/sci/ - Science & Math

>neurosurgery

Pros: fucking awesome, chicks like doctors
Cons: stressful and it's biology

>>4387605
Thanks! I am not interested in women, so I'm afraid your second "pro" is voided.

How stressful do you think it would be?

>>4387610
If you're gay then go into engineering

And if you think about neurosurgery it seems stressful, one slip of the scalpel and you're fucked

>>4387620
I'm not gay, and you make a fair point. Thanks for your input!

>>4387620
>one slip of the scalpel and you're fucked
moar like the patient's fucked
i mean, amirite?

I'm on my phone so I can't give a detailed response but not only is deciding on a particular field of medicine to study when you aren't even in medical school nothing short of retarded, neurosurgery is also the most demanding job a doctor can do. If you truly love medicine I suggest going into neurosurgery because you will not have a social life from the day you start studying neurosurgery until the day you die as a neurosurgeon. Rewarding career but not meant for pussies by any means.

>>4387622
Yeah, the patient turns into a vegetable and OP gets sued for medical malpractice

>>4387621
Wait, what? Are you a chick?

>>4387623
>deciding on a particular field of medicine to study when you aren't even in medical school [is] nothing short of retarded
Could you please elaborate on this?

>>4387627
protip, OP, if you ever see a green frog who talks about algebra and feels, STAY THE FUCK AWAY unless you want to experience unspeakable, incomprehensible otherworldly horrors

>>4387593

Medicine will consume your fucking life.

I suggest you shadow a doctor if you haven't already. Most pre-meds start off not knowing what the fuck a doctor's life is like, and many are disappointed or surprised when they find out.

I do not study either of those subjects so I initially wasn't going to post, but I think I can contribute a little as to the stress level of a neurosurgeon: fuckloads.

From what I know about the premeds at the university, it basically sucks a lot. There is no end to the suckage. You have to burn your way through college taking classes you probably won'g like in the least, then take them MCAT, then get into med school, then get residency, and only then, after 10+ years, will you actually start to make money being a neurosurgeon. But then when you're a neurosurgeon the hours are not very lenient - you're working when they goddamn want you to be working. Someone in your family die? Too bad. Surgeon. Had a baby? Fuck you, you're a surgeon. (One of my relatives is a regular surgeon and I never get to see her. She loves her job but her one complaint is that she can't really do anything else with her life other than be a neurosurgeon.)

Granted you'll probably make lots of it but only do so if you are totally dedicated and won't hate your life for those 10+ years. I'm not saying it's not worth it, because in fact for many people it is. But I am saying that you have to be really-goddamn-certain that you want to do it before you start.

>>4387634
I'm not sure I follow -- could you please expand on that?

>>4387630
My point being most people in med school don't know what they want to do until their rotations. How the shit can you come to a definitive decision when you aren't even in university.

>>4387636
>Most pre-meds start off not knowing what the fuck a doctor's life is like, and many are disappointed or surprised when they find out.
To what sorts of surprises/disappointments are you referring?

>>4387630

I'm not him, but this kind of applies to everything major related in university.
What you think medicine or engineering will be like is more than likely totally unrelated to what it will be like.

All I can tell you about is engineering, since that's what I do.


The most I ever learned about medicine was when I fucked up my hand the last time. While I was getting stitched up I took the opportunity to speak to the medical student doing the sewing and learned quite a bit about it. You might consider doing the same, without the fucking up of the hand.

You'll need to speak to medical majors and get a taste of what they do day to day to understand if it's really something you can do.

>>4387640
Argh sorry I fucked up the captcha and then had to vomit my words back a lot less incoherently but you get the idea.

I think what people are telling you is that you won't really know what any of these things are like until you try them. Go into college with an open mind.

>>4387640
>From what I know about the premeds at the university, it basically sucks a lot. There is no end to the suckage.
I'm currently enrolled in the International Baccalaureate program and I've experienced my fair share of "suckage", so I'm fairly desensitized to it.
Regarding the longevity of the process of obtaining a medical degree -- how is it compared to a Ph.D or a D.Eng?

>>4387641
I understand. Thanks for the clarification!

>>4387646
>All I can tell you about is engineering, since that's what I do.
Would you possibly be able to tell me a bit more about that?

>>4387649
>Go into college with an open mind.
There are different universities I'd like to attend for different majors, however. MIT for engineering, Caltech for physics and Stanford for medical. That's why I think I need to make the decision before I'm actually in university.

>>4387650

How do you mean? Longevity as in how long the degree is useful, or longevity as in how long it takes to get the degree?

>>4387655
I meant the time required to obtain the degree. Sorry for not being too clear about that.

>>4387654
I'm certain all of those schools have biology majors or chemistry or physics or whatever the hell you want to major in before med school so why does it matter?

>>4387627
OP ARE YOU A CHICK OR NOT

>>4387662
Sorry, I don't understand what you mean.

