Who Followed Their Career Passions?

[Leigh 87]

2 years for masters + PDY = 3 years. Just saying.

 

Sonography is very hard to get your clinical practice in if you don't come from imaging.

 

Radiographers are getting jobs, same as medicine graduates are getting job, just perhaps not in metropolitan areas.

 

If you love podiatry go for it but the language you use around quick, easy, back up options is a long way removed from reality.

 

You know CSU wagga also offers radiation sciences? Course overview | Bachelor of Medical Radiation Science | Undergraduate | Courses | Charles Sturt University

 

It is a fun town, I wanted to do my undergrad there but they didn't offer Radiation Therapy at the time.

 

 

 

 

But I don't want to pay 200 a week on rent and live in ramen. Or work 30 hours a week.

 

I have a much better living situation here lol. I love my flat and don't want to leave my cat.

 

I looked into that universities veterinary medicine degree which I could get into if I got animal experience.

 

Plus I dont fancy a long distance relationship.

 

 

Many medical imaging students don't get jobs. Podiatry students never come and write about not being able to find jobs.

 

A few people have said radiography is a useless.degree since not many grads get pdy years.

 

The crisis in not being able.to.get a PDY year is also well known.

 

 

It just sounds very bleak for medical imaging....

[Allumere]

Ok...I'm too lazy to read the whole thread.

 

Here is my 2 cents.

 

I am 45. I took the normal path from HS to college in that I went straight from one to the other. My goal was vet school so my major flipped around from biology to animal science. After talking to enough professors etc. on how difficult is was to get accepted into a vet program (having a 4.0 wasn't enough) I made the decision to switch majors to computer science, which lead to Information Systems. It is a much longer painful tale but the end goal was a degree that could feed me. Today it is a good thing from the perspective I can survive on my own. Marriage and divorce wiped me out so a job is a good thing. That said, I go to a job that literally provides no satisfaction even though it is a hot field. Let me tell you, that can wear on you like you can't imagine and I can honestly say if I could jump in a time machine I would have stuck with my passion and gone to vet school.

 

I don't know how the universities/programs work there but if you have the opportunity to check out a passion (i.e., vet school) and get some experience then do so. If you stick with Podiatry but find after you enter the field that after a few years it isn't your passion or is no longer one, don't be afraid to try something else....very few people work in the field of their degree.

 

It sounds like you have been thinking about all these things which is awesome and have been looking at what fits your current situation best. That said, keep in mind that your opinions and circumstances can/ could always change so be open to all those things. I followed the other thread so to add to that be confident about what you can achieve and not just what fits. Overtime I think you will find you can actually juggle more, probably even want to, and be willing to take on tougher lifestyle situations. Baby steps.

[sweetjasmine]

Haha. I could have also gotten into veterinary science / doctor of veterinary medicine if I had experience with animals, and attended an interview. sadly the uni that would accept me is in Wagga Wagga! Not near to where I live...

 

If you ever do consider this, please try to get as much vet and animal experience before you do it so you can get a good sense of how the work makes you feel. It's a difficult job, emotionally, and sometimes dealing with difficult clients drains you and kills your self esteem, so finding the work itself fulfilling is a must or you're screwed.

[Leigh 87]

If you ever do consider this, please try to get as much vet and animal experience before you do it so you can get a good sense of how the work makes you feel. It's a difficult job, emotionally, and sometimes dealing with difficult clients drains you and kills your self esteem, so finding the work itself fulfilling is a must or you're screwed.

 

 

 

Absolutely true. I can't imagine how difficult the job is. It would take time to accept and warm up to if ever.

 

I love channelling sciences and math but just lack high school math beyond year 10 sadly. I managed to teach myself chemistry and get high distinctions but I couldn't just..... And yewr 11 and 12 math. Without having done 11 or 12 math.

 

 

 

I have a mark high enough to get an interview into veterinary science at one uni only... And it would require me to get some vet nurse experience first. Plus an interview.

 

 

 

 

To be honest the thought of being a surgeon to either people or animals appeals to me. However, veterinary science is one if not the most difficult degree on offer ( a few medical students have confirmed it, they say it's like medicine only you have to learn the ins and outs of several types of species not just humans.

