Career Q & A

Christine is an expert at AllExperts.com

Career Q & A

Learn from the advice I've given to others who have contacted me with career and medical school questions through AllExperts.com*

*All published questions and answers here are also posted on AllExperts.com. Clients who asked that their questions be designated "private" have not been included.

1) Advice for US Medical School Preparation

2) How Do My Best Subjects Help Me Decide On a Career?

3) From Architecture to Graphic Design

4) College vs. University: What's the Difference?

5) Writing Careers

6) Writing Careers - Follow up

7) Choosing a Career Path Based on Interests

8) Study Abroad Advisor or Family Life Education?

9) Doctor or Nurse?

10) Career Assessments

11) Business Careers

12) Career Crossroads

1) Advice for US Medical School Preparation
Q. Just wondering if you have any advice for getting accepted to med school in the US. I am currently a biology major and starting my sophomore year. I want to be a neurosurgeon, and despite desires of majoring in different things that I'm interested in or have talent for, I realize that my desire to make advances in neurosurgery is prime, and I would like to get as much education within my bachelor studies relevant to my greatest goal. Do you have any advice other than good grades, volunteer work, and good MCAT scores? Thanks.

A. You're right to point out that the ingredients for a successful medical school application in the US include good grades, volunteer work and good MCAT scores. One other important element is "informed choice". That means that the committees want to know that you know why a career as a physician is right for you (i.e. why not be a chiropractor, nurse, optometrist, pharmacist?).

As a sophomore, you're in the wonderful position of having some time to build skills and test out interests in a variety of areas. If you think that neurosurgery is your ultimate goal, you may want to investigate whether your school offers any neuroscience courses that you can take at the undergraduate level (either as a major or simply as elective courses). While you obviously won't be doing surgery yet, you'll have the opportunity to test out the subject of neurology and neuroscience to see whether it's really what you anticipated. If the courses contain anatomy lab components, you may even get to try some "surgical" techniques in the form of dissections.

One other thing I might suggest you pursue over the next couple of years is "information interviews" and "job shadowing". Information interviews are conversations you arrange with physicians working in neurosurgery or neurology (keep in mind that those are two different specialties but you may want to investigate both) where you ask them questions about what they do. They can be arranged by contacting your university hospital (if you have a medical school at your college) or local hospitals and asking for the neurosurgeon/neurologist's "administrative" office (rather than clinical office). Let them know that you're a student interested in the field and ask whether the doctor would be willing to speak with you for 10-15 minutes at their convenience about their work.

Sometimes, what follows from this initial conversation about someone's work is an offer to job shadow - i.e. the physician asks you if you'd like to accompany him/her to a clinic. While it's unlikely that you'll be able to be IN surgery with a neurosurgeon, you may be invited to watch from outside the room or accompany him/her when they are meeting patients pre- and post-operatively. Job shadowing is a great way to test out a field and see what it's like and that is also helpful when you go to write your medical school applications and do interviews. Many physicians I have interviewed with ask candidates what they have done to test out the field. They often note that volunteering in a hospital is great but it doesn't really help you understand the specific role of physician. Job shadowing a physician really shows the committees that you understand the work physicians do (as much as you can at this stage!) and how it might fit you.

Finally, you may want to see if you can volunteer or get a summer position in research in the field of neurology or neuroscience. Many universities and colleges have research opportunities in the various labs and research facilities around campus. This can allow you to gain more insight into the research area of your field of interest as well as become known by a physician or researcher in that field. This connection becomes potentially very useful for the reference letters you'll need when you apply to medical school!

Good luck!

2) How Do My Best Subjects Help Me Decide On a Career?
Q. My best subjects are science, math and writing. What career choices do you think would suit best just based on the subjects? Maybe a career that could incorporate each of those areas?

A. As you've probably figured out by now, "what career choices are best?" is not an easy question to figure out for yourself. It's also not the easiest question to answer really specifically without knowing you better, however, I will do my best.

You've probably been thinking about this for a bit and starting from what subjects you do best in is one method of narrowing down the choices. I'm curious about your wording though -- you said "my best subjects are..." - does that mean that those are the subjects that you get the best marks in or the ones that you like the best?

