Bit of a crisis..

Seanf999

Small crisis?..?
I'm 17, I wouldn't call myself thick.. I get Bs and As in school and the odd C. For years I thought I wanted to be a surgeon.
I'm starting to second guess myself (not the first time but the time that makes the most sense)
I'm starting to think in compensating for a lack of confidence that i feel if I can call myself a doctor maybe I'll be more confident.

I don't find it easy to get good grades, I mean I'm smart but the want to study isn't there..
I don't know if I could deal with that length of schooling either!

The other career lingering in my head is becoming a barber..
I have never cut hair but I do tidy up my friends hair/myself or my dad..
I like the surgical precision, my main skill is working with my hands (hence the surgeon rather then gp idea)
I'm good at business and I would intend on owning my own shop.

I want to have a happy family life in the future. I want to spend time with my family and provide for my family..from what I've heard that is hard to do when you are working 80 hour weeks at minimum.

The other issue is my parents. They expect me to go to college and unless I study business and do barber course on the side I don't know because medicine is a undergrad degree so I never thought of anything else..

I want to have a happy life overall. I want be able to provide for my family (if I have one) and I want to make my parents happy and enjoy life..
I'm a bit confused..

Outkast_IRE

For now just concentrate on getting as good a leaving cert as you can so you have plenty of options in the future.

If you have the points to go the doctor/surgeon route, then give it a good honest go. You would have to hope that in a 4 years or so time when you start working in hospitals etc, the current situation will not be quite so bad.

That being said, if you have the motivation and dedication to carry on you will be fine. It can often be hard to apply yourself in leaving cert as many of the subjects dont really interest you. That changes alot if you pick the right 3rd level option, all of a sudden it can be a case where a lot of it interests you and it becomes easier to knuckle down with some self discipline. However to get there and have that option you need to be really self disciplined now and put in the hard work even though you might not love all the subjects.

No matter what career you pick there will always be some aspects or tasks that you arent particularily fond of but you need to just knuckle down and do them to the best of your ability, and then enjoy the other aspects which you like.

If things dont work out for whatever reason you could always learn to be a barber at a later date, it could be much tougher to go be a barber for a while and then embark on medicine after a break of a few years from study.

Its a long career path to where you want to go, but in most fields to get to the top level academically you are talking 7-8 years by the time you do a degree and study for a PHD.

As an entry level junior doc you may be working long hours, but at that stage of your life you probably wont have a family anyway, as your career progresses your hours ease back a bit.

LucidLife

You already seem to know the answer. If you want to fully embrace family at any point in life don't become a doctor/surgeon. I know the kid and grandkid of two surgeons from Russia. He is a tiler (working with his hands) and can choose his own hours and very much a family man. He was in your shoes years ago and I know has no regrets regarding his profession. Remembering his dad and grandad were surgeons he was all too aware of what surgeons (and people working in the medical profession in general) have to sacrifice in the home.

Whatever you do as poster says, for now focus on LC and nothing else. You may be surprised as to what you want to do down the road and a strong LC leaves many open doors.

I know a few guys training to be barbers arm that are getting on quite well. If you do pay attention to detail its good work. Everyone gets a haircut and more so people love being made a fuss of. Tips are a big part of their income I know.

TimeToShine

Your primary concern should be getting the points for medicine. Worrying about a family at 17 is madness. You said yourself you don't find getting good grades easy so the decision may already be made for you.