Hello there SDN!
I'm sure this a quite common question that a lot of professionals run into here, and I'm not sure if this is the right place to ask a question like this, but I feel as though I'd like to have a professional opinion from someone who has been in my place before.
I've been back and forth with the idea of pursuing an education in dermatology, and I am really excited at the idea, but I'm not getting any support on my end.
Let me start with explaining my background. I am an Esthetician, and I have been an Esthetician for about 2 years now and am doing fantastic in my career. In less than two years I have been recognized as a highly knowledgeable Esthetician, and have a very wide clientele base. I'm very proud of that base I've laid for myself. I find that this industry gives me a leg up since I (in a cosmetic sense) have already studied every aspect of Chemistry, Biology, Ingredients, and diseases of the skin through my education, and am already physically working on clients. Not that it's entirely comparable. I thought about becoming a dermatologist right after receiving my license, but kind of laughed at myself with the thought of me attending medical school. What I mean by that is that I wasn't the best student in school. I was more of a... I-won't-listen-to-you-until-you-teach-me-something-I'm-interested-in kind of student, unfortunately. I'm really kicking myself for that now. Then when I attended college, I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off because I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life. I ended up not finishing community college with 40-odd credits in the bank... I'm not so much proud of that... But, that isn't a lapse in my intelligence, I find myself to be very smart, I just didn't have any direction or motivation. I watched my two parents with low-income jobs never aspire to anything, and tell me that working minimum wage was good enough. Yet, scoffed at me for wanting to become an Esthetician. And now my boyfriend's brother who is a doctor told me that Dermatology is extremely competitive and only 1% of graduates actually end up in a dermatology field (?) I don't know if I believe that, but it doesn't help. I love the field, and I know I can do it, but the question is if I should.
Anyway, I suppose the gist is, what is going for Dermatology like? I understand the programs, and I know I would have to finish college, but for what? Then head off to Medical School, but how is the job field? Is it as bad as I've heard?
I'm not asking anyone to make a decision for me, but this is something I want to do, I just want someone to give me all the information they can, I don't care if it's a novel's worth, and help me make a constructive decision on my own. I certainly can't speak with anyone on the other side of this screen.
I would really appreciate it, Thank you!
I'm sure this a quite common question that a lot of professionals run into here, and I'm not sure if this is the right place to ask a question like this, but I feel as though I'd like to have a professional opinion from someone who has been in my place before.
I've been back and forth with the idea of pursuing an education in dermatology, and I am really excited at the idea, but I'm not getting any support on my end.
Let me start with explaining my background. I am an Esthetician, and I have been an Esthetician for about 2 years now and am doing fantastic in my career. In less than two years I have been recognized as a highly knowledgeable Esthetician, and have a very wide clientele base. I'm very proud of that base I've laid for myself. I find that this industry gives me a leg up since I (in a cosmetic sense) have already studied every aspect of Chemistry, Biology, Ingredients, and diseases of the skin through my education, and am already physically working on clients. Not that it's entirely comparable. I thought about becoming a dermatologist right after receiving my license, but kind of laughed at myself with the thought of me attending medical school. What I mean by that is that I wasn't the best student in school. I was more of a... I-won't-listen-to-you-until-you-teach-me-something-I'm-interested-in kind of student, unfortunately. I'm really kicking myself for that now. Then when I attended college, I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off because I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life. I ended up not finishing community college with 40-odd credits in the bank... I'm not so much proud of that... But, that isn't a lapse in my intelligence, I find myself to be very smart, I just didn't have any direction or motivation. I watched my two parents with low-income jobs never aspire to anything, and tell me that working minimum wage was good enough. Yet, scoffed at me for wanting to become an Esthetician. And now my boyfriend's brother who is a doctor told me that Dermatology is extremely competitive and only 1% of graduates actually end up in a dermatology field (?) I don't know if I believe that, but it doesn't help. I love the field, and I know I can do it, but the question is if I should.
Anyway, I suppose the gist is, what is going for Dermatology like? I understand the programs, and I know I would have to finish college, but for what? Then head off to Medical School, but how is the job field? Is it as bad as I've heard?
I'm not asking anyone to make a decision for me, but this is something I want to do, I just want someone to give me all the information they can, I don't care if it's a novel's worth, and help me make a constructive decision on my own. I certainly can't speak with anyone on the other side of this screen.
I would really appreciate it, Thank you!
