Many of my friends plan to pursue professional degrees after they graduate. Among this group, the majority plans to attend medical school. Aside from the occasional “I want to help people” bit, most of them point to the stability of a career in medicine as their main motive.
A friend told me, “With the economy performing so badly, there’s always a risk of unemployment in the business sector and whatnot. Not so for medicine: The world will always need doctors.”
Turning my attention to another popular route, pharmacy school, I realize that the relevance of economic stability is even more apparent. Somehow, I find it hard to believe that people actually aspire to dispense prescription drugs for a living ““ really, how many kids actually say they want to become pharmacists when they grow up?
Not a whole lot, and certainly less than those who say they want to become police officers or astronauts. A good friend of mine tried to defend her decision to pursue a career in pharmacy by saying, “Pharmacy isn’t something you dream about doing, it’s just something that you do. Do you know how much pharmacists get paid?”
Economic pragmatism seems to be a loaded reason when it comes to pursuing professional degrees. True enough, it’s hard to argue against the fact that people such as lawyers and dentists probably have the most secure jobs across the board, considering how their specializations cater to the unique needs of the general populace. However, do the economic payoffs of these professional careers preclude the possibility that one could succeed in another field?
The simple answer is no.
Far too many students come into college with immediate plans of pursuing professional careers. It is not uncommon to come across freshmen who are so hell-bent on the fact that they’re pre-med or pre-pharm that they inevitably form biases against fields that they’ve never even explored before.
As I see it, aside from those who want these careers because of the job function, there are two other types of aspiring professionals. The first of the two, I’d like to call “the enthusiast” ““ those zealots that view their pursued professions as the superior choice compared with other fields of expertise. The second of these, I’d aptly name “the reluctant professional” ““ either those who get inordinately high grades to the point that graduate school becomes an obvious route or those who regard the economic stability gained through these degrees to be far too tempting to pass up.
To these two types, I have the same advice: Expand your horizons.
I implore those who fall under the first category to question whether their choice of professional career is indeed right for them. It seems unlikely that the high school experience could form such strong convictions, when one hasn’t even been exposed to the vast career options available in the world. General Education classes are your friends.
While many deem the GE requirements to be a waste of time and effort, I see them as opportunities to discover other career possibilities. Taking a class or two about subjects different from your own area of focus could do wonders. Who knows, an attractive career switch might just be around the corner.
To the reluctant professionals, I say the same. If you are not passionate about a career route, chances are there is probably something out there that suits you infinitely better. From personal experience, I tend to do better at something I enjoy doing, so I believe that a positive correlation between enjoyment and success is not unfounded.
And there is always the dangerous risk of burning out later on: Persisting in work that you do not derive pleasure from could lead to a life of profound regret and misery. When it comes to monetary concern, you should bear in mind that professionals are not the only ones who earn huge sums of money. In fact, while a professional career might keep you from being dirt-poor, it’s not going to make you rich overnight either.
I am not condemning professional careers. I have tremendous respect for those who have gained the conviction to pursue a specific line of work. If one feels strongly about a profession, then by all means, go for it. What I’m advocating is for budding professionals to ascertain this conviction themselves, lest they regret it later in life.
The career possibilities are only limited by what you’re willing to get yourself into. Break the preconceived notion of self, discover what else life has to offer, and you might just find that there is more to yourself than meets the eye.
If you’re still convinced that GEs should be banned and that everyone should become (insert profession here), then e-mail Ong at rong@media.ucla.edu. Send general comments to viewpoint@media.ucla.edu.