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 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.

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 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 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.

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.

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.