DETC Degree--Med School?

I suppose that earnings are relative to your current salary and what you aspire to make one day. Given your present salary, perhaps becoming a PA is not the best option for you (unless you're willing to take a pay cut). According to the Burea of Labor Statistics (bls.gov) the median annual salary of PAs was $81,230 in May 2008.

It would be good to note hear that you actually make more money now than some pediatricians and GP/Family practice docs. The cost of maintaining an office (overhead), malpractice insurance, personnel salaries, etc. has really driven down many a physician's salary. Again quoting BLS.gov, the annual salary of primary care physicians was $186,044 in May 2008. No doubt, a princely sum for most peole living in this country. However, this figure does not take into account the cost factors that I mentioned above.

Perhaps you should consider a career in dentistry. Dental schools generally require the same pre-reqs as medical school, so you will still need to complete that 2nd RA bachelors and possibly a post-bacc, but you will not need to attend a residency after graduation (unless you decide to specialize in orthodontics, endodontics, or similar area). General Dentists make an excellent salary (median annual salary was $142,870 in May 2008). Specialists can make A LOT more, but require 2-4 additional years of post-graduate training.

Best of luck.

 

Wow, I love this board. So much good information. I have not thought about dentistry but that is a good option. Also sounds like a shorter amount school time and the same amount if decide to specialize in something. I like that idea. The schooling is kind of the same and gives me an option. I did not even consider the costs to run an office for MD's. I thought about Law school, but thought it would have some of the same hurdles of running a practice.

 

Have you ever thought of learning the role of surgical first assistant? The pharmaceutical reps that are involved with surgical hardware make a lot of money as well! Believe it or not, a family med doc makes an average of $120k in the US.

http://meridian-institute.com/

 

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That's what I was kinda thinking. For "me" I needed the non science sciences to rev up to the science major sciences lol. I needed intro biology and intro chem before bio 1 and chem 1. I doubt that a med program would allow an online class ANYWAY, but my thoughts were- that if you were laundering a bachelor's degree and needed 30-ish new credits, that a good way to do it would be to take some of those survey sciences, it would only add depth to your level of understanding when it came time to take the B&M sciences. This adds time to the poster's plan- because you'd have to rock out that new degree (1 year) while meeting the prereqs at a local cc and meeting the prereqs of the post-bac to "qualify" for a 2 year post-bac. I know it seems like a lot, but it's really much shorter as well as not as much face time as starting from scratch- which would be 4 years as a full-timer on campus (ouch). Gosh, given the additional 4 years med school (income lost) and 4 years residency and 2 years whatever it's called- one of you business folks can figure out the income lost for 10 years and the break even point for this person at their current salary, and $150k loan debt. I'm thinking you'd have to live to be 100 to even touch actual money.

 

Does anyone know the cost of family practice malpractice insurance? My good friend's (midwife) policy is $1000 per month, and she said it's low because she's new- and it will of course go up each year.

 

Great website! I will definitely look into it a little more. I have looked into that in the past and ---$80K-$100K seems to be the salary range. At least in my area. Which would be kind of a lateral move, but a good option to at least create a back up plan in case the pharma industry continues to go down hill. With the hours that these surgical reps have to put in though (most of them wear a pager and are on call like physicians the first few years) I figure I minus well put in the extra time for med school or law school.

 

Both dental school and med school are 4 years in length (okay, there is one dental school - University of the Pacific in CA that offers a 3 year program).

I understand that you're not at the point to start applying to dental schools, however, just for fun (or for future research), here is a top 10 list of the easiest dental schools to get into (gotta love the interweb, there is a list for everything!).

 

Does it make financial sense to become an MD?
You lose four years or more of income and spend a large amount on medical school tuition and living expenses and may not generate a significantly greater salary than you do now. With your current salary and prudent investments you could acrue a large amount of money then enjoy the rest of your life.

 

I should have mentioned this earlier, but Excelsior did accept 9 credits in transfer from Aspen University (DETC). I just transferred these credits one year ago. The Aspen credits were applied to my A.S. in Liberal Studies.

With that said, I would still encourage you to look into the post-bacc option (preferably a program that awards a masters degree at the end of the program). There are a number of post-bacc pre-med programs that award a masters degree at the completion of the program. Check out the site that I linked to earlier in this thread. I think having a masters degree in a science subject combined with a high GPA and MCAT will make you more competitive for medical and/or dental school. You will still need to check with the med/dental school to see if they will accept your CCU degree. If not, then look into a 2nd bachelors in a scientific discipline (biology, chemistry, etc.).

 

Did Excelsior charge a fee for the transfer of your DETC credits?

 

No, they did not. It took about a month for them to evaluate the Aspen credits (I also sent them the syllabi). Otherwise, the process was similiar to transferring RA credits.

 

This is more on target... The GPA is important for the top tier schools but is not really that important for admission at "most" medical schools. The MCAT score, your ethnicity, your academic preparation in the biological sciences, who you know, and the needs of the school are more important factors. The real limitation is the time and money it takes to apply to many, many low tier medical schools.

 

I would agree the MCAT is imperative. Yes there are many otehr factors. The only other advice I would give is if you kind of, sort of, maybe are considering med school....don't. Given your backgorund, maybe you could take a look at some of the online graduate stuff at the University of Florida College of Pharmacy? If salary is your goal, widen your base where you are.

Most pharma companies give their reps a decent background. They have graduate certificates in pharmaceutical chemistry, as you can pursue one or two as a non-degree student then maybe they would work out something after a couple of classes, certificate and a GRE. They also have a degree geared towards legal aspects, FDA process etc. The step up from rep to area manager or home office would probably get you more where you want to be. The university of Georgia and USC have some online stuff geared toward reps.

Just a thought.

 

All very good advice. Thanks