November 4, 2014
After Figuring out that I would like to spend my future career in the medical field, based on my strong desire to help people and hearing my parent’s suggestions on how they see me becoming a doctor, I found three occupations that I think will best fit my aptitude: orthopedic surgeon, anesthesiologist, and pharmacist.
After researching these careers based on salary, level of education, future prospects, aptitude, and job benefits, I would choose orthopedic surgeon because I have keen awareness of my surroundings; I have always had great interest in the healing of bones, and my dream is to one day work with professional athletes.
The comparison chart below illustrates the criteria that I considered in making my career choice:
Orthopedic Surgeon Anesthesiologist Pharmacist
Salary – Earning Potential
Median pay per year: $187,200
Mean annual wage: $235,070
Median pay per year: $116,670
Level of Education
Doctors or professional degree; on-the-job training: internship/ residency
Four years of undergraduate program, and then 4 years or medical school; one year in an internship and three more in a residency program.
Required to have a Doctor of Pharmacy degree; following PhD, may need to complete 1-2 year residency.
Future Prospects
Good for working in rural and low-income areas. (Trouble attracting physicians)
Most hospitals would love to have someone in this field; job is in high demand.
Number of pharmacy schools has grown, creating more graduates, which creates more competition; if you choose to complete a residency program may improve job prospects.
Aptitude
Problem sensitivity, deductive reasoning, inductive reasoning, manual dexterity, finger dexterity, near vision, oral comprehension, and oral expression
Specific interests, must want to work with hands, and functionality under stress.
Analytical skills, communicative skills, computer skills, detail oriented, and managerial skills.
Job benefits
More than likely will work in small, private offices or clinics with your own nurses and staff; could provide emotional support for someone by healing him/her.
Extremely high pay, and a lot of vacation time; job can be exciting.
Very well paid; benefit of helping someone out; may work in many places including hospitals, grocery stores, department stores, other general merchandise stores.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. http://www.bls.gov. November 4, 2014
By using the facts that the chart provides, a strong case can be made for becoming a pharmacist. The job of a pharmacist provides a stable income, with the median annual pay being $116,670. The level of education needed in order to become a pharmacist, would be a doctor of pharmacy degree followed by the completion of a one to two year residency program. This job also creates many job opportunities in a variety of locations: hospitals, grocery stores, department store and other general merchandise stores. Through this job, I would satisfy my desire to help people in my everyday life. Overall, this career choice seems to provide the most stability, a reasonable amount of educational training, and a stable amount of income.
The career of an anesthesiologist, speaking in financial terms, would also be a smart choice. An anesthesiologists mean annual wage is $235,070. Similar to the career of a pharmacist, there would be many job opportunities for an anesthesiologist because of the job being in such high demand in today’s society. The reason I consider this career choice is because my grandpa was anesthesiologist until he died at the age of 42. I feel like I would have a sense of pride if I were to continue where he left off. However, becoming an anesthesiologist requires a significant amount of schooling including four years of an undergraduate program, four years of medical school, one year in an internship, and three more in a residency program. Along with the abundant amount of income, comes the long time of schooling when dealing with the career of an anesthesiologist. In the end, I don’t believe this job will best fit the qualities that I will need to possess in order to achieve my dream.
Even though both the jobs of a pharmacist and an anesthesiologist would be great career choices and are appealing in many ways, I would have to choose orthopedic surgeon because it would give me the best opportunity to work with athletes.
One of the main reasons why I choose orthopedic surgeon, is because my dream is to become a professional sports team doctor. A great percentage of an athlete’s injuries deal with components such as broken bones and torn ligaments, both dealing with the orthopedic field. In consequence to this, an orthopedic surgeon job would give me the best chance to complete my dream of one day working with professional athletes.
If I pursued a doctoral or professional degree, I would have a great chance at meeting an orthopedic’s median pay per year which is $187,200. In addition, I will also have a great chance to work in my own private office or clinic with my own staff. I believe I also possess some of the abilities that an orthopedic surgeon should have including: problem sensitivity, deductive reasoning, oral comprehension, and written comprehension. Also, I have the chance to provide emotional support to someone by healing them and helping them get back to their everyday life, whether it be a professional athlete or an average person. Each of these aspects, which the criteria presents, play a role in why I choose the job of an orthopedic surgeon.
Each of these careers I examined involved the helping of others and are in the medical field. All three of these careers also include an extensive amount of schooling and specific interests. However, the job I would like to pour my heart, soul, and diligence into would be an orthopedic surgeon. My interest in the healing of bones, and my strong desire to one day be a professional sports team doctor, both point to an orthopedic surgeon being the career path I should take.