Ideally, what you want to do is choose a career based on areas of interest that you have AND skills you have but also pay attention to whether those are skills you actually want to use. For example, some people are really good in a particular subject, but doing that subject doesn't energize them...they just happen to be good at it. This is usually NOT a good way to choose a career path. For example, I am really, really good at typing (I've actually won contests!) and people always tell me what a great typist I am and are amazed at my weird talent in this area...but you know what? I don't want to do something where typing is the main element of the job because even though I'm good at typing, doing it doesn't particularly inspire me. So think about that with regard to your "best" subject in science, math and writing. Do you really love doing them? Do they energize you or are they simply things that you've always been good at? Ideally, you want to choose things that you're good at but that also really give you energy when you do them.

But let's say that you DO love the subjects you mentioned. It may be that you can head towards careers that use mostly one of them (and you use the other ones in your hobbies and spare time) or you head towards something that is a "braid" of some or all of them. Careers that use a braid of your interests in science, math and writing might include: science writer, teacher, professor, engineer, physician, test pilot, astronaut, pharmaceutical company executive, forensic scientist, researcher, occupational therapist, hospital administrator, psychometrist, test technician...and so on. If you took only one subject, like math, for instance, you might be interested in careers such as banking, investing, finance, real estate, insurance, logistics, planning, or management, just to name a few.

I know these ideas are a bit general but that's because the subjects you have mentioned are very broad so think about which parts of them you like best. For example, in science, do you like physics or biology or chemistry or all of them? And in each of those, which sub-topics are your favourites (for example, if you love biology, does the brain fascinate you or plants or animals?) All of that information will help you get a better, more individualized list of career options that match your unique interests.

You may be a stage where you don't have enough information yet to know what's interesting. In that case, I would suggest finding (use a phone book!) and setting up interviews with people working in fields that interest you. They might be strangers but most people are happy to talk to students about what they do and it gives you a great chance to ask lots of questions and peek in at jobs to see if they really are what you imagine. Often, these people will also invite you to follow them around or "job shadow" them for part of a day. This "trying on a job" really is helpful and will assist you to choose career choices that are a better fit for you.

Have fun exploring!

3) From Architecture to Graphic Design
Q. I'm taking an architecture degree and looking for a 1st job that's totally run out from my field of study. I have posted a few resume to apply for the field that i'm interested, which are graphic designer, computer graphic, advertising but without gain any chance to be interviewed. I want to change the path career for sure but totally lost...

1) I want to immediately get to the computer/ graphic designer, is that possible? if not what should I do for that? I always hope that it will not require me to turn back to school again...haha

2) Any ways to let me get interviewed or get attention by the computer/ graphic company

3) How should I get myself improved in the computer/graphic field and make me a succesful person?

4) I'm unemployed at present and need to look for money! Do I need to looking for architecture firm for temporary 1st or lower down my qualification to work for the computer/ graphic/ advertising related field?

5) or should I continue the career path related to architecture...

Thanks and I hope that you could help me.....I'm really lost!!!!

A. If you have taken an architecture degree, presumably you have learned some graphic and design skills with that. Although you are wanting to go into a different field, the field is somewhat related to the one you are trained for, so you may be able to go directly there without going back to school.

If you want to "go direct", one thing I might suggest is that you move your Education section to later in your resume. If you have "architecture" at the beginning of your resume when you're applying for a job in computer/graphic design, the employer will be confused right away. You want to start your resume and cover letter with information about the related skills you have in computer/graphic design. For example, do you know AutoCAD? What kinds of graphics/drawing programs do you know how to use? What kind of operating systems, software, hardware do you know how to use? These are good bits of information to have at the beginning of a resume aimed at computer or graphic design.

Look at job postings for computer/graphic designs positions to see what skills the employers are looking for in this field. Find those skills in your own background and highlight them up front in your resume and cover letter, perhaps in a "Summary of Relevant Skills" section.