 

 

 

 

I did.... Not as well as I wanted to on my college entry score.. I only got 92. Put of a possible 99.95.

 

 

 

 

 

Ideally, I would have prefered to.have gotten into dentistry or veterinary science. Medical degree take too long lol, dental and vet are couple of years faster.

 

 

 

I know vets are not paid well either to.begin with. I would just most enjoy performing surgery and dealing with a variety of types of animals.

 

 

 

 

Rather than re do.my entry score, you can just get distinctions (straight distinctons with a high one thrown in and no mere credits) and you can actually transfer into dentistry or veterinary science. But you need the interview......

 

 

 

 

I am.still reeling from only.getting 92 but yeah only the density or veterinary science would have appealed more.than podiatry...

 

If i had 99.95 I would put dentistry or.veterinary science first and podiatry as a third choice.........

[pureinheart]

haha thanks

 

I am fairly nervous about BOTH degrees.

 

I have been told that podiatry is VERY difficult! At my Uni, it is a four year degree but condensed into THREE years. It is extremely full on I have been told.

 

I am a "good" nervous I suppose. I am consumed with a nervous excitement, and a " omg it will probably be so hard" type of nervous.....

 

I will definitely need to prepare before the semester starts - I would need to buy some anatomy and physiology basics DVD'S and learn the basics to make the course more bearable for when we have to learn the hard stuff.....

 

Medical imaging appeals to me more as a career - it would be a more interesting job, I love the idea of pushing buttons all day and being in charge of ensuring that patients have the best quality images....

 

I would also have the scope to pursue a career in sonography if I did well, which is extremely well paid and has a shortage....

 

I also love the idea of a podiatry career. Medical imaging is just a teeny bit more interesting to me. But it has less prospects for employment, is located far away from where I live and has far greater competition among the student cohort than podiatry.

 

 

 

There has been a severe shortage of professional development placements in medical imaging since 2012 or maybe even prior.....

 

I am a little too uncomfortable with that notion at this stage, for me to seriously put down diagnostic radiography as my first choice. I mean, I am still fearful that I would have like... a 50% shot at NEVER getting employment.......

 

Both decent paying, interesting enough careers to me.

 

Oh Lord, please scratch that idea of doing both. Please don't put too much pressure on yourself because I know in the end you will succeed. You have the drive and the intellect- probably more than you realize.

 

I'm so glad to hear you're going to stay at home, or in your home town to go to school. Family is everything and I hate to see you have to go overseas to work...what a decision you have.

 

Just take care of YOU and stay with your family as much as you can because it will all work out even if it looks like it won't...

[Hope Shimmers]

I know you aren't in the US but here podiatry is very tough to get into. You have to take (and do very well in) medical-school level inorganic and organic chemistry, quantitative analysis, physics, and biology. Very competitive. And many schools require you to take the MCAT (test required to apply to medical schools) and report the scores. I don't know if you have done that? I didn't read the last few pages of responses.

[iiiii]

If you ever do consider this, please try to get as much vet and animal experience before you do it so you can get a good sense of how the work makes you feel. It's a difficult job, emotionally, and sometimes dealing with difficult clients drains you and kills your self esteem, so finding the work itself fulfilling is a must or you're screwed.

 

Yes. Vet is, in many ways, a crap career choice. I love my job, but if you're even considering becoming a vet, do go into it with your eyes wide open.

 

1. There is an oversupply of new graduate vets in the USA (and soon, there will likely be an oversupply in Australia), so you will have to compete for a job.

 

2. The wages are low compared to the financial investment you make getting the degree.

 

3. The hours can be nasty - regular unpaid overtime and unpaid nights on call is the norm for most vet jobs.

 

4. It's 5 years for a vet degree, but if you wish to specialise, you can add 4 to 5 more years on top of that.

 

5. We've got one of the highest suicide rates of any profession - because it's an extremely stressful job. Animals die. The hours suck. And the clients can be extremely difficult. After all you don't need to be nice, financially solvent, or even sane, to own an animal.

[Leigh 87]

I know you aren't in the US but here podiatry is very tough to get into. You have to take (and do very well in) medical-school level inorganic and organic chemistry, quantitative analysis, physics, and biology. Very competitive. And many schools require you to take the MCAT (test required to apply to medical schools) and report the scores. I don't know if you have done that? I didn't read the last few pages of responses.

