It seems to be the standard question I get right after I say “I am a biology major.” It gets asked as though I forgot to add something or my sentence hadn’t ended yet. If they don’t ask about pre-med, they elude to it when they ask “so what are you going to do with that?” as though there won’t be a job in the entire field of biology when I leave school. Every question seems to lead in the same direction, right towards medical school. The questions keep coming, but the only difference now is that my answer has completely changed.
I spent my first two years of college really excited about being a pre-med student. I had used my entire senior year of high school to get ready for a career in medicine: I had gotten my Certified Nursing Assistant license, I got EMT-Basic certified, I had started working at the local hospital and I had declared a my intentions for my coming year at college. I kept this up for my entire freshman and Sophomore more years, thinking about the MCAT and dreaming of what my specialty would be. I was really convinced that I was going to medical school, right up until the day that I wasn’t convinced anymore.
Medicine is a field that is regarded very highly, especially here in the United States. Doctors are revered for their willingness to help those who cannot help themselves and portrayed in movies and TV shows as helpful, kind, compassionate people who are smart enough to solve even the most troubling problems that plague our human existence. For a young person, pursuing a career in medicine is a noble journey, and it draws a lot of praise from family and friends, as I have experienced firsthand. The problem is that on skills inventories and career interest tests the field of medicine often overshadows things like the lab sciences or professional research. Being seen as someone who is passionate about science isn’t as cool to a high school senior as someone who saves lives.
For two years I grappled with this problem. I knew I enjoyed science, a lot, but I felt that my options for actually getting a job were slim unless I chose a career in medicine. Thankfully my experiences with my professors painted a different picture for me. Almost every professor I have had in the biology and chemistry department has talked to their classes about graduate school. They talk about how doing research is just as noble a cause as medicine, and they open up people’s eyes to the fact that there are more options out there than just becoming a physician. I realized I could still be Dr. Houser, but I could also do something I was passionate about and truly enjoyed.
I will talk more in the future about the ways we can get young people interested in doing science, but what I wanted to do here is tell you that my story is not unlike a lot of people. The vast majority of college freshman who are majoring in biology, chemistry, or psychology would call themselves pre-med students. My aim isn’t to bash the field of medicine, I don’t want to make it seem like every person who has ever been good at science should do research, but I think so often we lose sight of our potential if we become too focused on someone else’s expectations of us. A majority of what I talk about and write about outside of reporting cool science stuff will be about how people can become involved in science, and how we can get young people excited about doing science.
I will leave you with one final thought:
“Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” – Albert Einstein
