey that you listen and absorb what others say.

 

It comes across that you don't take on board feedback, this will stop you getting a job in health more so than grades.

 

 

 

I know very little about your course. I meant to say that I know I can handle it if I work hard. If I can do well in year 12 chemistry I think I have the ability to learn physics and at least get passes, if I work really hard and do daily study.

 

I am mature aged as a student so I am here to live and breath a degree. No partying or bludging for me at my age.

 

I am also VERY interested in the subjects I did read about that are in your course.

 

I have heard students who enjoy anything science related, tend to really enjoy the degree in terms of the fulfilment they get from learning hard sciences and the satisfaction they get from understanding such things.

 

 

With things like physics and difficult areas to grasp, there would be tears from me in learning it, it wouldn't be easy at all. However, I know I would get that " wow I feel really accomplished and good about myself" sort of "feel good" feeling when you achieve things that are really worthwhile.

 

 

 

I am thinking long term: radiation therapy sounds like a really attractive career choice, in terms of what they do in their daily work lives. Yes it seems repetitive and the degree looks VERY difficult!

 

 

I am compassionate and like the idea of working with oncology patients. They are there to get better and would really rely on you to treat them with great care.

 

 

 

So long term, I think I would feel really good about myself merely just being able to pass the degree, I would get immense personal fulfilment and also really enjoy the actual scientific subjects on offer.

 

 

 

 

Long term, is this difficult degree where you will likely have to relocate to find work for, worth it?

 

 

 

I do not mind having to relocate for a job. I want to get a mortgage though which would be near impossible to save towards if I was paying for rent for a rural job in say, orange.

 

Where as living here at home, I can save for a mortgage together with my partner, graduate, and then start working in a 50K a year job close enough to my area to now NEED to move out and rent. In order for me to EVER own a house, I must stay at my parents until I save for a mortgage here. I am set back in life career wise so living with my parents until I start my professional job is the ONLY option for me to EVER put down a house deposit.

 

Um and I don't mind difficult work if the subjects at hand are fascinating and the sense of satisfaction one gets from overcoming difficult subjects and learning so much about this area, would definitely be worth the pain of having to learn physics from scratch.

 

So long term for radiation therapy, I do not like that I would have to move to a remote area like orange and RENT and then NEVER afford a house deposit.

 

And I am not keen on using hard physics every year of the degree. My strength is in chemistry and in cell biology, those where the areas I did really well in at school.

 

Podiatry is a better fit for me since it is more anatomy and physiology driven, and has a lot of human and cellular biology. It is a lot lighter in the physics department than radiation therapy.

 

Plus my friend who didn't get a good GPA and her class mates managed to get jobs as podiatrists BEFORE even graduating, had jobs lines up in our area. NO ONE had to relocate to a remote area.

[Leigh 87]

Also, the only feedback I WILL NOT listen to , are those insisting that I do not even know which AREA of degree I am interested in.

 

I know very well I am much, much more geared towards a science based degree than I am a humanities degree, for instance.

 

I will not agree with people who insist I have no clue what I want to do.

 

I do agree, however, that I do not yet know the subjects at hand that are involved in radiation therapy and that I may not be suited to them and will have to work very, very hard JUST to pass....

 

Where as I have a strong inclination that I can do well at podiatry or say, oral health therapy (like a DH but you can do extractions), because these subjects are A LOT less physics based!

 

I would be better suited to a degree I can actually do WELL in, rather than a degree like radiation therapy in which I would likely barely pass.

[Leigh 87]

Each of those sciences have logics of their own. I'm great at chemistry. After a certain level, I struggle with math. Meanwhile, I tend to do well in physics because I somehow find it easy to envision time and space components. (I find it concrete).

 

What I'm saying is: Leigh won't know what her skills are until she either 1. Takes an aptitude test or 2. Try the courses.

 

Leigh, have you seen a career councillor? Have you taken an aptitude test? This could really help guide you in your decision. It will also ensure you succeed at your degree. The closer the match between your aptitudes and your degree, the likelier you are to succeed.

 

Taking an aptitude test now can save you a lot of time and money in the long run.

 

 

A Phd in physics lecturer talked to me about physics, math and chemistry. He could tell that I was much more geared towards chemistry and human/cell biology than I was physics.