You mentioned that you're unemployed at the moment. Certainly, since money is an issue, you may want to apply for architecture jobs (since you are trained in that) as well as computer/graphic design jobs. I would suggest having two different versions of your resume and cover letter for these different fields so that they really speak to the employers are you targeting. You might also want to consider registering with a temporary employment agency as they can help you get short-term work that will enable you to earn money quickly and gain some experience in a variety of fields that match your skills.

One question -- and I hope you won't be offended. It seems as if English may not be your first language since you are writing from a country whose first language is not English and your question had some grammar and spelling mistakes. Are you applying for jobs in English? If you are, you may want to have someone help you to make sure that your spelling and grammar are perfect in your applications. You don't want an employer to turn you down right away for this reason. Of course, if you are applying in a language you know really well, this is important too but may be easier for you.

Sometimes to change career paths, you need to take what I call a "stepping stone" job. It may not be completely in the field you want to get into (computer/graphic design) but may be somewhat more connected to the field of your education (architecture) but it might allow you to gain more experience with the field you want to get into. Perhaps a job that is with an architecture firm but doing computer/graphic design, or where there is the opportunity to do some computer/graphic design and gain more experience in that new field. Stepping stone jobs allow you to change your career identity over a relatively short period of time and while getting paid (yay!) and not having to return to school.

If you do decide to return to school to get some specific training in computer/graphic design, be sure to ask whether your architecture training allows you to skip ahead in the program (it possibly will). This will cut down on the amount of time and money you have to spend on new schooling.

Good luck!

4) College vs. University: What's the Difference?
Q. Hi, i'm looking to go to college/university for design. I enjoy creating different work on computers and other means. I am kind of stuck in choosing between a college or university. Could you maybe give me a direction in what the difference between the two is and what maybe the benefits of each? Thanks.

A. You are correct in thinking that you may be able to get to design work from either college or university. My answer will slightly over-simplify the differences between the two, but will hopefully get you started with some ideas and some suggestions for investigating this a bit more.

A very basic definition of the difference between college and university is that college tends to be gearing you towards a specific job and trains you in hands-on skills needed for that job. University tends to be theoretical and teaches you theory about a particular, or many subject areas. The exception to this is if you are taking a professional program at university (examples of a professional program would be engineering, nursing, business...) - those programs do train you with both theory and hands-on skills needed for the field of work. Design is also a program that may be structured in this kind of "professional" format (part theory, part practice) at some universities.

Statistics show that university graduates tend to end up later in their careers with higher salaries and a degree is sometimes the "minimum" required by some employers (but of course, there are always exceptions to these rules. Think: Bill Gates!) so if salary is important to you and you have the marks to get into university and you are interested in theory of design or can find a university program that combines theory with practical skills and/or internships, you may get the best of both the college and university advantages. Likewise, many colleges allow you to transition from their programs into university so even if you start in college and find that university is the place you want to end up, it is possible to head there.

Even though I work at a university and went to a university myself, I personally don't believe that university is always the thing to aim for and college is the "fallback" position. I also worked at a college and went to a college and I think that if you love the hands-on application of design, college is a place where you can really sink your teeth into learning the skills you need to transition quickly into your chosen field. Many university graduates who find their education interesting but theoretical go to post-degree college programs afterwards to get the "hands-on" skills they didn't feel they acquired at university. What you want to ask the programs and yourself is: which program fits your learning style best and which program leads to the kind of jobs you want to have?

If you are comparing programs, have a look through the design curriculum at a college and compare it to the design curriculum at a university. Which looks more interesting to you? That may be the best option for you to choose. Most colleges (and some universities) keep statistics on where their graduates end up in the workforce. Ask them about this and see if their answers are places you'd like to be. See if where the graduates end up are even radically different -- they might not be. In that case, either university or college might work for you and it's a case of where you can get in and afford to go.

Another good test is to talk to employers who hire designers to see what they ask for when they are hiring. Just look them up in the phone book or online, call them up, say that you're a student thinking of this career, and make an appointment to ask questions! Do they want college or university training? Search for design job ads online and in the newspaper. Do they ask for college or university? These are all ways you can find out what the field of work is looking for so that you can have the best chance when you graduate of connecting with work you'd like to do.

