I'm getting ready to transition out of the military and into college, most of the "safe" majors don't appeal to me but I do find my interests gravitating toward healthcare related fields. Microbiology, Psychiatry, and Pathology are especially appealing. Most of this shit will require grad school or med school, and I'm not entirely sure I that's a safe bet to make. What can I do as an undergrad to set myself up for success in case plan A doesn't pan out?
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As a biomed (trained by the Army) I support this post. But, BMET doesn't really have a lot to do with caring for patients on a direct level and isn't related to any of your plan A 'ology' fields. Still, I get a keycard, scrubs, and am allowed to flirt with nurses.
Ninja edit to add biomed has been called the equipment physician here at my hospital.
Hardware is where it's at dawg, software is pretty much witchcraft and those who dare murmur it's siren gibberish should be locked in the mental health ward with the rest of their ilk. *
Join us, we need good people and we have cookies. ** And you already know a duder that works for BIG NAME COMPANY srsly.
*this is not true and I apologize
**Also not true in general but come to my shop and arrangements can be made.
I should move to recruiting for my company.
Some states have RN programs that require only two years while other states require four years, so check that out. Some states also offer PN's or Practical Nurses's licences that require only two years and if you like it you can continue on to get your RN while you work as a PN.
EMT's (at least in Massachusetts) require a college level course that can be taken over the course of a semester, or shorter. Also you have to pass the state's exam in order to actually get your license. Be forewarned, you won't exactly be making RN money. $11.50/hr base pay here. I have a friend who's been doing it for about 5 years and he's at about $13/hr.
This is why I still wait tables.
There are multiple levels of certification. EMT Basic is about a semester, yeah. To go all the way to Paramedic, you're looking at 9 months minimum after you get your basic, and I'm convinced that 9 month programs make shitty medics. More legit programs are ~2 years, more or less the same timeframe as it would be to get your RN. Pay depends on who runs the system, but tends to start at 40-50k per year and scales relatively well. Also, you'll have as much overtime as you want, so the high end can be pretty high if you put in the hours.