 

I already know a few things about my strengths. What I don't know is, whether or not I would be able to handle physics let alone be good with it.

 

I was never bad at math either I just didn't give a damn about it lol in high school. I didn't do literally one bit of homework and merely passed with average marks in an average level.

 

If I tried really hard in math I know I would have gotten good marks though as I didn't find it hard at all. I was just not motivated most of high school hence why I dropped out in year ten... I wasn't doing any work.

 

In 2009 I went back to study chemistry and human and cell biology and got all high distinctions, without having studied since year ten (I was 22).

 

I am more motivated with chem and bio because I became obsessed with interest. Motivation to WANT to learn more overcame me to I developed effective ways to study, and put the time in to study.

 

Chem and bio apply to my body and well, everything around me involves chemistry. Yes I know it is the same for math and physics but I just ... have never been motivated to think " wow, I can really look at the world around me and apply math and physics"

 

Where as I loved that with chem and bio, I would love learning it because it was easy for me to apply these subjects to me and the world around me, hence why I was very motivated to actually take the time to learn more about these subjects.

 

 

I have a hunch that podiatry and say, oral health therapy, are degrees that I would be better suited to than I would be more physics driven radiation therapy.

 

 

However, I need to ascertain whether or not the subjects at hand are truly fascinating enough to me in radiation therapy for me to BECOME enthused about learning tha math and physics required for me to excel in it.......

[Leigh 87]

My own parents also don't think I will ever really "get" physics, and that my strengths lie in chemistry and human and cell biology.

 

 

My mum and dad were in the top 10% of their peers in high school and both got scholarships back when only the brightest of students got them.

 

 

Mum HATED physics and was NOT good at it but passed. She was good at math but didn't much enjoy it.

 

 

 

Dad on the other hand was good ad physics and sciences. His brother was a very top notch sought after engineer/project manager/surveyor with 3 or maybe 4 degrees.

 

 

 

My entire family is very academic so I am hoping I have at least inherited the capacity to succeed at whichever subject I choose. Yet we all have our limitations..... I am more like my mother in terms of my intelligence, I am not as good at physics and math as my dad.

 

 

I am the ONLY one in my entire family that hasn't gotten a degree or a professional job.

 

 

Yet all my family have always said I was clever and could do very well, and they were academics themselves so I am confident I have what it takes to at least PASS most science driven degrees, even the ones with physics.

 

 

 

I just have to weigh up whether a hard degree like radiation therapy is worth it, when it is 5 hours a day in travel, and podiatry is just around the corner from me/has reasonable job prospects/ would be less physics heavy.

[Kamille]

 

However, I need to ascertain whether or not the subjects at hand are truly fascinating enough to me in radiation therapy for me to BECOME enthused about learning tha math and physics required for me to excel in it.......

 

 

How will you go about ascertaining whether or not the subjects at hand will motivate you enough to become enthused about your future career, be it radiation therapy or podiatry?

[ufo8mycat]

 

Long term, is this difficult degree where you will likely have to relocate to find work for, worth it?

 

I do not mind having to relocate for a job. I want to get a mortgage though which would be near impossible to save towards if I was paying for rent for a rural job in say, orange.

 

Where as living here at home, I can save for a mortgage together with my partner, graduate, and then start working in a 50K a year job close enough to my area to now NEED to move out and rent. In order for me to EVER own a house, I must stay at my parents until I save for a mortgage here. I am set back in life career wise so living with my parents until I start my professional job is the ONLY option for me to EVER put down a house deposit.

 

So long term for radiation therapy, I do not like that I would have to move to a remote area like orange and RENT and then NEVER afford a house deposit.

 

 

I think that there should be enormous satisfaction in getting any degree. It is do-able. I had to go to every lab and tutorial but the support is there if you need it. I don't doubt you could get through if you stuck it out.

 

Plenty of people rent and are able to afford house deposits and you need to look at the reality of your situation. From both a podiatry and radiation therapy perspective work in your immediate area is likely to be limited and hard to get.

 

You may well get a job in Newcastle or Sydney but you would still need to relocate. There is only one, smaller radiation therapy practice on the Central Coast and positions don't come up too often.

 

So I can't say if it is worth it long term - that is something to weight up.