I hope that gets you started! Good luck!

5) Writing Careers
Q. Hi. I'm considering going back to school to start a new career. I've always loved writing and I'm wondering what careers would involve that skill. I know that becoming a successful and published author is a long shot, so I'm just looking for alternatives. I've heard that publicists have to write, but I believe that usually involves press releases and that doesn't really interest me. Can you suggest any other careers that involve writing? Thanks.

A. Congratulations on contemplating going back to school to start a new career. It takes guts to make a change like this so I wish you good luck with it!

You indicated in your question that you don't particularly fancy writing press releases so I'm wondering what kind of writing you do like. Are you more of a creative writer who makes up new characters and takes them on journeys and adventures? A technical writer who explains complex concepts to people in simple language? An editorial writer who comments and gives opinions on issues? An investigative writer who digs deeper into events or people or issues to find out the truth behind the image?

As you can see already, there are many different types of writers and for each, many places they can apply their skills. Some of the very directly-applicable places you find writers are in Public Relations departments (which may involve writing those press releases you're not so enthused about); newspapers, television and internet companies (these are people who write content); technical writing departments or organizations (e.g. the people who write text that helps you understand how to program your TiVo!); script writing for television, movies, advertising, commercials and politicians.

In addition to these very specific places to use writing, the good news is that many, many jobs have writing as a major component of what you do. For example, as a career counsellor, much of my work involves writing. I write everything from instructional handouts to curriculum to web content to books. It's a major part of my job. In a previous job when I was recruiting physicians, I was writing proposals, letters, reports, strategic plans...lots of writing again!

One handy thing if you'd like to break into fiction or non-fiction writing is to start building a portfolio of your work. Ideally, this is published work. One of the best ways to get published is to start sending articles/stories to newspapers or newsletters because they need a lot of content and will often accept articles from new writers. Pick ones that align with your topic areas. In newspapers, you may especially have luck sending in items to the "letters to the editor" section. Some newspapers also have an "essay" section that you can submit to. Then, when you do get around to approaching magazines or publishers about your ideas, you'll have lots of published work to show them. Also look for contests ("best children's story" etc.) to enter. There are many contests that allow new writers to break in to a particularly type of writing and get even short works published that way.

One of the things to think about if you are interested in non-fiction writing, is what other subjects/topics interest you as writing can be used in a wide variety of fields and it will be more interesting for you to write about something you already like to think about. For example, I know someone who's interested in medicine and and she works at a hospital writing everything from speeches for the hospital CEO to the hospital newsletter.

I also disagree to some extent with your statement "I know that becoming a successful and published author is a long shot". It certainly can be a lot of work but having just gone through the publishing process for the first time myself (my first book was published last April), I learned a lot about the "secret" world of publishing and I have come to believe that like any field, there are skills and knowledge you can acquire about publishing that greatly help your chances of success. It's a lot about learning how the system works!

A couple of suggestions for ideas (they are Canadian but you can probably find comparable sites if you live elsewhere). These are two sites that contain a bunch of writing-related/communications jobs and they can show you the wide variety of options you may have after graduating from a writing program (hint: Look for an educational program that has an internship component -- this will allow you to get some experiences and connections in the field).

www.jeffgaulin.com
www.mediajobsearchcanada.com

Good luck and best wishes pursuing your writing dreams!

6) Writing Careres - Follow up
Q. I don't think I would really like technical or investigative writing, but creative and editorial writing appeal to me. My other concern is newspapers and magazines becoming less appealing. I keep hearing so much about how people are no longer reading those as much as they used to. Also, if I did try and become a published author, I worry with new inventions like e-readers is anyone still buying books? I guess I'm just concerned about the publishing industry in general. I would hate to try and enter a field that isn't stable.

A. Certainly, creative and editorial writing can feel a bit more challenging to get in to than other types of writing but it is still possible. Although newspapers and magazines have taken a hit lately, they still exist and have, to some extent been replaced with online content, whether it's in the forms of blogs, online sites for the same magazines/newspapers that are switching more to online content, etc. The good news about that is that there is a booming freelance writing market and where publications used to mostly use "staff writers" who were paid a salary and were full-time employees, articles are now often accepted from people who do freelance work and run their own writing business selling their stuff to a huge variety of publications. So, think about how entrepreneurial you are. I believe that today's writer needs to be even more entrepreneurial than in the past. Some people love the freedom that comes with that life. Others find it too shaky and uncertain.

