Should I choose to go into business or medicine?

Both fields have two pathways – to do something that matters and to realize how broken each field is or to remain in the private sector and get rick and delusional. Whatever you choose, stay true to yourself and get some values.

Assuming you live in the USA there is a whole lot of unsurety about what medicine will really be like 10 years from now when you might be getting ready to go into it. But let me tell you this, you don’t have to be a science major to go to medical school. Many of my classmates were not and I was a language major. So you can get a degree in many things and decide about medicine later.

Hmm, I guess so but does that still hold true even if I want to go into a top medical school such as Johns Hopkins?

Well that would make it appear that you have made your decision already. One thing I am willing to bet, a pre-med degree won’t get you into many top business schools.

In this country medicine is business. Try pharma sales.

Jeez! You have some really, really serious thinking to do, I think. If you are at this point in your life and have given equal thought and consideration to all your options and have narrowed things down to two choices, business or medicine, then you must have, of course, given these options a lot of thought, by definition. Honest to god, you’re talking about the rest of your life. What the hell do you want to do? If one choice seems as good as the other and you believe yourself to be intelligent and hardworking and committed and focused enough that you can be assured that you will accomplish either of these goals and aspirations equally well, it’s just a matter of you choosing which one you would prefer. You need too, I think, maybe, step back for a moment and think about what you’re good at, what you have an aptitude for, what will bring you want to accomplish, produce and contribute, experience and enjoy with say, the 40 years or so you will be spending in your chosen profession. Sorry, but there is no one who can answer that for you except you.

Only one thing to @sleepdoc‘s comment. There’s no reason you have to get into top medical schools like John’s Hopkins. There are plenty of fine lesser known medical schools out there. And besides, do you know what they call the worst student graduating from the worst medical school in the country? Doctor.

If you’re truly equally interested in both, I’d choose medicine. I mean, how many lives are you likely to save as a CEO?

I urge you to consider carefully what @lillycoyote says. Especially that only you can decide. And I’d wager—hope—there’s a tiny voice inside telling you which of the two paths is your true passion. One thing: this decision, critical as it is, isn’t irrevocable. You can always change your mind.

Keep the issues sequential. First, choose some colleges you love (plus a safety school), apply, see where you are accepted, and make your selection as to where to matriculate. Then read the course catalog and academic requirements, pick your freshman classes and work hard.

In most traditional Liberal Arts schools, you don’t declare a major until the end of the sophomore year.

My first husband majored in Anthropology at that university in Cambridge, MA and went on to the Business School across the Charles River. He needed analytical skills – critical thinking, and the ability to write concisely and clearly.

Take physics, organic chemistry and biology during your undergraduate years and see how you do.

And keep in mind that there are many career or professional paths that are neither business nor medicine.

If neither inflames your heart and demands your absolute and undivided attention then maybe neither is your passion. Follow your dreams, not the guidelines.

The only people who should do medicine are those who have a genuine concern for the needs of sick people. If you are considering doing it for the money, the profession does not need you; there are enough of them already. Medicine is a profession for people with a genuine calling to it. If that describes you, all the best with it. If you want to get rich, please go for business.