[Leigh 87]

How will you go about ascertaining whether or not the subjects at hand will motivate you enough to become enthused about your future career, be it radiation therapy or podiatry?

 

Well so far....

 

I will list the positives and negatives about starting both degrees. I will talk about the university, the travel times, how willing I am to relocate for both fields of work. I will also talk about what I know of the course content and daily lives of professionals in both careers Thanks for your advice thus far and many thanks for taking the time to read some of my replies.

 

I think I will definitely start with podiatry since the degree is close by, which gives me more time to study since I don't have to commute five hours per day, the way I would have to for a radiation therapy degree. Moreover, love the local campus; it is heavenly. Newcastle University is.. I just have a HUGE soft spot for it. It is SO personal, you get a chance to really get to know the lecturers, there is SO much emphasis on student help. It is only 20 mins away via train or car........

 

So I already feel really positive about the actual university I will attend which means a lot to me personally. I just cannot speak more positively about it. It is laid back, friendly and I already know my way around it. I feel very "at home" in the Uni in which I started at in 2010.

 

As for my past academic experience, podiatry fits more into what I have excelled at in the past. I have actually taken a few classes for food science that are also offered in podiatry, and I loved them and got HD's. Podiatry continues on with subjects I have already done in semester one for food science back in 2010. Hence I have a few credits and won't have to redo them for semester one of podiatry. Radiation therapy has a lot more new terrain of which I am not SURE I can pass without intensive tutoring, much less excel in. I have no doubt I could do it though.

 

When it comes to the course content, I have looked at each subject on offer for each semester for both degrees. I have looked at each individual subject on offer and read about their description. Another important factor upon deciding between degrees, is I have also looked at many examples of "day to day careers" of both professions. Lastly, the job prospects for both seem bright if you are willing to relocate. Which I am. I am 28 and to get stuck into any degree and expect a positive career out of it, you MUST be willing to relocate and go the extra mile to start a career when you are at the bottom of the food chain in comparison to experienced professionals.

 

Upon more personal introspection, I feel more than willing to relocate, rent and still strive to save for a mortgage rather than living with my parents. Both careers start grads on 50K based upon what most students have said. My friend who failed subjects and has a bad GPA got a 55K starting job in... And both career paths seem to have enough prospects in the future to secure work IF I am willing to relocate; with a fair chance of getting work in either Sydney or Newcastle and not even having to relocate.

[Glinda.Good]

If you need every course you take on your way to a goal to be "truly fascinating," I am afraid you are out of luck.

 

That is not reality, and it is not an adult way to go about planning your future.

[Leigh 87]

If you need every course you take on your way to a goal to be "truly fascinating," I am afraid you are out of luck.

 

That is not reality, and it is not an adult way to go about planning your future.

 

 

 

 

Obviously I do not expect to enjoy every course. I said the courses I HAD researched sounded interesting. I am sure the reality of it will be difficult boring and challenging.

 

You can criticise my choices all you like. At the end of the day, I am the person who knows myself best, and my likes, dislikes and natural aptitudes.

 

I am definitely a better candidate for a science/medical type degree. I am not suited to pure essay writing with no science.

 

I have picked a very reasonable degree choice in my local area.

 

I feel very positive and excited about my decision.

 

You obviously assume I am an idiot. Come on, I am not expecting to enjoy every component of the degree. But I do think there will be a trend where I enjoy the overall picture and what I am actually studying towards.

[Trimmer]

One of the reasons I decided against nursing was all the science courses like Chemistry...even worse than math....very complicated. If you don't get math, you won't understand things like Chemistry or Physics.

I was once in a place, surrounded by purists in all 3 of these areas. The chemists would say "Without chemistry, life itself would be impossible." The physicists would say "Chemistry is just a subset of physics", and the math dudes would say "It's all math."

 

I was in engineering, so none of them would even talk to us.

[Leigh 87]

I did well in chemistry. I dropped math in year 10. I never learnt physics.

 

In my opinion, engineering looks harder than medicine. According to a fair few people, medicine is just brutally rigorous in the amount of work you need to cover and the sheer volume of material you need to become an expert on.

 

 

Engineering is definitely harder than medicine in terms of the actual problem solving; the math in engineering is... just disgusting. LOL. Plus engineering folks also need quiet advanced physics.

