Parental obsession with STEM & Medicine

[Anonymous]

I wish I could have just been mediocre as a kid. I’d probably be able to study things I was interested in and be in an interesting career, instead of getting pushed into accelerated BS-MD.

I had no idea what medicine is, in theory or practice, only been to a general practitioner a couple of times in my whole life of 17 years and never put foot in a hospital. There was not a single doctor in my family or social circle.

This was pre-internet and pre-tv cable era so research wasn't easy and internships weren't required.

Make sure, your kids are picking majors and tracks they like, doing internships and shadowing to understand what it entails and have flexibility to change paths before it becomes too expensive to switch. Don't ask them to solely base their decisions on income.

[Anonymous]

Why do you assume kids aren't doing those things? Income should be a huge factor. I wish I picked a profession with a better income.

[Anonymous]

You never would’ve been accepted with that application today. Schools now have a lot of med EC requirements — they want to see that you’re interested and know what you’re getting into.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wish I could have just been mediocre as a kid. I’d probably be able to study things I was interested in and be in an interesting career, instead of getting pushed into accelerated BS-MD.

I had no idea what medicine is, in theory or practice, only been to a general practitioner a couple of times in my whole life of 17 years and never put foot in a hospital. There was not a single doctor in my family or social circle.

This was pre-internet and pre-tv cable era so research wasn't easy and internships weren't required.

Make sure, your kids are picking majors and tracks they like, doing internships and shadowing to understand what it entails and have flexibility to change paths before it becomes too expensive to switch. Don't ask them to solely base their decisions on income.

Says a doctor making a fat salary who *could* otherwise have been a barista.

[Anonymous]

Kudos to your parents that made your life. The success that you think is yours, is actually theirs. Are you unhappy? It is not because you are a doctor. It is because you lack imagination. At least you are not a burden on society and your parents.

Good job, parents!! You turned a sow's ear into a silk purse!!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why do you assume kids aren't doing those things? Income should be a huge factor. I wish I picked a profession with a better income.

Income and work life balance are really the only important things in a career. Most people will never find work interesting.

OP, I find your post hilarious. If you were a mediocre student, you definitely wouldn’t have “studied what interested you and ended up in an interesting career.” You most likely would’ve ended up getting a BA in a useless liberal arts field and being in an unfulfilling job as a PM at some lame NPO. That’s peanuts compared to doctor salary.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why do you assume kids aren't doing those things? Income should be a huge factor. I wish I picked a profession with a better income.

Income and work life balance are really the only important things in a career. Most people will never find work interesting.

OP, I find your post hilarious. If you were a mediocre student, you definitely wouldn’t have “studied what interested you and ended up in an interesting career.” You most likely would’ve ended up getting a BA in a useless liberal arts field and being in an unfulfilling job as a PM at some lame NPO. That’s peanuts compared to doctor salary.

+1000

Most jobs are boring and uninteresting. At least medicine pays well.

[Anonymous]

You can still do anything else that you want. Stop complaining you sound pathetic.

[Anonymous]

What would have been your interest if you weren’t in medicine.

[Anonymous]

We are scientists and doctors, and we won't push our kids in any particular path. Our oldest is interested in international law and economics. Our second doesn't know what he wants to do yet, which is fine.

What I like about STEM disciplines is the logical reasoning that students practice. It makes for more rational adults. I feel they are less likely, as a group (of course, there are individual exceptions!) to be led astray in conspiracy theories, or participate in social judgment tribalism, such as cancel culture reactions.
But there are other ways to reach this: law is one of them (yes, I know, there are crazy lawyer politicians in full display in Congress).

Anyway. For me it's the intellectual rigor during training that's important. Not the end job.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wish I could have just been mediocre as a kid. I’d probably be able to study things I was interested in and be in an interesting career, instead of getting pushed into accelerated BS-MD.

I had no idea what medicine is, in theory or practice, only been to a general practitioner a couple of times in my whole life of 17 years and never put foot in a hospital. There was not a single doctor in my family or social circle.

This was pre-internet and pre-tv cable era so research wasn't easy and internships weren't required.

Make sure, your kids are picking majors and tracks they like, doing internships and shadowing to understand what it entails and have flexibility to change paths before it becomes too expensive to switch. Don't ask them to solely base their decisions on income.

I know doctors who did MBA and transitioned into VC. You can teach in a medical school, do research etc. You need to be creative.

I studied engineering but never knew what that path truly meant but I don't begrudge my parents for wanting me to be in STEM. My education has provided a great life and then I studied and took courses in subjects I was interested in.

For kids who have no idea what to do and have an aptitute to study STEM, it's not a bad idea to start there, STEM skills are very transferable to many fields.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wish I could have just been mediocre as a kid. I’d probably be able to study things I was interested in and be in an interesting career, instead of getting pushed into accelerated BS-MD.

I had no idea what medicine is, in theory or practice, only been to a general practitioner a couple of times in my whole life of 17 years and never put foot in a hospital. There was not a single doctor in my family or social circle.

This was pre-internet and pre-tv cable era so research wasn't easy and internships weren't required.

Make sure, your kids are picking majors and tracks they like, doing internships and shadowing to understand what it entails and have flexibility to change paths before it becomes too expensive to switch. Don't ask them to solely base their decisions on income.

You would have been even more insufferable in that case.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wish I could have just been mediocre as a kid. I’d probably be able to study things I was interested in and be in an interesting career, instead of getting pushed into accelerated BS-MD.

I had no idea what medicine is, in theory or practice, only been to a general practitioner a couple of times in my whole life of 17 years and never put foot in a hospital. There was not a single doctor in my family or social circle.

This was pre-internet and pre-tv cable era so research wasn't easy and internships weren't required.

Make sure, your kids are picking majors and tracks they like, doing internships and shadowing to understand what it entails and have flexibility to change paths before it becomes too expensive to switch. Don't ask them to solely base their decisions on income.

Says a doctor making a fat salary who *could* otherwise have been a barista.

NP here. This is exactly the issue - it is not one extreme or the other. Let your DC choose what they excel at, not what you want them to do for a living, in order to support YOU in your old age. SELFISH.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wish I could have just been mediocre as a kid. I’d probably be able to study things I was interested in and be in an interesting career, instead of getting pushed into accelerated BS-MD.

I had no idea what medicine is, in theory or practice, only been to a general practitioner a couple of times in my whole life of 17 years and never put foot in a hospital. There was not a single doctor in my family or social circle.

This was pre-internet and pre-tv cable era so research wasn't easy and internships weren't required.

Make sure, your kids are picking majors and tracks they like, doing internships and shadowing to understand what it entails and have flexibility to change paths before it becomes too expensive to switch. Don't ask them to solely base their decisions on income.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Kudos to your parents that made your life. The success that you think is yours, is actually theirs. Are you unhappy? It is not because you are a doctor. It is because you lack imagination. At least you are not a burden on society and your parents.

Good job, parents!! You turned a sow's ear into a silk purse!!![/quote]
Harsh, yet hilarious!