I think that despite e-readers, there is still a HUGE market for books (just check out your local Barnes and Noble). And even e-books are published by publishing companies with authors getting royalties (for example, my publisher is creating an e-book out of my book to sell to online bookstores and I will get royalties from that, just as I would from a hard copy).

Certainly, the publishing industry has its ups and downs and admittedly, lately it's undergone quite a radical downsizing and re-shuffling. However, many other fields have the same kinds of trends -- even so called "stable" jobs like investment banking! :) However, I do agree that creative and editorial writing isn't for the faint of heart -- it's an area of work where you have to be able to motivate yourself, send out queries to sell your work, market yourself and you may be largely reliant on yourself and your talents to make money. That's not the kind of career that suits everyone. If you want more "stability", your best bet is to look for work writing as part of an organization -- but that often means less creative writing (unless you work for an ad/marketing dept or agency) and more PR or technical writing.

One thing I might suggest is to ask the educational programs you're considering where their graduates go after they graduate. Do they get jobs and if so, where? What sorts of salaries do they make? Ask them to give you a lot of data about this so they don't only give you the one standout "success" story from their graduates. Many schools keep data on what their graduates do (because their programs are accountable to govt funding programs to ensure graduates get related jobs).

One other thing you could do is set yourself some writing goals. You don't necessarily have to leap whole-hog into this field in order to find work in it. If you start developing a portfolio (remember, writers write!) and sending out some pieces of work, you can do that without spending money on extra schooling and without giving up a current job or income source. You can sort of test out the field this way. I actually set myself writing goals every year as a New Year's Resolution. They were attainable but stretched me too. For example, year 1 my goal was "write at least 3 times a week". Year 2 was "write and get published somewhere". Year 3 was "write and get published and PAID". Year 4 was "write a book". Year 5 was "get book published". Year 6 is "write a fiction novel" Etc. You get the idea. All this you can do while you work at something else. This "toe dipping" process is an ideal thing to do if you're worried about stability and if you don't want to invest more money in education without having a guarantee at the end. Admittedly, a 5-year plan takes some patience!

If you're thinking, "holy cow, I have a busy life already, how am I going to fit in time to write on top of everything?" think about this: if writing isn't something you are motivated to do in your spare time, that might be a good clue that you're not enthusiastic enough about it to make it a real career. In my experience, a lot of people think they want to be writers (and I was one of them until I realized that it was never going to happen just by thinking about it.) Thinking you want to be a writer and actually writing are two very different things. The best advice I can give you (and I try to heed it myself even though sometimes it's hard!) is to write, write, write. It will give you a feel for whether this is something you could realistically do for a living.

And if you're really yearning for a career change, consider making contact with a career counsellor. We are trained to help people figure out how to articulate interests and skills and connect them with real ideas for work.

Best wishes from a fellow writer!

7) Choosing a Career Path Based on Interests
Q. Here's my problem. I'm finally deciding to go to college and create a bright future for myself. I'm currently working as an over-night stocker at a department store, and I'm absolutely sick of it. After realizing the dull and boring road my life continued to travel, I thought a change would be welcomed.

I'm not sure how many career paths are out there for one to sample, but I am sure of what my interests are. I love to read, write and play video games. I want to become an expert when it comes to creating a story with the words practically dancing off the page. I also included video games because I've thought about being a game reviewer. I'm not interested in getting rich (though, a bigger check, I won't turn down). My passion is to create a life that I can finally be proud of.

Please help me choose a career path, Christine. With the key words "Read, Write, and Video games" in mind. I'm searching for a drastic change in my lifestyle. Where can I go to pursue such a future? What career would best suit me? Thank you in advance for your help.

A. Congratulations on deciding to go after a change in your career direction! It takes a lot of courage and hopefulness to take that step so I applaud you!