 

 

 

I have the aptitude to pass both math and physics in my opinion, at a basis 101 level at college, which was also the opinion of the physics professor which I talked to about my concerns. He thinks that physics is VERY hard in the first year or so because the concepts are boring; he admitted that until you learn to a higher level of physics, it is boring and hard. He went on to say that once you master the basics and then some, physics becomes "easier" in that you can actually apply the concepts you learn into real life opposed to just learning HOW to even do physics.

 

 

I mean, I could likely pass a radiation therapy degree but I am not even sure if I have the aptitude to do WELL in physics, irrespective of HOW many hours I study it effectively. Where as I believe I have what it takes to do WELL in podiatry because it is mostly composed of medical subjects.

 

 

The podiatry related courses were very low on physics per say, but it has similar complexities to physics... in how your body moves and at which angles it moves that can cause foot trauma. Because all the material pertaining to physics in podiatry is applied to real life, aka the feet, the actual physics contained in podiatry doesn't drone on and on about the basics so much and relies on your natural ability to look at your legs and feet, and figure out how the body mechanisms work.

 

In short: you definitely use physics in podiatry but you do not sit down and do ANY physics courses per say. You are not having any exams or assessments on hard physics. ONE medical course talks about physics within it and there is a quiz or two on it, but after a month once the basics in physics are covered the course moves on.

 

Where as radiation therapy and physiotherapy have actual courses dedicate to physics' entire units of study with exams. Hard physics would be boring and arduous for someone like me, since I have not ever learnt physics and would have to go through a few basic physics 101 courses to finally be able to "get it".

 

I like that podiatry is heavily focused on your body, it is largely based on medical subjects much like medicine, where you do not need to know a huge amount about physics.

 

 

Once I get a confirmation letter in January, either accepting me into podiatry, radiation therapy OR oral health, I will then bring in my physics professor who urged me to at least get basic physics tutoring.

 

Even though podiatry has very, very limited actual physics contained in the degree and does not even get you to do a physic 101 course, I will still DEFINATELY have physics tutoring just so I can learn the basics, as it would serve me well and make me a better podiatrist if THAT is the degree I get into.....

 

 

 

 

Between now and next year, I have decided to get basic math tutoring once a week just so I can re hash the basic foundations of math. I feel very vulnerable not knowing math and I would personally feel better about myself and more confident in future studies if I at LEAST know BASIC math. Since I have not done math since age 15 and I am 2 years shy of 30, I want to get some basic math tutoring because I am serious about my university studies and think basic math is important even if I do not go on to do math subjects.

 

 

 

I am also hungry to start studying something challenging which re learning basic math would be.

 

I was never bad at math... it has just been soooo long:o

 

 

I think I could get a lot of personal fulfilment by getting some basic math tutoring.

 

 

I honestly feel lost without knowing any math, it has been a huge sore spot for me for years:(

[Leigh 87]

My dads brother got 3 degrees and became a very very high up and well sought after engineer/project manager who oversaw and BUILT one of the mail railways in Australia. He has built so many bridges and ... some major things overseas also.

 

 

Of course he had a team helping him but he was the top guy who gave out all the orders.

 

 

My dad said his brother, who sadly passed away from cancer recently:(, was actually NOT naturally that bright. He just studied really really hard and was a bit smarter than average.

 

 

 

Sorry but I don't buy it! He had to work out ALL those advanced engineering math equations WITHOUT A CALCULATOR back in their day! You need to be VERY SMART to do that!

 

 

 

 

 

I have not done math since age 15 and I never learnt physics. I think I could become good at math. I do not think I could ever become "good" at physics.

 

 

 

 

 

But then again, after dropping out of high school, I went back years later and learnt chemistry again and got the high D's.

 

 

 

I just have a gut inclination that I would not be as.... able to do well at physics as I could chem.

[Leigh 87]

Based on what I know about math science and physics, and the college/university bachelors degrees on offer...

 

 

Most engineering degrees do calculus within month ONE.

 

So if you are good at math and have a very solid background and did ALL the advanced math in year 11 and 12, do engineering.

 

Haven't done math or physics for many years? Never learnt physics in high school? Degrees like oral health therapy or podiatry would be more suitable. Food science and radiation therapy have math and physics courses so you would likely need tutoring BEFORE the degree started up and DURING the degree:o

 

 

Lack of math and physics had limited my choices. However, it has turned out well since my local campus offered podiatry and oral health, degrees I really think would be a good fit for me.

