if anyone can hear me out and maybe suggest something, i'd really appreciate it. I don't really know what to do.
For starters, I've always wanted to be a doctor for as long as I can remember. The pay wasn't the only reason- I like helping people, and I want a rewarding job where I feel as though I've made a difference in someone's life.
when i graduated highschool, i wanted to try pre-med, but my parents discouraged me from going that route because they said the cost of education to be a doctor is astronomical. With that being said, I chose not to further my education in preparation for getting into a med school, but instead enrolled in business administration. After starting in that, I really felt like I wasn't on the right track. The career wouldn't be rewarding to me, and I didn't want to sit infront of a PC all day.
It was then I started to become interested in nursing. the pay is good, but more importantly I would be able to help people. I applied and was accepted into a registered nursing program and was thrilled :)
I'm currently in the middle of my second year. my grades are good, and I'm feeling pretty good about it. But now here comes my problem.
I was talking with another person in my program, and we got on the topic on how i wanted to be a doctor originally. he said "why don't you go for it then? it only costs $3000 more than what we're paying right now". so i checked out the college of medicine in my province, and sure enough, it's a little over $10,000 per year. Currently for nursing, Im paying $7300 a year.
From that moment on, I've been feeling horrible. The only reason i didn't go pre-med was because I thought the costs were gigantic and there would be no way I'd get loans for it. Now i find out, 2 years into my nursing program, that med school is affordable for me. herein lies the problem
My grades are really good. I could make it through pre-med if I really tried, but I've already spent 2 years in THIS program and acquired $12,000 of debt.
So I'm thinking that I'm either going to stay in the program for another two years, graduate and work for a while then apply to pre-med, or quite the program, work a year to pay off loans and then try pre-med. I honestly don't know what to do. Should I really spend two more years of my life pursuing an education that I won't end up using in the long run?
Do I throw away 2 years of nursing education for my dream job? or do I stick with this program, and continue with pre-med after I graduate? In the chance that I don't make it in med school, I'd be able to resume working as a nurse which would be something I would like to do for a living. it's a nice job. but my heart was always set on being a doctor, and now that I know that's within reach I honestly have no idea what to do.
and I dont want anyone to think my view of nursing is something "below" medicine. I do not hold nursing in a lower light and think it's an awesome profession.
sorry for the LONG post- but if anyone has any advice for me, or has gone through a similiar experience, I'd really appreciate your input. I feel so lost and have no idea what I'm going to do about this.