I think that helping you choose a career path by way of this little interaction is perhaps a tall order. You may wish to consult friends, family or get an in-depth assessment done by a career counsellor to get a more detailed picture of your skills and interests--and corresponding occupations. Without that detailed assessment, it's hard for me to answer your question, "what career would best suit me?" however, I can try to give you some ideas to start with here.

It's great that you have distilled your primary interests down to a bit of a "focus statement" i.e. "Read, write and video games". That really helps you when you're looking for information or talking to people. It will help others to better understand what you love to do and therefore it's easier for them to help you find opportunities and information. Well done!

Here are some quick brainstormed ideas for you to look into with that focus statement in mind: novelist, editorial writer, editor, video game reviewer (as you mentioned), tech columnist/journalist, video game designer, salesperson (bookstore, gaming store), merchandiser (someone who markets and displays the games and sells them to stores from wholesale), test technician (someone who tests out video games before they go on the market). I've also known people who have become "super fans" of particular writers/musicians/video games and they get advance copies of the books/music/games and write reviews of them for websites. Check fan sites and list serves for the topics you are interested in for these opportunities. Normally, the companies are looking for the really die-hard fans.

It sounds as if you're generally a creative person with creative aspirations and career ideas. I don't know what your educational background is but that could be a factor in your future. Some work simply requires some experience as background while others require a specific education. Certainly education can help you convince employers that you know something about the topic and it also often gives you the chance to do internships, make connections etc. You may want to research creative writing programs, video game design programs, publishing programs. All of these will help you connect with people in those industries.

Also, here are a couple of creative/communications job sites to look at. While most of the jobs are Canadian, there may be comparable sites for US jobs. This is mostly to give you an idea of what some of the creative communications job titles are and what they are asking for in terms of skills, education and experience. Also, it's nice to know that there are whole job sites devoted to these kinds of jobs as creative jobs often get a bad rap -- with people thinking that there are no jobs in those fields because they don't know where to find them. Try: www.jeffgaulin.com, www.mediajobsearchcanada.com. In the US, try www.gamejobs.com and www.creativeheads.net

At the moment, there are approximately 30,000 classified job paths in my country. It would be similar for yours -- i.e. LOTS to choose from! You may want to visit the library and ask the librarian for the National Occupation Classification which lists all the currently classified occupations in the United States. It's a great way to get some ideas about what the possibilities are. Also, check out the books, "Careers for Cybersurfers" and "Careers for Bookworms" as they both have lots of ideas about occupations that tap into your interests.

I hope that gets you started on some investigating! Good luck and best wishes with your new career direction!

8) Study Abroad Advisor or Family Life Education?
Q. I have work experience in law and social studies education. I am also a returning student and I am enrolled in a legal studies program. I am interested in a career as an international student services advisor, a study abroad advisor or a family life educator. My hobbies are learning foreign languages, learning about different cultures, listening to music, and learning about family relations. My skills are planning, interviewing people, teaching, data entry, and mediating. Which career path should I pick? How do I begin a career as a study abroad advisor or family life education?

A. I've been thinking about your question for a couple of days and unfortunately, I don't think I can answer it properly in this forum. This is because the answer to "which career path should I pick" should be based on a number of factors, including: 1) a detailed exploration of your skills, experience and interests (best done with a career counsellor local to your area) 2) what income and opportunity the three fields you are considering have in the geographic areas in which you'd like to live It's very hard to glean enough information from you in this very brief Q&A format and to give you the detailed and YOU-specific answer you deserve.

However, to give you a quick, very general answer to "how do I begin a career as a study abroad advisor or family life educator", I would suggest talking to educational organizations such as universities, colleges, schools and counselling services to find out what background they tend to require (it sounds as if you may have some of the required background already, but there may be additional education or experience that would facilitate your transition into these fields) when they hire people into these roles. You could also get on the mailing list for professional associations for these fields (e.g. there are international study organizations as well as ones for professionals assisting students on those topics - check the "associations directory/directory of professional associations" at your local library) and sort of "infiltrate" them a bit to find out more about what they talk about, where they're working, what they're doing, and of course, any job postings that may come up. You sound as if you're already starting to do a good job of narrowing down career options based on interests and skills that you have.