 

 

Radiation therapy, based on the subjects it contains and I have read about, and the day to day workings of a radiation therapist, is my second choice.

 

 

If I have done math and physics more recently and the degree was located closer, I would definitely have chosen radiation therapy as my first choice.

[Els]

I did well in chemistry. I dropped math in year 10. I never learnt physics.

 

In my opinion, engineering looks harder than medicine. According to a fair few people, medicine is just brutally rigorous in the amount of work you need to cover and the sheer volume of material you need to become an expert on.

 

Having dabbled in both worlds and known folks from each 'side', I agree with this (and so do they). The people who tend to succeed in medicine are not necessarily the ones with the highest IQ (though a few are brilliant), but rather the ones with a decent memory, insane perseverance, and the ability to carry on slogging when the going gets tough.

 

Between now and next year, I have decided to get basic math tutoring once a week just so I can re hash the basic foundations of math.

 

This sounds like a very good idea. I suggest starting right now.

[Haydn]

Do you have a start date yet Leigh?

[Eternal Sunshine]

Having dabbled in both worlds and known folks from each 'side', I agree with this (and so do they). The people who tend to succeed in medicine are not necessarily the ones with the highest IQ (though a few are brilliant), but rather the ones with a decent memory, insane perseverance, and the ability to carry on slogging when the going gets tough.

 

 

 

This sounds like a very good idea. I suggest starting right now.

 

I work with a lot of medical doctors in a hospital setting and on the whole, I wouldn't say they are that bright . They do work insane hours and always look tired and stressed.

[Glinda.Good]

So … I'd just like to get a picture of your current situation.

 

You are NOT going to start school in September after all?

 

Are you still taking an online course? If not, did you complete or drop it?

 

Are you working right now? Sometime earlier you said you were going to start a well paying job the next day, but then we heard nothing more about that.

 

If you are NOT starting school in September, when exactly will you start?

 

And what will you be doing with yourself until then?

 

Are you aware that you have been ready to start a course and then not gone forward with it many times since you joined LoveShack?

 

I am not trying to derail your plans, nor do I think you are an idiot. I do see some very clear patterns in your behavior that have nothing to do with your academic strengths and weaknesses.

 

A lot of people, including me, pay quite a bit of attention to you in your threads and try to help you.

 

Will you please take a moment to answer the questions I just asked?

 

If you have complicated self sabotaging behaviors that help you avoid going through with ANYTHING, addressing those would be the very best thing you could do for yourself.

[Leigh 87]

Glinda, I appreciate your advice. Thanks for trying to be helpful many times.

 

I will try to break it all down so you have a better understanding of what really went on.

 

I tried a food science degree but due to being mentally fragile, I didn't feel ready to suddenly re learn math. I freaked out and dropped out before the census date. Next semester I tried social science because it had no math and contained subjects of interest. I was bored and didn't want a career in the humanities so I quit before the census date again. A year later I tried social work. I liked the subject matter and did it for one semester. I tried to tell myself I was passionate about the degree as a whole when in actual fact, I was just driven to "help people". Yet I couldn't stand entire degrees based on essays and no science.

 

In short; loved the food science, but freaked out about the math element...having not done math in SO many years. Being mentally fragile I ran, and tried degrees that didn't light me academic fire because they were easy and I enjoyed the issues at hand that were studied in the degrees but HATED the thought of going into a humanities based career.

 

Math is a real sore point for me. Why? Because I could have had a health science degree by now, which is where my academic fire is most lit and the flames are fanned. I gave up on what I truly wanted (a health science degree, didn't care which one specifically).

 

I tried the live in nanny job but was being way too underpaid so quit. During the nanny stint, I enrolled in open universities which is online, but heard terrible feedback about them and further, I didn't WANT a bachelor of ARTS/community development degree. I just didn't want that career. I didn't want essay after essay. After the nanny job, I was working for a family getting paid a fine wage, but my dad went into hospital (he had a quintuple bypass at age 38 which is astounding). In hospital, dad urged me to focus on really finding my passion and NOT working crappy jobs I have no interest in; to instead dedicate ALL my time to my degree or certificates....

