Question About Degrees

littlefishtan! SG · 2006-12-20T05:49:48+00:00

Good luck then oh Gamsat , you cannot just memorise every formula - you need to apply the principles

littlefishtan! SG

I have a few questions to ask about my degrees ar....
1. How many years do i take to complete a basic medical degree?
2. What degree must i get to be a specialiist (eg. in neurology, gyaneology) (masters? honours? phd?)
3. What jobs can i do with a sociology degree?
4. What jobs can i do with a Mass com degree?
5. Which are the best universities in the world to do a medical/ sociology/ mass com degree?

If you wanna answer the questions please indicate the question number in front of your answer. Thanks!
=)

MyPillowTalks SG

4. i tink can work as the news writer in a radio station, cos i heard over power 80 that they are employing. but me is want be DJ, they say oso mass com

honeymouse SG

Q: How many years do i take to complete a basic medical degree?
A: At least 6 years.

Q: What degree must i get to be a specialiist (eg. in neurology, gyaneology) (masters? honours? phd?)
A: Bachelor of Medicine

Hope the information helps! Wink

TYING SG

no no. mass com is become the one who read out the news.

Darkness_hacker99 SG

I think after you get your Bac in Medicine, then you'll study dip in neurology followed by degree in neurology then etc.

Those medical diploma in specialize field ish those after you complete your basic medical degree.

mhcampboy SG

mass com includes deejaying as well...

u can work in PR.. marketing... media.. such as producer...journalist... etc etc

ditzy SG

Wow, never knew one needed a degree these days to be a personality on air. Laughing

fymk SG

No.1 and 2
Basic Medical Degree in Singapore - 6 years
Internship for full qualification - 1 year
Specialist training - post 2 years after u qualify, add 5 years to train in specialty together with a Master of Medicine or a Doctor of Medicine.
And you must attain fellowship of one of their medical societies in Australia/UK or USA . Oh ya , you need to keep publishing and publishing articles if you want to go far. Average 2 per year. One doctor I know publishes 6 articles in peer reviewed journals per year.

No. 5
Best University for Medicine in the World - John Hopkins University - you need a basic degree to study medicine in USA because they come under graduate scheme. It will also cost you more than quarter of a million dollars for tuition fees and textbooks. If you graduate from JHU - that is prestige . Easy to recoup the investment in JHU education

I think for JHU - 4 years graduate scheme. Take the USMA or something which is their board examination and then do an internship for a year to gain full qualifications as an MD.

Second Best is Harvard and Oxford. Third is Imperial College London.

Sociology and Mass Communications - ehh .....not many universities rank around for that. Any university will do - like the ivy leagues or oxbridge universities.

no. 3
Not much jobs for sociologists except teach in universities

no.4
Mass comm high supply low demand market - high competition - looks may help you get into broadcasting

fymk SG

My questions to you littlefish - What do you really think you will enjoy?Where do you see yourself in 5 years time? What do you treasure most?

I can tell you what to expect out of Medicine :
I was a nurse and I can tell you that you have to face blood,fecal matter, vomitus etc . Can you tolerate that? And sometimes you get to see the true depravity of humanity. I remember this guy got disemboweled by an attacker , his intestines were literally coming out and the poor fella was screaming and screaming. And you have to deal with hysterical relatives yet be very patient with them. You have to pronounce people dead and break the news to the relatives. Ever seen a dead body? Oh yeah you don't have much of a life in your early career. You will be on-call and be on rotating shifts plus expected to write articles.

Darkness_hacker99 SG

fymk can you help me map out a route for me starting for 1st year in uni in Medical course to Neurology specialist. Thanks.

littlefishtan! SG

OH if i do a medical degree overseas does it take lesser time?

fymk SG

You have to be kidding me - I was only a nurse .

However this may be right or wrong - I am not too sure but this is what I have been told by doctors while we are chatting on night shift last time. I took the interview at one of the Australian Universities as well and some info also comes from a doctor who interviewed me - he just wanted to know how commited I will be. I wanted to be a pathologist - that path takes approximately 5 years after 2 years experience as a medical doctor after graduation.

Are you planning on going overseas or staying in Singapore?

Australian system - I can tell you .
If you have A levels -> Interview -> Accepted ->undergraduate medical school -> Graduate -> 2 years work ( 1 year for internship to qualify) -> choose specialty i.e. neurology -> 4-6 years training depending.

If you don't have the required A levels or you went through polytechnic -> Basic Degree -> Take GAMSAT/MCAT ( MCAT only for international students) -> Score in 75th percentile -> Interview -> Accepted ->Graduate Medical School -> Graduate -> 2 years work (1 year for internship to qualify) -> choose specialty i.e. neurology -> 4-6 years training depending.

You need to take exams further before you can become full fledged specialist. You also must become a fellow of the Royal Australasian College of (insert specialist field) which means you have to publish a lot of journal articles.

nightzip SG

Eh....you can become someone who can socialize? Mr. Green A socializer perhaps? Laughing

fymk SG

You need to have a basic degree which means 3 years and then you take MCAT to qualify for an american university . If you get in - it's 4 years .

All in all 7 years and add one more year for internship to fully qualify.

littlefishtan! SG

So when i am like 25, i can graduate lah. oh so whats the starting pay and stuff?

ditzy SG

What if what we tell you now turns out to be all roti prata when you turn 25? Laughing

ifish SG

if ur in it for the $$, i can say forget it as its not worth it

Darkness_hacker99 SG

Thanks a million fymk Very Happy

fymk SG

depends where you work. Starting Pay in Australia on average is around 52-56k basic without shift penalties. In Singapore , I don't know.

Medicine is not all about the money. You have poor doctors , you have rich doctors. Just depends . I won't recommend that you do medicine just because you think it is a faster route to being a millionaire. You will burn out very fast or become very cold in the profession.

Your insurance will eat up 1-2 months of your pay for professional indemnity (to protect against negligence claims) . When you hit specialist level , depending on how high risk your job is , some surgeons actually pay out an equivalent of 3 months worth of their salary for professional indemnity PER YEAR , plastic surgeons even more. Should you be sued , your indemnity premium increases.

IF you are looking to earn lots of money - you might as well do finance and accountancy or actuarial science . Actuarial goes for 50k starting and will go up to 100-200k per year . Plus you just need to maintain your actuarial fellowship and you just make sure you don't f**k up the insurance premium calculations. Your maths have to be damn solid. Finance and Accountancy - I know a few who started with banks and moved up to 70k in their third year but very high risk job.

fymk SG

Oh yeah if you choose to take MCAT which is easier than GAMSAT - you have to enter as international student. Medicine now costs 30k per year to study for international students. That's just the tuition fees.

GAMSAT , the graduate australian medical admission test , can be hard. You have to hit 75th percentile . Not many people manage to get past in the raw score. I think for my year my raw score was only 70 on average for three tests and I was in 75th percentile. They go by the bell curve. Only 1% or less than 1% make it through the 80th percentile