 

 

 

It is a very tough degree but you don't need to sit any tests. Too few students are doing the course and therefore the demand has not yet dictated interviews or tests beyond a high school entrance score.

 

I think it is a little known secret here in Aus, it is a fantastic little degree with great employment prospects that doesn't require any tests or strict entry requirement because too few people want to deal with feet, and if they do, they assume an orthopaedic doctor is the better way to go:lmao:

 

My friend who did medicine in her home country for two years, found podiatry too full on and challenging. So I would have my work cut out for me.

 

I am hoping podiatrist become more and more legislated to prescribe drubs and inject patients/do larger surgeries or assist in podiatric larger scale surgeries.

[Leigh 87]

Yes. Vet is, in many ways, a crap career choice. I love my job, but if you're even considering becoming a vet, do go into it with your eyes wide open.

 

1. There is an oversupply of new graduate vets in the USA (and soon, there will likely be an oversupply in Australia), so you will have to compete for a job.

 

2. The wages are low compared to the financial investment you make getting the degree.

 

3. The hours can be nasty - regular unpaid overtime and unpaid nights on call is the norm for most vet jobs.

 

4. It's 5 years for a vet degree, but if you wish to specialise, you can add 4 to 5 more years on top of that.

 

5. We've got one of the highest suicide rates of any profession - because it's an extremely stressful job. Animals die. The hours suck. And the clients can be extremely difficult. After all you don't need to be nice, financially solvent, or even sane, to own an animal.

 

 

 

Yep I have read all that and more! About the misery of "life as a vet"(student AND grad:lmao:)

 

It is very poor pay for the amount of debt you incur and degree of difficulty of the degree. Not to mention you study two years longer than your peers doing a regular bachelor and it takes longer to pay debt off.

 

It still looks like a great career. It would be fantastic to have the skills and professionalism to conduct surgeries. How amazing.

 

It is NOT the sort of field I would do for money.

[Leigh 87]

Oh Lord, please scratch that idea of doing both. Please don't put too much pressure on yourself because I know in the end you will succeed. You have the drive and the intellect- probably more than you realize.

 

I'm so glad to hear you're going to stay at home, or in your home town to go to school. Family is everything and I hate to see you have to go overseas to work...what a decision you have.

 

Just take care of YOU and stay with your family as much as you can because it will all work out even if it looks like it won't...

 

 

 

Thanks. You are so kind.

 

I feel like a bit of a dummy with my score of 92 among many younger new high school grads who get mid to high 90's.

[Leigh 87]

By the way,

 

There is a masters of diagnostic radiography.

 

You can do any bachelor degree and then be eligible.

 

When the market picks up for it, and there is a demand for diagnostic radiography grads, I can always do the masters after I have been.working as a podiatrist for.. However long.

[Sugarkane]

I can totally relate. Sounds like you're going through the mid 20s life crisis too. Sometimes I envy women from 50+ years ago. It was easier. Options were teacher, nurse, model actress, secretary, flight attendant. If you did anything outside these things it was out of the norm. Now there's too much choice.

[Leigh 87]

I went to the podiatry information session. A leader in the field (with her Phd of course) talked to a small group of us.

 

I am already obsessed about the material and I am reading up on foot ailments and disorders. I have found that because I have always been passionate about disease and disorders (I read fairly extensively about them regularly as it stands), that podiatry deals with a lot of areas I am already very much enthused by.

 

The first year is entirely biomedical, anatomy and physiology based. These have always been my main areas of interest, hence why I opted to do a dietetics degree in 2011 - it also contains those same subjects. I believe I am most suited to these degrees - opposed to the allied health science degrees and medical degrees that are physics heavy such as medical imaging, sonography and optometry. I am not going to bother looking into medical radiation as after talking to a few people IN the industry including a couple of new grads, I have decided that I am not that passionate about the study material - it is physics based and I have never even done physics, I am not sure if I am good at or enjoy physics and so it probably isn't wise to do a physics orientated degree.

