Change of Career Plan

InFront

Hi, Im not sure if this belongs here so feel free to move at your discretion.

I have been studying medicine for the past few years of my life, and have eventually come to the conclusion that this *may* not be the career for me. I think that my skills and interests are best employed in other areas where the traits of 'caring', sensitivity and time commitments are required to a lesser extent. Its not a career I can see myself getting any satisfaction out of. I have been in touch with the faculty office who suggested I take a year out of college and decide for real what I want to do in 2007.

Right now, all I can think that I want to do is to be employed in finance or economics. I was quite good at Maths in school, and am interested in commerce and law. In retrospect I feel that a degree in actuary, law or economics would have been more suited to my personality, and if I do ever go back to university, it will be to register for one of these three.

So onto my question: How employable am I on the basis of my leaving cert? I got quite good results and I am a quick learner. For most of these jobs, is it not just a case of learning 'on the job' or learning as you go along and moving higher up the employment ladder, or are you limited by your third level qualifications? I have been sending CVs around for VERY junior positions in various firms that have vacancies, and they are all responding so far by saying that my application isnt what they are looking for. This is a bit unnerving. I dont want to sound overly choosy or dismissive, because I know that Im just another college dropout, but if I told my parents I was quitting medicine to work in a call centre or on a shop floor, they would completely lose it! I would at least like to think Im entering a post with a decent chance of progression available.

How hard is it to get employment in the financial services sector at the minute?

And how possible is it to have a good career and, lets face it, decent earning potential, without a college degree? I did notice the thread started by Mr Srnub below but his circumstances weren't obvious and he seems to be concentrating his interest on banking institutions.

After 3 years of a fairly intense lecture and examinations routine, and the concurrent partying, I dont think I can bear the thought of starting out on day 1 of a four year degree programme again. This post isnt a personal issue about 'what I should do with my life' btw, Im just looking for advice specific to obtaining employement in the finance sector.

GreeBo

your best bet does indeed sound like a "menial" office job, but I think you need to look at the small companies as the bigger ones will probably just discard your CV as the get too many to "take a chance"

Try some of the smaller investment outlets, somehwere in backoffice might let you learn something without too much pressure or needing to know stuff.
The problem with finance "type" jobs is that the people working there are usually too bloody busy to have to train in someone from scratch.

stepbar

The lesson is: Dont listen to daddy or mummy when choosing a career for yourself... If you want to earn the big bucks stay where you are, otherwise prepare for 4 more yrs in college cause actuary is damn damn hard

TempestSabre

Why not explore other possibilities in the Heath Sector. Leverage what you've done so far.

fizzy

doctor, legal eagle, actuary... these careers are all quite different! the only thing these professions share is needing high points to get into the college courses, prestige and a potentially big salary after all the hard slog!

so, i would think long and hard before going into either the law or actuarial fields. are you sure it is what you really want to do? what really gets you going?

i know that med is extremely tough, and you are have a long road ahead, so if you know in your heart that it's not for you, you should probably cut your losses there. but, i would not dive straight into something else either!

on the plus side, you must have a great leaving cert. and that always impresses employers. it's weird, i have a first class honours degree but all anyone is ever interested in at interview is my leaving!

also, bottom rung office clerk positions may not be the only thing on offer. if you do decide to go down the actuary route, insurance companies still recruit for actuarial students straight from school. you will see the adverts in the irish times friday jobs supplement when the leaving cert results come out.

but stepbar is right, actuary is damn hard. i did actuarial studies myself but decided it was not for me. and the straight from school option is far harder again! if you get on well, you're looking at about 7 years studying while working with a killer exam system. if you do well in the 4 year college course, you should qualify in an additional 3 years.

if you want to try the more general finance route, the major banks sometimes hire school leavers too, although competition for these jobs can be intense. have you any personal connections in any of them? unfortunately, that makes a big difference.

to be honest, if you really want to get into finance, i would consider starting another degree. this could be a short cut in the long run! plus you will have a few more years of the student life before you have to face up to the rat race. the few years of med you have done will have taken their toll, particularly if you were hating it.

by comparison, a general business degree will be a lot less demanding and leaves lots of career possibilities wide open.