 

I had an epiphany that I am 28 and I want to have a career I feel fantastic about; not well paid necessarily or whatever. A job I derive immense personal satisfaction from and I am proud to say I do, and is at a professional level with a medium income that actually pays bills and can save for a mortgage. Which to me, is a medical health professional. In ANY capacity really.....although as I outlined before, I prefer non general health degrees and prefer a very specific focus such as podiatry or radiation therapy.. or even the oral therapy degree sounded great.

 

Health science and medical style degrees have always been the I felt most "me" about. I just assumed I wouldn't be able to handle them as a mature aged student. Now I am strong enough mentally, living a normal life and very willing and ready to take extra steps necessary to study math and/or physics in order to get the degree and career I TRULY aspire to.

 

I just want to do something I actually ASPIRE to do, not merely a degree" because it is easy and has cool subjects"

 

I have even dabbled in beauty therapy and travel sales; I tried tastes of the courses to see if they were for me, and then dropped them before the census date because they were NOT what I wanted my future career to be remotely related to.

 

 

 

I was not ready to go after what I truly wanted in 2010. I am now.

 

I am fed up with attempting "fillers" of degrees to try to somehow compensate for the fact that I didn't follow through with what I TRULY wanted, just because it contained math and I was too scared to even TRY.

 

 

 

 

 

Right now I am doing an online certificate in aged care and love it. Turns out, I am good at the practical side of things and don't flinch at any unpleasant "things' people assumed I wouldn't do well because I hate toddlers:lmao: It is at my own pace - I will finish in a few months. I then intend to start next year at my local university, whilst still working in aged care part time.

 

University at my local campus, at a university I really love and know is a better fit for me than other larger, more competitive and impersonal unis, FACE TO FACE and not ONLINE, is my BEST BET.

 

I apply August, and find out January which courses I have been accepted into.

 

No more waitress jobs, looking after kids, and still not managing to get even the most basic of jobs because my personality really isn't geared for hospitality........... I am great at one on one personal care type jobs, NOT hospitality or retail. I am an introvert. I have tried my best to get whatever work I can but the only work I get offered is looking after peoples kids/doing some housework.

 

I would rather be an aged carer part time and study towards the career I most aspire towards.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I feel a lot better and like a weight of 4 years has been lifted at my shoulders.

 

I am going after what I truly know I have always wanted in spite of some difficult setbacks, namely, me needing math tutoring before I even start University.

[Leigh 87]

I can self sabotage but that is not why I have started and not finished things.

 

I have to be really passionate about a career or anything for that matter, to stick with it.

 

I simply didn't go through with the initial degree I was passionate about because I was too fragile to get the math tutoring I needed.

 

Then I spend years trying to compensate and I tried to convince myself that other fields were "awesome"

 

I have wanted to study medical based degrees and have a medical based profession since I was a CHILD. It is ALL I have ever wanted.

 

It took a huge toll on me when I quit that degree, I never got over it.

 

Every time people around me told me that the hard sciences were the way to go career wise for a person like me, I felt pangs of utter despair while concurrently, willing myself to feel " well social work and ___ are great"

 

It was like dating a person you cannot have and then trying to date other people when you are still in love with THEM.

[pink_sugar]

I work with a lot of medical doctors in a hospital setting and on the whole, I wouldn't say they are that bright . They do work insane hours and always look tired and stressed.

 

I agree. There are some that aren't too bright. My mom's old doctor told her to do the caveman diet to lose weight and that her son was doing it...not to mention the doctor was overweight herself.

[tuxedo cat]

I agree. There are some that aren't too bright. My mom's old doctor told her to do the caveman diet to lose weight and that her son was doing it...not to mention the doctor was overweight herself.

 

Yep. My brother is extremely smart--he had perfect SATs and nearly perfect MCATs--and he struggled through medical school (he's almost done with his degree now). Like me he is not good at rote memorization. Also, personality is surprisingly important but not in the way that you'd think. If anything you need to be a bitch to fit in with the culture.

 

We had a neighbor growing up who is my brother's age and an awful person. She was responsible for getting a beloved teacher fired from our high school because she made up some lie/rumor about the woman. She also bullied other kids (fortunately not me or my brother). She isn't all that bright either and didn't get high marks in school. But she was a driller and she ended up in the same medical school as my brother.