 

They are taking on more and more podiatric surgeons and they connect students to podiatric surgeons - we can over sea foot and ankle operations for our own interest. I will definitely try to make contacts with a surgeon as I want to go into podiatric surgery. If you do a masters in podiatry (2 years) and form a relationship with a surgeon, they can take you on and after 1000 hours of supervised surgery, you can become a podiatric surgeon. Becoming a surgeon is my ultimate dream. You can work as a podiatrist during the masters and subsequent surgery supervised training. In fact, you have to work as a practicing podiatrist throughout the masters.

 

Average starting salaries post grad are 55 - 60K AUD. It is one of the highest paying fields for new grads. Although this is not the only driving force behind me studying podiatry; I happy to be very interested in the actual course content too! Although you don't have to wait long after graduating to earn the 100K, you just opt to work in a private practice (plenty of work nationwide in private practices), and you choose to take on a lot of patients if you really want a high income.

 

 

 

 

 

All in all, I was very excited and impressed with the degree. It is the only degree in Australia that offers an accelerated three year/instead of four year degree in podiatry.

[Leigh 87]

I also talked via phone to the local podiatrist who works at my doctors practice I am a patient of.

 

She was a relatively new grad and she talked to me about her day to day job.

 

You specialise in an area of your choosing, for instance; sports injuries, doing minor toenail surgeries/ wart removal and a few other minor surgeries or being an assistant for actual podiatric surgeons, you can opt to do paediatric, or work with older Australians.

 

Making orthotics is an area that really interests me too. That and getting as much minor surgery experience as possible.

 

Some pods work two days a week in one speciality, and then 3 days a week in another; they do this to inject variety into their day to day careers.

 

I am officially foot/lower extremity obsessed.

 

It is such a little known secret, podiatry; it has an extremely high employment rate, a high starting salary and areas to specialise in to keep things interesting.

 

Easy to get into podiatry, it has LOW entry rank because it is not popular/people don't tend to know about podiatry being offered as a degree. Low popularity = high employment rate due to less amounts of grads coming through in droves the way they do in physiotherapy.

 

You can also move anywhere Australia wide as there is always work anywhere for pods, as well as overseas besides the USA (where Pod grads are all at surgery level).

[varonny]

For me, university was a means to an end. A pretty fun one at that

The training course I'm on right now required me to have a bachelors degree before I could even apply. So, I left high school having gotten average grades, and went and did an arts degree majoring in Japanese and film & tv studies, did some kick ass electives in witchcraft & demonology, medieval heresy, the supernatural etc.

 

My entire time at uni was 'I need a degree to do my dream job. I'm going to do something fun and that I enjoy'. I was in no way thinking about what would happen if I didn't make it. Well, my arts degree that heaps of people would scoff at got me into my training course, which is half the battle, and now I'm half way through my training - doing pretty well - and I'm still not having thoughts about 'what if I fail....'

 

Dreams are worth following

[Leigh 87]

There are COLLEGE courses in witchcraft and demonology?

 

I would totes sign up! How hilarious. Not to mention interesting and whacky!

 

What sort of course did you sign up for, Varonny? Was it a training course that lead to a position? Or was the position not "guaranteed"?

 

Did you consider or even research how easy /difficult employment in said job, was?

 

I quit dietetics because there is little work available and the industry is in total crisis when it comes to new grads - less than half got jobs and they all had to go into private practice because there were far too many grads in comparison to available jobs. I hated the sales element to personal training and would prefer a job where I gain employment and get paid; without having to go out and get my own clients. Although word of mouth and dispensing my business cards as well as having a professional linked in profile is fantastic and essential to me, I would NOT like having to go and find ALL my own clientele. No thanks.

 

Then again, what if I WAS hell bent on becoming a dietician? Honestly, if I was far more passionate about becoming a dietician MUCH MORE SO than I was with ANY other allied health career, I WOULD DO IT; hands down. In fact, I recently advised a young man to pursue dietetics because he was so passionate about it! There are still jobs available for people who are undyingly passionate about the industry and have their heart SET on it.

 

With me, I am very passionate about abroad area; health science and medical science. Pharmacology, bioscience, biomechanics, immunology, to name a few top areas of interest to me. I had to narrow it down by demand/job prospects, and whether the degree was physics/math based (pharmacy and optometry, and also medical imaging/sonography) or chemistry/biomedical/biology based (physiotherapy, podiatry and occupational therapy).