if you decide on the actuary degree, there can still be a lot of possibilities i.e. not all actuarial students become actuaries - some do stockbroking, financial consulting etc - but the course is tailored towards actuaries and that is what most go on to do. it's fairly intense and you would want to be very into it. the course is a mix of maths/stats and business. but it is far more important to be into the maths! if you have any doubts or prefer the softer business side, stick with more general finance courses!

i changed career. lots of people do these days. it's not like our parents' time where you were stuck in the one job for 40 years. i have never regretted getting out. it takes courage but the payoff can be great. good luck

TempestSabre

fizzy - what did you switch to, roughly.

damnyanks

How long do you hvae to study medicine before you get any form of degree from it? If you are well into the degree (Beyond first / second year) It may be worth finishing it and doing a masters in something else.

By the sounds of it though you just want the prestigious / high paying career without much interest in the topic. That's fine but you may find yourself in the same position while pursueing another career.

InFront

damnyanks wrote:

How long do you hvae to study medicine before you get any form of degree from it? If you are well into the degree (Beyond first / second year) It may be worth finishing it and doing a masters in something else.

By the sounds of it though you just want the prestigious / high paying career without much interest in the topic. That's fine but you may find yourself in the same position while pursueing another career.

I have 2 more years in medicine and one year pre-reg, now is when the real clinical and hospital training begins and in my opinion, it is wasteful and pointless beginning this as I have no intention of working as a doctor. Some universities allow students a B.MedSci (science degree) if they dont want to enter hospitals after pre-clinical but unfortunately not my college.

On the second point I am interested in the finance sector, very interested in it. I am only looking at high point courses because to be honest the points are there to be used and these courses are most favoured by employers. If it was just income and titles I was interested in, Id stay where I am.

Where do you think most employers in the financial services sector advertise? Are their any specialist advertising publications or websites I should look into? Ive tried The Irish Times and The Independent jobs supplement but there is very little available (for what I have - a Leaving Cert) that employers are interested in.

homeOwner

Can you transfer into a BSc course and get some credit fr the work you have already done, if you pick something like biology? Regular science is 3 years, 4 years for honours in some colleges. But you might get to skip year 1 or year 2. Then when you are finished that do a Masters in Business studies or Management, loads of science students do that. That will be only 1 year, So all in all in about 3 years you could have a masters in some business thing and a BSc.

Where do you think most employers in the financial services sector advertise? Are their any specialist advertising publications or websites I should look into? Ive tried The Irish Times and The Independent jobs supplement but there is very little available (for what I have - a Leaving Cert) that employers are interested in.

You're best bet is to find a bank or insurance company who is hiring school leavers. Contact some recruitment agencies like CPL, RESCON, Computer People..etc...

For anything else you will be up against all the college grads for entry level type jobs and you problaby havent much hope of getting in anywhere decent to get a start.


An alternative career for some doctors who drop out is to get a job as a drug rep or consultant with one of the big drug companies (but i think you have to finish your medical training) I know a few people who have quit medicne to do this but mostly in england.

damnyanks

Why not transfer to one of the Universities that allow you the BSc in medicine or whatever if its only 1 year. As far as finance goes you can earn a hell of a lot more then medicine if you hang around for a career.

How's your french ? I know UBS do some school leaving program in switzerland. Also bear in mind leaving your course to do something like that can be put in 2 lights

Pythia

Acturies and accountants don't need a degree, they just need professional qualifications, although firms tend to prefer taking people with degree.
So you could go straight into either of those.

fizzy

TempestSabre wrote:

fizzy - what did you switch to, roughly.

a bit late in getting back to this thread - sorry! i did a one year hdip in comp sci (a "conversion course" designed for people with non IT degrees) and luckily got straight into the web dev niche i was after...

InFront wrote:

I am only looking at high point courses because to be honest the points are there to be used and these courses are most favoured by employers.

I hope things work out for you InFront, but picking high point courses because points are there to be used does not sound like the right way to find your true vocation! Also, I know it is sensible to consider job prospects when deciding on a course, but it is not helpful if that is the primary reason - it is best to decide on a profession that you would be happy in, in good times and bad. the cliche is true, if you have a job you like you won't work a day in your life.

when the IT crash came, applicants for courses plummeted. but many observers did not see this as a disaster, since the applicants who were put off by the short term crash were not the most valuable IT workers for the future. those who were really into IT, as against those just in it for the money, were more likely to stick with it...