Ever since I took biology in my first year of high school I have loved the biological sciences and wanted to go to medical school. It is now my first year of college and now that I am living on my own I have started getting a better idea of how much money I need to live in my ideal circumstances (though I still have no idea).Cognitive learning disorder I am also starting to seriously look at the job market and I always want to plan for the worst just in case.

I realize my faults and I have come to terms that I am not a very good student.Cognitive learning disorder I either do really good in a class or fail miserably. I have never been competitive academically. I realize that realistically speaking I may end up not being competitive enough to get into any medical school.Cognitive learning disorder I also know for a fact that I would be walking into medical school with no financial assistance, nor any savings and would have to take out 100% of my living costs and tuition in loans or if I am lucky enough, scholarships.Cognitive learning disorder I am "blessed" with my families low income that I get a free ride with college from the government. I could get my bachelors for practically free.Cognitive learning disorder

I've been looking and keeping an eye out for jobs (that seem somewhat interesting to me) as if I had a BS in biology just to see what the job market is like now for someone that didn't get in medical school.Cognitive learning disorder from what I see, until I get anywhere from 3-5 years of experience I'm working temporary jobs (usually lasts a year) for about $10-$16 an hour, some of which are less than 30 hours a week.Cognitive learning disorder after I get that experience I can get salaried positions which appears to cap out at around > $50,000 a year unless I get lucky. I'm not too interested in getting a ph.D.Cognitive learning disorder I believe I would get pretty damn picky with my jobs in biology. I love the lab setting and microscopes and all that cool shit.

My other choice is computer science.Cognitive learning disorder I grew up with computers, I have family in at least IT (but I also have a bunch of doctors and nurses). Everything, from hardware to software has interested me and I have dabbled in a few programming language (I personally prefer C++).Cognitive learning disorder network stuff is pretty interesting but not my first choice. I live in washington so seattle would probably always be a good place to get a job after getting my degree.Cognitive learning disorder other than tech support I don't believe I would be too picky with my job, unlike biology.

I could technically do computer science pre-med but it would be very awkward schedule wise and it would mean only taking the bare essentials that medical schools require.Cognitive learning disorder how I would do on the MCAT with just the bare essentials is a scary thought. I could always get do an extra year of college if I am willing to take out loans (apparently my state grants would disappear after a quarter or two in 5th year).Cognitive learning disorder A small price to pay for still having a shot at your dreams.

Everything and everyone says that internships are a big deal in computer science and that programming projects will take up a good amount of your time.Cognitive learning disorder this presents the problem that I would have to try to balance that along with my volunteering, shadowing, and job if I wanted to be able to do anymore than pay rent and buy ramen.Cognitive learning disorder I also don't know how I will handle taking computer science courses while taking biochem and physics. It could possibly kill my GPA. Double majoring is in no way an option.Cognitive learning disorder I would be doing 7 (6 if I took tons of classes in the summers) years of college with how my school is set up. I would run out of financial aid and have tons of debt by then.Cognitive learning disorder

To me it looks like the problem is dreams vs. Security and how much of a risk I am willing to take. I guess all I can ask is what are people's experience with computer science or pre-med.Cognitive learning disorder am I seeing the job market for people with BS's in biology through thorny and broken glasses? What about BS in chemistry? Is the job market in computer science really as good as people say it is, especially if you aren't picky?Cognitive learning disorder I'm talking to my adviser and career services to see what my options are and to get more information but sometimes it is nice to talk to people whose job isn't to give advice.Cognitive learning disorder