The hobbies you mentioned fit well with the career options you're considering. For me, it would be about where is the path of least resistance? Which occupation can you transition to most easily right now or soon? Which one balances the financial input (i.e. the cost of more education) and maximizes your earning and fulfillment potential? Which one looks as if the day-to-day work would be the most rewarding (emotionally, etc.). Do some "information interviews" with people working in the fields you're considering to find out more about the good, the bad and the ugly of the jobs. Your teaching, interviewing and mediation experience will be very helpful to the work you're interested in as will the organizational skills (data entry, planning) so you may be closer to transitioning to these new areas of work than you thought!

I hope that gives you a few ideas. Best of luck with your new career aspirations!

9) Doctor or Nurse?
Q. I've recently been giving a lot of thought into what I'm going to do with my life. I am currently a high school sophmore. I have always been a thinker and a planner, and I feel like I need to know where I am going right now. I have been considering a career in medicine. I think I have the grades and the determination to become a doctor, but I want to know if it is worth it. I have also considered becoming a nurse. Do you have any suggestions or advice on which career is more practical, the pros and cons of each, or if you were my age - with your whole future ahead of you - what you would do? I'm super lost and I'll take any advice I can get. I would really appreciate your help.

A. Congratulations on thinking ahead about your career! There are actually some important things you can do while you're still in high school to help you prepare for a career in medicine (whether as a doctor, nurse or other medical specialist) so it's great that you're trying to sort some of this out as best you can now.

Certainly, as you mentioned, becoming a medical student and then doctor takes very good grades in high school and right from first-year university, excellent community service experience and stellar references. Nursing programs also set high standards for their students but they are not nearly as competitive to get into as medical school programs. That may be one thing to consider as you go forward.

Most importantly, I would suggest that you may want to talk to set up appointments with doctors and nurses and let them know that you're a student considering these careers. Ask them questions about their day-to-day work. See how it differs. Ask them about work hours, pay, best things about the job, worst things about the job, what a typical day looks like etc. The basic (very simplistic) difference between doctors and nurses is that nursing tends to allow you to work in a more care-giving role. Physicians tend to be more in a diagnostic, problem-solving role. Of course there are exceptions in both nursing and medicine but these tend to be big picture sorts of differences.

The other thing to consider is the financial and time investment. Physicians in Canada need a minimum of 3 years of university (and most have 4 or more before they get in to medical school), plus 3-4 years of medical school (depending on the school structure), then 2-9 years of residency training before they are licensed physicians. Nurses tend to do 4 year undergraduate degrees and then can begin practicing (although many also continue on to master's degrees, nurse practitioner programs, clinical nurse specialist programs etc.) Funding all that medical education, not to mention potentially delaying life stuff like having babies, can factor in to people's decisions. Of course, physicians generally make more per year than nurses (on average), however, think about how many hours physicians work (the average hours/week is 70) whereas nurses tend to work less (so the hourly wage isn't as different as it may first look on paper). There are other options though that buck the general trends. For example, some physicians work outside of clinical work (e.g. in a pharmaceutical company) and make less, but work fewer hours. Many nurses work in hospital administration in very interesting and well-paying jobs. So there are always exceptions and you can be as busy and successful or balanced and happy as you choose in either profession.

I would highly suggest checking out the following books at the library: Top 100 Healthcare Careers (it's American, but gives you lots of great ideas of other health care jobs in addition to doctor and nurse); Careers for Health Nuts; So You Want to be a Doctor, eh? (Canadian book); and also check out www.medhunters.com. It's a job posting website but it's a great place to see all the different roles within healthcare settings (both clinical and non-clinical). If you see yourself working with patients in the future in a hands-on way, stick to clinical programs at college or university (e.g. doctor, nurse, optometrist, chiropractor, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, child life specialist, x-ray technologist, perfusionist, etc) If you take biology or chemistry or another science program, it can be great but it won't lead you directly to a clinical job at the end of your undergraduate degree.