 

While my brother was criticized by his superiors for being too "nice" and "soft spoken" this girl was presented as an example of a perfect student with the perfect professional demeanor. I have to stress that she is NOT a likeable person and she was never popular in school. She doesn't have an ounce of warmth and she is, I suspect, an undiagnosed sociopath.

[Bittersweetie]

Leigh, you remind me a bit of me when I was younger. I got my undergraduate degree with a specific skill set because at that time there was recession and I just wanted a job. Once I started working, I thought then I would explore find my passion and career.

 

I had multiple careers, worked in different environments: offices, schools, homes, etc. Always looking at grad school, taking the entrance tests.

 

However, I was equating passion with career, with a job. So if that job wasn't perfect, didn't meet my standards...I felt I was "wasting" my time. I was feeling unfulfilled because my expectations were so high that they couldn't be met.

 

My husband likes his job, likes what he does, the people he works with. But is it his passion? No. And that's fine with him. He has good days there, he has bad days there. Such is life. But his job allows us to follow one of our passions...traveling.

 

I did finally get a graduate degree in my late 30s. After my mind calmed down and what I truly enjoyed rose to the top. I'm glad I waited because acquiring that degree gave me a great sense of fulfillment. Not because of the job I was going to get with it (very low job prospect degree) but because I did it.

 

Not sure if this makes sense or if I'm rambling. I guess what I'm saying is that there doesn't have to be a direct line between your passions and your job, and that is okay. You can explore your passions in other ways. Good luck.

Edited July 24, 2014 by Bittersweetie

[tuxedo cat]

Leigh, you remind me a bit of me when I was younger. I got my undergraduate degree with a specific skill set because at that time there was recession and I just wanted a job. Once I started working, I thought then I would explore find my passion and career.

 

I had multiple careers, worked in different environments: offices, schools, homes, etc. Always looking at grad school, taking the entrance tests.

 

However, I was equating passion with career, with a job. So if that job wasn't perfect, didn't meet my standards...I felt I was "wasting" my time. I was feeling unfulfilled because my expectations were so high that they couldn't be met.

 

My husband likes his job, likes what he does, the people he works with. But is it his passion? No. And that's fine with him. He has good days there, he has bad days there. Such is life. But his job allows us to follow one of our passions...traveling.

 

I did finally get a graduate degree in my late 30s. After my mind calmed down and what I truly enjoyed rose to the top. I'm glad I waited because acquiring that degree gave me a great sense of fulfillment. Not because of the job I was going to get with it (very low job prospect degree) but because I did it.

 

Not sure if this makes sense or if I'm rambling. I guess what I'm saying is that there doesn't have to be a direct line between your passions and your job, and that is okay. You can explore your passions in other ways. Good luck.

 

Were you able to get a job?

[Bittersweetie]

Were you able to get a job?

 

Actually I did. It didn't pay very well, and it was a lot of admin kind of work, but even though I'd just gotten my graduate degree I knew I had to start near the bottom because that's how it works. So I learned a lot, met people in the industry, and kept a positive attitude. And now, two years after I left to have my son, former colleagues continue to ask when I'm coming back. Hopefully soon!

[Leigh 87]

Oh my passion is travel too, and also I want to house homeless cats and dogs.

 

In order to indulge in my passion, I NEED a steady job with at LEAST an average income...... I will be child free so can afford to travel overseas on a 50K salary albeit not exactly regular travel.. more like a 7K trip once every 3 or 4 years.

 

 

Now, my biggest INTEREST, if I had to pick ANY academic pursuit, is medical and HEALTH sciences. ANY science that relates to my body and the world around me in the form of chemistry, I am INTERESTED in enough to actually study hard.

 

 

^^^^^^ the only time I ever did a scrap of homework was when I went back to school to get my university entrance ranking, and I studied ONLY bio and chemistry....

 

 

 

 

 

So I am aiming for a career in the AREA I am the MOST interested in, in order to be able to fulfil my passions.

 

 

Academically, my degree sounds like my "academic" passion, but of course I know that will likely not translate into a " job of my dreams, my true passion in life":lmao:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am finding subjects I like, in a local campus which I have had first and fantastic experience in, and in a degree that has reasonable job prospects.