Well, I'm glad I found this forum since I have plenty of questions related to science careers...figured I'd find something if I typed in "science forums" on a search engine.
Here's my predicament. I started out college three years ago with the intention of applying to medical school after I got my bachelor's degree. Over the years, and especially working as an EMT, I'm realizing that of the reasons I wanted to become a doctor (prestige, job security, no worry about financial future, helping others), only one still exists out of four unfortunately. And at the rate that the insurance companies are dictating medical care, I wonder if doctors will even be able to help people much in the future given that both their hands will be firmly tied behind their backs unless the insurance companies are reigned in.
Anyway, so I'm majoring in marine biology, and as a result of SCUBA diving, I have very much confirmed that I love the ocean and I'd love to make a science career out of it. I figure I'm getting the degree anyway, I might as well use it. The only issue is that I'm not sure how big the market is, whether it's feasible to break into, or whether the pay is enough to live decently. I don't care if I live like a king, but I would like to have some money left over after bills each month so I can go SCUBA diving regularly.
So what would my best option be? Advanced degrees? Government job? Research institute? At this point, I'm completely open to staying in college and getting an advanced degree if that's what it takes. I have a 3.95 GPA currently, am involved in at least one club, have volunteered in a hospital before, SCUBA dive whenever I can, and I work as an EMT, so I would hope I'd be competitive for graduate programs as far as academics, extracurriculars and everything else goes. It looks like the best marine biology programs are at UCSB and Scripps at UCSD.
I'm sure the question will arise of whether I like research or not since any science career will involve that, and I honestly can't tell you since I haven't done any yet. However, I love problem solving and investigating something to find out an answer to a question I have, so I would think those qualities would make me compatible with research.
Anyway, any advice, comments, etc. will be appreciated!