One ideal option you could consider is entering a nursing undergraduate program and then applying to medical school! Many nurses practice for a while after completing their degree and then apply to med school, or sometimes they don't practice nursing at all, they just finish their nursing degree and apply directly to medical school. Then, you have the best of both worlds -- a licensed professional occupation when you graduate from your undergrad degree (nursing) so if med school doesn't happen right away (as if often doesn't for people), you still have a great, clinical designation AND the opportunity to continue on to be a doctor if you've decided that's what you'd love to do. Medical schools in Canada don't require that you come from any specific undergraduate program (although some have a few pre-requisite courses they like you to have) so you can do any required pre-requisite courses in ANY program (even Film Studies, Philosophy, Geography....things that have nothing to do with science!)

I assume that you're taking sciences in high school? Keep that up as it will keep doors open for you for many health-related programs, whether at college or university.

I hope this gives you some ideas. If you want really detailed advice, check with your guidance counsellor or I have package that I work with students (locally and at a distance) on called "Thinking about Medical School?" More info about it at my website.

10) Career Assessments
Q. Hi, I am not too sure about my career is there any assessment I can take so it would help me?

A. There are a number of formal assessments you can take to help you get some career direction. A couple of major ones that jump to mind that are readily available are:

To take one of these tests, I would suggest checking your local phone directory for career counsellors as they are often qualified to administer these. They normally cost between $100-500, depending on who administers and interprets them.

I hope that gets you started.

11) Business Careers
Q. Hi, I was wondering what major/jobs are offer in business area if I was to choose that as a career?

A. Your question is pretty broad but I will do my best to answer what I think you are asking.

You asked "what major/jobs are offered in business" -- those are two separate questions so I'll tackle each:

1) Majors: you can major at college in general business and/or in any of the various sub-specialties of business, namely: finance, accounting, marketing, business development, international business, human resources, organizational psychology, etc.

2) Similarly, you can enter any of those sub-specialty areas of business as a career but people with business degrees literally work in every kind of industry and sector -- from investment banking to international trade to credit counselling to office management to budget management to recruitment coordination to marketing executive to sports promoter to non-profit executive director! Any organization that has a client base and needs to stay in business is poised to hire a business graduate. This is great because it means you can layer your other interests on top of business to find a career that's really interesting. E.g. Love sports? Why not work as a marketing executive for Reebok with your business degree? Love wine? Why not do finance for a vineyard? There are endless possibilities.

If you aim for a general business program, you'll get a good overview of all the basic areas of business and often programs will allow you to specialize more in later years of the program. Ask programs where their grads ends up to give you a sense of whether the career options sound like something you'd like to do.

Best of luck!

12) Career Crossroads
Q. I`m 31 yrs and have 8 yrs of marketing experience. Right now I am working in educational consultancy as manager (just 1 month ago). Now I have an opportunity in one of the top gyms as a manager (my long term goal is to open a gym not educational consultancy.) Right now I am unable to decide what I have to do because this current job has not much pressure as this is a new business. Please help me.

A. This is one of those "career crossroads" moments and decisions. Is it better to stay in the "safe" place or risk everything to move to something new and unknown but which is a dream?

The answer really depends on factors outside your working life. It is stressful to change jobs and perhaps even more so to go into a new field. If your financial, home, romantic, spiritual life is on a pretty even keel right now, it might be a great time to make the leap. The thing I like about this new opportunity as a gym manager for you is that it allows you to harness experience you already have (business and marketing) as well as build skills and learn about the industry that most interests you (owning a gym) without all the risks of actually owning the gym yourself. From that perspective, it sounds ideal!

It even makes sense, in some cases and if you can financially swing it to take a cut in pay to move into work that will help you gain experience and knowledge that will help you down the road to your ideal job.

Before taking the leap, have a discussion with the people offering the gym opportunity to find out more about their expectations -- is it a high-pressure job? What are the big challenges they see facing them in the coming year? What are they looking for in their "ideal" gym manager? If the answers to those questions and your questions sound reasonable, it may be that an ideal opportunity is waiting for you.

Congratulations and good luck!