Howdy !
I am having trouble deciding on a future career and was hoping someone on this forum could share some of their knowledge. I am stuck on this constant loop of asking myself am I doing too much ? am I not doing enough ? Ultimately I have this fear of dying with regret. Regret of being stuck in a job I don't like. Regret that my job would keep me from things I truly want to do.
... side note : I am aware both career fields are HIGHLY selective so if I get to the either one I will find it as a blessing. I am looking more for insight on where to put my time and resources since both paths have their own hardships that must be tackled one at a time.
Long story short:
As a kid, all I wanted was to be a fighter pilot after watching this Star Wars movie (I still hold the vhs tape to this date). This dream started to die off as me and my family started moving around the world and became impossible to be part of the military. However, a new passion was born for medicine. Given my increasing curiosity for the human body and improving people's life, I started wondering if I could make it into a career. Fast forward, my family is settled and I am finishing up high school in the United States, dead set on becoming a doctor. As I started college - after numerous hours of shadowing and learning about the careers in medicine - I decided medical school might not be the right fit for me. I still loved medicine but instead I started pursuing the career as a PA, with the main reason being : if I ever want to quit medicine and go live in the mountains, I can without feeling too much regret for all the time and money invested (of course there is more that went into this decision, but this is one of the biggest reasons). With this thought I started wondering what other jobs I would like to do outside of medicine. I started thinking about serving in the military, and eventually being a fighter pilot. Fast forward a couple of years of going back and forth, I am in my junior year, fawked up my first semester of college but made a big comeback with the ones to come, and I am looking for advice from strangers on the internet as it is getting increasingly harder to create connections in the real world.
Potential career plans:
I thinks the best plan would be to try my hardest to get hired by an ANG/Reserve unit, and after seasoning and going part-time I could go back to school and pursue Medicine.
Pros :
Cons :
Other possibilities :
Thank you in advance to anyone who took the time to read. Any advice and information will be greatly appreciated. Cheers !
I am having trouble deciding on a future career and was hoping someone on this forum could share some of their knowledge. I am stuck on this constant loop of asking myself am I doing too much ? am I not doing enough ? Ultimately I have this fear of dying with regret. Regret of being stuck in a job I don't like. Regret that my job would keep me from things I truly want to do.
... side note : I am aware both career fields are HIGHLY selective so if I get to the either one I will find it as a blessing. I am looking more for insight on where to put my time and resources since both paths have their own hardships that must be tackled one at a time.
Long story short:
As a kid, all I wanted was to be a fighter pilot after watching this Star Wars movie (I still hold the vhs tape to this date). This dream started to die off as me and my family started moving around the world and became impossible to be part of the military. However, a new passion was born for medicine. Given my increasing curiosity for the human body and improving people's life, I started wondering if I could make it into a career. Fast forward, my family is settled and I am finishing up high school in the United States, dead set on becoming a doctor. As I started college - after numerous hours of shadowing and learning about the careers in medicine - I decided medical school might not be the right fit for me. I still loved medicine but instead I started pursuing the career as a PA, with the main reason being : if I ever want to quit medicine and go live in the mountains, I can without feeling too much regret for all the time and money invested (of course there is more that went into this decision, but this is one of the biggest reasons). With this thought I started wondering what other jobs I would like to do outside of medicine. I started thinking about serving in the military, and eventually being a fighter pilot. Fast forward a couple of years of going back and forth, I am in my junior year, fawked up my first semester of college but made a big comeback with the ones to come, and I am looking for advice from strangers on the internet as it is getting increasingly harder to create connections in the real world.
Potential career plans:
I thinks the best plan would be to try my hardest to get hired by an ANG/Reserve unit, and after seasoning and going part-time I could go back to school and pursue Medicine.
Pros :
- Live out my childhood dream. If I get picked up, this path would guarantee me a fighter slot and a set location even before commissioning as an officer. Also, I would apply to all units possible not just fighters, since all aircrafts are badass, as is the mission behind them.
- Follow the steps of the greatest people I have ever known. My father, grandfather, and great grandfather, all served in the military and all turned into amazing people. I aspire to be like them and I think US military would allow me to do that. Even if fighter pilot wasn't an option, I would still seek to join the military (as a medic, hpsp, etc.).
- The overall amazing experience. The amazing machines, the camaraderie, the prestige/heritage, flight suits, helmets, the stories, ripping through canyons at god-knows-what speed, carry the most awesome destructive power known to man, lift the heaviest payloads (y'all know the speech) - you get the gist, a more adventurous lifestyle. Bout as close as you can get to real life iron man.
- Pursue medicine at the same time. After going part-time I could go back to school and pursue my second dream of practicing medicine (as a PA or doctor). Maybe get Uncle Sam to pay for part of it. I would need to turn into a different kind of animal to achieve this, but I heard it is possible. And if I don't get accepted into either program, I could pursue an advance degree (to improve chances for med school) or take an emt job (to improve chances for PA school, also very flexible with the ANG/Reserves).
- Have more free time. Given the part-time nature of ANG, I would have more time to do things that active duty guys just don't have the time for. Travel, hike, go fishing, be there for important family events - overall a better work life balance, or so I'm told.
- Enjoy a high earning career at a relative young age. If I am taking the PA route, I would be out in no time making more money than I would ever need.
Cons :
- There is a high chance this plan will fail. Either by not being picked up for a pilot slot, given how competitive ANG/reserve is, or by not making it through the advanced degrees.
- If I make it through, there is a chance I could do more bad than good. Medicine and Aviation both need huge chunks of time to remain proficient, not even mentioning improving. This could lead to either failing in both careers or sacrificing all your time to your career and getting burned out. But this is all my guess since I have yet to find info on someone doing both at the same time, I've only heard that people have done it before.
- That 10 year commitment as a pilot scares me. I can't just leave if military is not my thing. However,I heard of pilots putting up with a lot of crap (explaining the pilot shortage) but I have yet to hear any pilot regretting their choice.
- I think I am going in for the wrong reasons. Giving I moved a lot growing up, I lost all the sense of patriotism. I love this country don't get me wrong, but I am not a bleed red, white, and blue person. My motivation stays with the amazing people that I have met on these shores and not the flag.
Other possibilities :
Do my time as a pilot and then pursue medicine after service - If I am going active duty I would have higher chances at a pilot slot, but you have to compete to drop the aircraft you want, work life balance is not great, and I have been advised by pilots to go straight to ANG and avoid active duty. If I get lucky and get hired by a unit, I am gonna need to find a day job - many pilots go to the airlines but I wouldn't have any interest other than the money; I have heard of emt/paramedic working well with ANG so that would be closer to my passion in medicine. Also, after I am done with the service, some of the positives that come with the profession of PA (if I were still set on this over doctorate) would be lost : such as a high income at a relatively young age, time to travel, and experience life. By the time I get done with service and PA, I would be closing in to my 40s and ideally starting a family. So there would be no time to mess around.
Flight surgeon/aeromedical PA/Pilot-Physician - these programs would allow me to combine both medicine and aviation in the same job. However, as a physician my options would be limited once out of service and there is a lot of time commitment between becoming a doctor and becoming a pilot. Aeromedical PAs and flight surgeons may catch a ride with the pilots from time to time, but they would never pilot the aircraft.
Thank you in advance to anyone who took the time to read. Any advice and information will be greatly appreciated. Cheers !