>>4387654

Welp, I'm a civil engineer, currently completing my thesis in structural engineering so I can work on all the fun stuff like big bridges and vanity buildings like they enjoy showing off so much in places like Dubai.
It's surprisingly related to mechanical engineering, where you mentioned you had interest before, except that when things move it's generally an indication that you messed up.

Really in any type of engineering you're going to spend your time doing one of three things:
1. Standing analysis
This is where you take something that already exists and you make sure it's going to be able to keep existing without killing the people inside or around it.
2. Design
This is the fun part (for me at least). You basically work for a company that either gets asked to make something or just randomly decides they want something. As part of a team you lay out every bolt, spring, pneumatic, and pressure system (depending on your field of course) for the building. At the end of the production cycle you get to see your baby come to life.
3. Research:
There exists nothing that cannot be improved on, end of story. You'll spend your days reading papers and designing and performing tests to make the next breakthrough in design or analysis, or even material composition.

The primary thing to watch for in engineering is stress masquerading as tedium. Oh it feels dull, making sure each girder or every axle is going to be able to hold the loads, but if you get bored or make a mistake and noone catches it, then many people could die.

As the saying goes "Doctors kill their customers one at a time, engineers do it by the busload."

>>4387661
Er, yes...? Is that relevant?

>>4387673
That explanation made me smile. How is the workload? What level of maths is required? I've taken Calc 1 already, but I don't think that'll be enough.

What exactly don't you understand? Judging by your two dream professions you just want something with a fancy name and some prestige on the side. I was the same way when I was 16. I wanted to be a brain surgeon or a plastic surgeon. Now that I have matured more and been accepted to a medical school, my eyes are on oncology for personal reasons. The money and titles are no longer important to me. Let yourself grow up a little and watch how you will change as well. Med schools don't care what you major in as long as you complete the prerequisites. Get good grades, do well on the MCAT, volunteer, research, and get letters of recommendation, you will be fine. Good luck

>>4387673

except that when things move it's generally an indication that you messed up.

I love you man

This is the reason I haven't given up on /sci/ yet. Reasonable and useful answer, made me lol. Props to you, sir. (Or ma'am, shouldn't be discriminatin')

>>4387679
Oh, it's always relevant

>>4387656
A BSc. in engineering runs you 4 years
A medical degree has 2 years of qualification (more or less) plus about 4 years of degree. Somewhere in there you'll do rotations in the field.
A Ph D. in anything works out to a BSc. (4 years), plus 3-5 years for the actual Ph D. That is assuming of course they take you into the doctoral program without a masters in the field. Depends on what you're doing.

>>4387683
>Judging by your two dream professions you just want something with a fancy name and some prestige on the side.
Haha, no, I've just always been interested in the brain and in physics.

>Let yourself grow up a little and watch how you will change as well.
This is very good advice, thanks. I've wanted to be different things in the past (e.g., a neuroscientist) but I've never really wavered from wanting to be a doctor of some sort. At the same time, though, I can't imagine life without studying physics in some way. I'm also interested in sociology and psychology, but not as a potential doctorate.
I'm a commitment-phobe when it comes to deciding what I want to learn because, quite frankly, I'd like to learn -everything-.

>Get good grades, do well on the MCAT, volunteer, research, and get letters of recommendation, you will be fine. Good luck
Thanks!

>>4387686
Thanks!

>>4387679

I took...

Calc 1
Calc 2
Linear Algebra
Calc 3
Differential equations

I believe eng phys and mec-e students need to take Lin algebra 2 as well. It varies depending on your specialization.

Workload is always hard to define. It seems like not a big deal to me, but I've been doing it for years. In first year it was hell on toast, I remember that much, but the change over from highschool would be expected to be rough.

I would be inclined to say that the workload is at least somewhat smaller than a medical students, just based on what a friend of mine in dentistry used to go through.

>>4387704
Yeah, Calc 1 definitely isn't enough. Thanks so much for your help in this thread!

Op if you're a girl you can just marry rich

>>4387706
No problem.

I would suggest you request course calendars (basically big books of everything the university offers) and look at those.

Usually for medicine and engineering they will have laid out very specifically what courses you'll be taking. There's usually wiggleroom, but some things are required..

freshman engg student here, still in freshman year so I don't have a specific engineering major (mech, civil etc)

Depending on your school, the first 2 years can be absolutely brutal, the workload is scary and unlike sci would like you to believe, engineering courses aren't just dumbed down science courses. I find I might be spending maybe 2 to 3 times more time on school work/studying then my other non engineering/science friends (partly because I have to take more courses than are more difficult). Anyways expect not to get out a lot if you plan to go to engineering.

>>4387717
Can I just get these from their websites?

>>4387724
>I find I might be spending maybe 2 to 3 times more time on school work/studying then my other non engineering/science friends (partly because I have to take more courses than are more difficult).
If you don't mind me asking, could you tell me what courses you're taking this year?

>>4387729

okay

E&M and statics are the hardest IMO, they're the main weeders. Unlike regular science majors, I don't get many option classes.

>>4387742
That's terrifying.