Becoming A Dermatologist???

[phase1]

I am sure there are there are tons of threads out there asking this question....."How do I become a dermatologist"???

Well I am asking the same question, but I also wanted to share my story as to why I want to be a dermatologist.

I joined the military at 17 in 2000 and my job was imagery analyst (intelligence field). I got out of the Army in 2004 and immediately started working for defense contracting companies like General Dynamics, L-3 Communications, Boeing, etc. doing the same thing as I was doing in the military, but without the uniform and all the "rules". I have been doing the civilian contractor thing since 2004 bringing my total imagery analysis career experience to right at eight years.

I have recently decided that at the end of my contract that I wanted to go back to college and major in criminal justice because I always was interested in doing something in law enforcement. Plus with me having a security clearance and then having a criminal justice degree, I figured I could get into a really interesting career.

I work on a military base in South Korea, but I currently took a couple of weeks off to come back home and visit my family. While on my break I wanted to look into scheduling an appointment to see a dermatologist for some acne advice/treatment. Well, I found out there are only two dermatologists in my area and to be seen by them was by referral only. I thought to myself, "this really sucks". The only other options I had was to look up dermatologist in the St. Louis, MO area....which is almost two hours away. I then thought, "what about all the people out there (including myself) that need to be seen by a dermatologist, but can't get an appointment with either of the two doctors in my area"? I relayed all this info to my mother and she said "there you go; you should study to be a dermatologist and then open your own practice back here in this area".

It was like a light bulb turned on. Ever since she said that, I feel like being a dermatologist is "my calling"(haha, cheesy choice of words). I have had my share of acne problems growing up and even slight ones now. I know how others feel (pain & embarrassment) when it comes to acne and so I want to be able to help them as well as others with skin diseases or issues.

However, I didn’t just graduate high school. I am 26 years old and I am NOW thinking about studying to become a dermatologist……hmmmm, is it too late? I am sure that I could be 36 years old and still pull this off, but I feel I would be better off if I would have decided to pursue this when I had just finished high school.

I’m just curious if there is anyone that could offer some advice, point me in the right direction, someone with a similar story or just even some words of encouragement would be awesome as well…haha!!!

Sorry for the long, drawn out story. Again, I just wanted to paint the picture as to how this all came about. Please, any information/advice you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

Thanx,

Ryan

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[NPR]

If you can see yourself in some other field besides dermatology (in case you don't match), I would say it definitely isn't too late to head off to medical school.

If you can ONLY see yourself in dermatology, heading to medical school at this age and handing over the ransom that these schools now charge is likely to be an exercise in heartbreak. It's that competitive of an environment right now.

 

[phase1]

If you can see yourself in some other field besides dermatology (in case you don't match), I would say it definitely isn't too late to head off to medical school.

If you can ONLY see yourself in dermatology, heading to medical school at this age and handing over the ransom that these schools now charge is likely to be an exercise in heartbreak. It's that competitive of an environment right now.

Ouch, not quite the answer I was hoping for. Although, I am a little unsure what you mean by "heading to medical school at this age and handing over the ransom that these schools now charge is likely to be an exercise in heartbreak". I am unclear as to how age and cost coincide with each other.

Basically, my first four years of college whether I decide to major in criminal justice, biology, basket weaving, etc. are payed for because of my service in the military. So cost there is not an issue. It will be medical school that I will have to "worry" about, but I will not be the first student to go through medical school that has to work their way throught it financially or seek the assistance of financial aid.

Last, what do you mean by "It's that competitive of an environment right now"? There are only a select number of schools to attend and study, but there are numerous students applying for dermatology programs or is it hard to seek residency?

 

[PeepshowJohnny]

Well, some of it is the time value of money. The longer you delay making money, the bigger impact it has in the long run because you lost the opportunity to invest it early on and let it grow.

For example, you're going to spend four years in college. To be a dermatologist you're adding on four years of medical school on top of that, AT BEST, plus completing a dermatology residency (1 year of internship, three of residency).

And none of this is guaranteed. Half of those who apply to medical school don't get in. And even if you do get in, Dermatology is an incredibly competitive (some would say most competitive) residency position to obtain. You will have to be top of your class, have excellent national boards exams, as well as a combination of research and excellent letters of recommendation. There are no guarantees.

 

[DOCTORSAIB]

Not to mention a having a history of acne/bad skin (if it's on your face) may work against you. I'm serious.

Have you seen derm applicants? Cute blondies with perfect skin or little asian dudes with no facial hair and no pimples. Not to be vain or anything...

 

[Long Dong]

little asian dudes with no facial hair and no pimples.

You described me to a T.