 

I felt well, since I am no more passionate about one field than the other really, I may as well go for the field of work that has the best employment prospects and pay check.

 

I liked that diagnostic radiographers had a lot to do with working with images that leads to a doctor diagnosing patients; areas of study covers the study of diseases. Better still, radiation therapy appeals because I would love the idea of giving patient care to oncology patients. I also LOVED the thought of getting to use technology and operate machinery and potentially going on to become a sonographer. Pharmacy was also a degree I KNOW I would have enjoyed immensely; I love chemistry and I am beginning to realise I enjoy math a great deal. However, I would not be math ready to the level pharmacy requires by frst semester of next year PLUS, the job market is CRAP. Crap pay, near impossible to get a job as a pharmacist. Sadly, the medical imaging degree is physics based/with a strong physics backbone. Pharmacy even more so (with the math, not physics). I already know a enjoy chemistry and biology and also biomedical subjects, and I am not sure if I am good at physics or math, as I have only started on the basics with my tutor and so far I really enjoy it

 

I want to start study ASAP at a college level and just do not have the time to train up in the areas of physics and math, for degrees that have poor employment prospects. To me, a poor job market is a deal breaker, since there are other allied health careers I am still pretty interested in!

 

 

 

 

 

 

If time and age were not taken into consideration, and employment prospects for ALL allied health and medical careers was SKY HIGH?

 

I would honestly have picked pharmacy, followed by radiation therapy and nuclear medicine OR podiatry as my second choices (I like how podiatrist work autonomously, yet I do enjoy working in a team as medical imaging professionals do).

 

I am just not passionate ENOUGH about "having" to become a pharmacist to: do a 6 month math and chemistry course in order to prepare, and to deal with the VERY competitive and dire job market and the VERY low pay for people who ARE lucky enough to get work........

[Leigh 87]

The degree of passion I have for each of the allied health careers/ modes of study, were not in stark enough contrast for me to ignore employment trends and salaries.

 

I am only a "little", about 20% MORE passionate about the area of study that is pharmacy. Maybe 20 or 25% MORE passionate than I am about podiatry or medical imaging.

 

The degree of interest I feel between podiatry and medical imaging is ... negligible now. I think I would prefer working on my own after giving it more consideration.

 

I would still make a good dietician and would enjoy the mode of study but I would rather be hands on in either prescribing medications (which pharmacists and podiatrists can do) AND also be hands on (in podiatry).

 

So; Pharmacy, podiatry, veterinary science/surgery, medical imaging, followed by occupational therapy and dietetics.

 

^^^^^ Those are my areas of most interest if I had a million dollars and there were enough employment prospects in all fields.

 

People say go for gold and follow your passions but travel and a comfortable lifestyle is also a passion of mine, LOL. That means getting employed ASAP in a professional job and at a decent wage.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Um, in the USA podiatrist carry out surgery. Not so in Aus - they just prescribe some meds, carry out minor nail surgery and administer local anaesthetic, make orthotics for clients/patients, and diagnose and treat food conditions.

 

I want a hands on job that involves heavy responsibility such as being able to prescribe medication and diagnosing and treating conditions.

[Hope Shimmers]

I would honestly have picked pharmacy, followed by radiation therapy and nuclear medicine OR podiatry as my second choices (I like how podiatrist work autonomously, yet I do enjoy working in a team as medical imaging professionals do).

 

I am just not passionate ENOUGH about "having" to become a pharmacist to: do a 6 month math and chemistry course in order to prepare, and to deal with the VERY competitive and dire job market and the VERY low pay for people who ARE lucky enough to get work........

 

It's quite a bit different for pharmacists here in the US. I have a PharmD (clinical doctorate in pharmacy) and it is now the basic degree for pharmacists here. It requires at least 6 years of very intense science/math at the medicine level. The starting salary is high (about $120,000 US/year).

 

I think I told you that I have that degree and went on to get an MD from there. A lot of those classes (anatomy, physiology) overlap actually.

 

I think that podiatry here in the US is different from what you describe too. Here it pretty much requires the same credentials as a PharmD or MD would have. Podiatry is about the foot, but diseases that impact the foot are systemic and that knowledge is required to treat foot-related aspects of diabetes, for instance. So there is a need to understand physiology of diseases at the level of a physician in order to be a podiatrist (here, at least). It's not just about cutting toenails, etc - diseases that affect the extremities (eg, the foot) result from systemic metabolic diseases that affect virtually every other part of the body, and that level of knowledge is necessary.

Edited August 18, 2014 by Hope Shimmers

[Leigh 87]

I would definitely need to enrol in a year long preparatory course in math and chemistry if I were to go on to do pharmacy.

 

Once you have a degree and career in an allied health field, you can get a masters in pharmacy in a two year span (plus one year for me in preparatory courses). Of course I would check with industry insiders and recruiters and ask whether or not the two year masters is as highly regarded as a four year bachelors degree! No use in doing a masters if the bachelors students will get the jobs ahead of me.

 

Here it is a four year degree and there are literally no jobs around, and new grads get paid the same rate as food servers. Due to the large companies setting up discount pharmacies, they all employ pharmacy students for the absolute minimum wage rather than employing an experienced pharmacist.

 

The problem would possible be averted to some extent, if the degree was six years and required such a level of expertise that you HAD to get a job that paid above minimum wage..... Then again, veterinary surgeons here get paid 40K per year, when nurses occupational therapist and other 3 or four year long degrees in allied health start on 53K minimum.......

 

I got the marks to get into the degree (pharmacy) so maybe I have potential one day to go on to do the masters....

 

It is funny how degrees like podiatry and pharmacy are shortened by at least two years here.... it is good in that new grads can work sooner, albeit take on far less responsibility than you more accomplished and knowledgeable 6 year grads! I do know that in order to work in the USA, I would need to do a two year preparatory course or something similar! Where as I can go on to work in Canada and the UK without any further studying. If I were to do a masters in podiatric surgery which us two or three years in addition to my 3 year bachelor (well it is a four year degree condensed) , then I would be able to work in the USA as a podiatrist with a small bridging course.

 

 

 

Either surgery, a masters in pharmacy or medical imaging, OR physiotherapy is on the cards eventually, I cannot see myself just getting the bachelors degree and staying in the same job for life, I would want to better myself and live life to the full and achieve my dreams.

[Leigh 87]

Also,

 

What are the entry requirements to get into podiatry and pharmacy? In the USA of course.....

 

We have a year 12 Exam called the HSC (Higher School Certificate) and we then get an ATAR, aka, the university/college entrance rank.

 

Here at my Uni, anyone who scored 87% on their year 12 exam gets into pharmacy.

 

The 87% cut of is based mostly on demand. Not the degree of difficulty.

 

Case in point, law has a 90 ATAR cut off. It is popular and hence has a high ranking due to the competition among students to get in...

 

Medical Imaging, the diagnostic radiography program, has a 92.3 ATAR minimum limit! Where as radiation therapy and nuclear medicine have entry requirements in the 80's as they are LESS popular the diagnostic radiography.

 

Podiatry is not a popular degree and therefore only has a 73% cut off ranking. It is the number one health science/medical degree that results in swift employment besides oral health therapy (dental hygienists)

 

It also differs from University to University; higher ranking Universities with more students, have more competition and hence higher ATARs.

 

If I want, I can get into law or pharmacy at my uni as it is not located in a popular area nor is it a top 8 university (but it is still very good and well known for certain degrees). However I am not competitive enough with my mark of 92.3 at Sydney, Melbourne or Australian Natural Uni or UNSW, because their ATAR for law and pharmacy is WAY high.

 

My university is known for its podiatry course, it is the only University in Australia that condenses a four year degree into three years, albeit a tremendous amount of hard work is involved and we were advised to NOT have jobs beyond 15 hours a week.

 

 

 

 

 

Thousands of hopefuls that want to get into law and don't get he 90 + marks in their higher school certificate do arts or social sciences for a year and then get a good enough GPA to switch into law.

 

I have seen pretty dim students go to the end of the earth just to get into a degree POST graduate, because they just do not have the natural aptitude to pass.

 

I see people pursuing their "passions" often, but at what cost? You actually have to have some adeptness along with passion!