 

[NPR]

Ouch, not quite the answer I was hoping for. Although, I am a little unsure what you mean by "heading to medical school at this age and handing over the ransom that these schools now charge is likely to be an exercise in heartbreak". I am unclear as to how age and cost coincide with each other.

Basically, my first four years of college whether I decide to major in criminal justice, biology, basket weaving, etc. are payed for because of my service in the military. So cost there is not an issue. It will be medical school that I will have to "worry" about, but I will not be the first student to go through medical school that has to work their way throught it financially or seek the assistance of financial aid.

I'm not fond of going $200K into debt as a 20 year old. That thought would petrify me as an older applicant. Especially if there's no guarantee of obtaining my dream job.

Last, what do you mean by "It's that competitive of an environment right now"? There are only a select number of schools to attend and study, but there are numerous students applying for dermatology programs or is it hard to seek residency?

Few programs, tons of applicants, high salary, the best lifestyle during the residency period, some would argue the best lifestyle after residency.

 

[zxc1234]

what about becoming a PA in dermatology? what is their salary range if anyone here knows?

 

[NPR]

what about becoming a PA in dermatology? what is their salary range if anyone here knows?

I would have assumed it would be the same as a PA in any other field. But I have very limited experience with this.

 

[Pinkertinkle]

I work on a military base in South Korea, but I currently took a couple of weeks off to come back home and visit my family. While on my break I wanted to look into scheduling an appointment to see a dermatologist for some acne advice/treatment. Well, I found out there are only two dermatologists in my area and to be seen by them was by referral only. I thought to myself, "this really sucks". The only other options I had was to look up dermatologist in the St. Louis, MO area....which is almost two hours away. I then thought, "what about all the people out there (including myself) that need to be seen by a dermatologist, but can't get an appointment with either of the two doctors in my area"? I relayed all this info to my mother and she said "there you go; you should study to be a dermatologist and then open your own practice back here in this area".

There's a reason you can't get a dermatologist appointment with either of the two docs in your area. The supply of dermatologists is very tightly controlled, meaning that there are 320 or so derm slots in the country per year fought over by the most competitive of medical students, half of whom also have Ph.D.'s and the rest of whom have resumes that make other medical students pee their pants.

One does not simply walk into Mordor, if you will.

 

[deltamed]

"One does not simply walk into Mordor, if you will."

Best quote I've read on these forums ever! Hilarious.

But it's true. If you're going to spend 130k on medical school don't have your heart set on dermatology... you can consider it but don't bank on it cause for many people... well it just won't happen.

For me, I was happy to match to derm but would have been OK with several other fields. I wanted to be a doctor first, and a dermatologist second.

 

[NPR]

"One does not simply walk into Mordor, if you will."

Best quote I've read on these forums ever! Hilarious.

But it's true. If you're going to spend 130k on medical school don't have your heart set on dermatology... you can consider it but don't bank on it cause for many people... well it just won't happen.

For me, I was happy to match to derm but would have been OK with several other fields. I wanted to be a doctor first, and a dermatologist second.

I think that's a healthy attitude to take going into medical school.

And I'm not sure where you just got away with 130K for medical school (maybe a state school? or were you talking purely tuition money?)

I don't have a final tally yet but I am confident it will exceed a quarter of a million dollars over my 4 years here.

 

[deltamed]

Oh yeah... it was a state school.

But true, the majority are private = ~40k tuition + 15k living = 55k x 4 = 220k easily. If you add interest you are looking at 250k at graduation, maybe closer to 300k after doing a residency. No wonder people consider earning potential when looking at a field.

Seriously, there are many other great specialty fields out there, some way less competitive than derm, that also offer a great lifestyle and patient interaction (among other things). These include anesthesia, pm&r, EM, optho and radonc (last two pretty competitive). You just have to decide if you like em as much as derm.

 

[abefromann]

PAs in derm make a variety of different incomes. I have a family member at a large academic hospital on the derm surg side who makes about 80K. If you go private, you can make six figures for sure, but those jobs are competitive, and are often offered to the younger, more attractive female population (they sell products). You can make a lot in surgical fields as a PA, too. Like 100k.

 

[sestamibi]

PAs in derm make a variety of different incomes. I have a family member at a large academic hospital on the derm surg side who makes about 80K. If you go private, you can make six figures for sure, but those jobs are competitive, and are often offered to the younger, more attractive female population (they sell products). You can make a lot in surgical fields as a PA, too. Like 100k.

I know surgical PA's do pretty well.

One surgical PA working at the academic community hospital where I rotated through was pulling in 86K in her 2nd year working there.

No call either. Man did I pick the wrong degree to pursue.