[Hope Shimmers]

Also,

 

What are the entry requirements to get into podiatry and pharmacy? In the USA of course.....

 

The Doctor of Pharmacy degree is a postgraduate professional degree lasting 4 years. Almost all students have a 4-year undergraduate degree before applying because of the competitiveness, but the minimum requirement to apply is 90 hours of coursework in advanced math and sciences (calculus, organic and inorganic chemistry, quantitative analysis, physiology, anatomy, biology, genetics). There is an entrance exam which is similar to that of the MCAT (for admission to medical school) but it's called the PCAT. That score has to be very high to even be considered for application. For awhile now it has been harder to get into pharmacy school than medical school here.

 

So it is not 6 years total, but actually 4-5 years of undergraduate work in most cases and 4-5 years of pharmacy school to get the Doctor of Pharmacy degree. From there most people do a 1- to 2- year residency or fellowship (I did a 2-year fellowship in clinical research).

 

Here is what I googled regarding podiatry in the US: In the United States, Doctors of Podiatric Medicine (DPM) are physicians and surgeons who practice on the lower extremities, primarily on feet and ankles The preparatory education of most podiatrists includes four years of undergraduate work, followed by four years in an accredited podiatric medical school, followed by a three or four year hospital-based surgical residency. Podiatrists are licensed in all 50 states.

[varonny]

At my uni a lot a weird courses were offered under 'history'. It was great!

 

I'm training to be an air traffic controller. It's sort of job offered if you pass everything and pass the final check. It's 16 months of hard work in the college, which if you pass you go into final field training, and then you have to pass a check to be able to be a controller. The college alone has a high fail rate, so it's definitely a hard course. I knew what I was getting into, though Things seem to be going well so far!

 

You're in Aus? I know a few people in pharmacy. My friend was really lucky to get a contract with a local hospital. Someone had to move up north to be able to get work, and others are just working at chemists. I think there were quite a few people in the same class that have struggled to get any work. It's tough to get work these days, no matter what field you're in.

[iiiii]

My good friend is an air traffic controller. She works very reasonable hours for very decent money, has great job security, and seems to find the job pretty stimulating and enjoyable.

[varonny]

Yeah, I'm really looking forward to it! (If everything works out...) even just in my training stage I'm enjoying myself and feel like this will be a career for life for me.

[Leigh 87]

Hope Shimmers - Podiatry here is pretty much the same - we have to get a post grad degree that takes about as long as a medical degree in order to be a podiatric surgeon.

 

However, most students just finish after 3 or 4 years ( my uni condenses it into a year degree), and come out with a bachelors degree that allows us to practice as a podiatrist MINUS major surgery!

 

My plan is to become a practicing podiatrist, save money and possibly start a family, and then when I have the means, enrol into the post grad podiatric medicine degree.

 

I am 28 and need to simply graduate in three years from now and start earning a decent wage (which podiatrist here get even without the surgery post grad degree). The "fun stuff" of "my dreams" comes later......... Supporting me and a new hypothetical family (which I will have once I graduate) is more important than racking up MORE debt to study MORE, when my child bearing years dictate that I will have to have a child soon after graduating from my basic 3 year bachelors degree......

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My ULTIMATE goal is to become a surgeon of the lower extremities, OR to go on to get a posy grad in pharmacy or physiotherapy.

 

Pharmacy: I would act as a practicing podiatrist part time, and a pharmacist part time; great variety, would keep life interesting.

 

Physiotherapy: I would be able to open my own podiatry/physiotherapy practice. Many podiatrists open their own practices later in their lives......

 

I REALLY prefer the idea of being a foot surgeon as you have less risk of killing a person - I could NOT handle operating on hearts and brains!

 

The only last "passion" I have is weather systems and meteorology. Something I have obsessed over since I was a child, however, I know better than to pursue that because there is little work available in science unless you are a PHD level, which I would love to do once I am financially secure.

 

 

 

 

 

 

My first career needs to be well paid, secure and stable. Which is podiatry in Australia. I am 28 and need to take some responsibility. Not spend longer than necessary in studying post grad stuff when I can make decent money with a bachelors.

 

Once I can support a family and have ample savings, then I can start doing a masters in.. whatever, PART time whilst I work full time so support my family.