Please help me pick out a uni course :) (2 Viewers)

[ohexploitable]

I wanted to study medicine but my UMAT scores were disappointing, based off last year's cutoffs at UWS I had a shot at an interview however it seems like this year's cutoff has been raised slightly, the cutoff was around 146 and I just missed out with 142

I've decided that medicine is what I really want to do so will try again next year, however, I need to find something to entertain myself with during the meantime I've thought about just taking a gap year but if I don't get into medicine again then that means I've pretty much wasted two years of my life in regards to my career.

I'm predicting my ATAR to be around 96-97 (possibly pushing into 98) which gives me plenty of headroom for most courses I've been so concentrated on medicine that I haven't really given any other courses much thought, I'm interested in the science and mathematics field so I was thinking of maybe some form of engineering or advanced science? What other courses should I consider?

In the event that I was never meant to be a doctor and never get in or if I change my mind in the future I'd also like a degree with good career prospects. My father studied electrical engineering at UNSW with fairly good marks but he graduated during a recession and his degree was useless at the time. What are the career prospects like for the various engineering courses and advanced science? I've heard that science degrees are like arts degrees and is only useful for becoming a science teacher, is there any truth to this?

TL;DR, I like mathematics and science, I will receive an ATAR of around 96-97, what course should I study?

 

[Timothy.Siu]

engineering should be better than maths/science.

 

[Chemical Ali]

There's a few things to think about here: I don't know how transfers into medicine actually work, but I do know that for med entry you want at least 98 UAI to be competitive but again I dunno if they'd still look at that in a transfer situation.

The second thing is that some unis have a transfer into med arrangement for the top x% of students in Medical Science so you might want to look into that. On the other hand, MedSci itself isn't that useful unless you want to go into research. In fact, that's what most science degrees are basically training you for, going into research. Have you considered that? Having said that there's also some prospects in industry for a geology and chemistry major. I'm told by people who did geology that the Miners are always short of geologists.

As for engineering, I wouldn't do engineering purely because you like maths and science, you have to have some interest in, e.g. building stuff, or electronic devices, or technical things. I mean you can do it, but if you've never had any aptitude or interest that way you'll find it incredibly boring and might not be very happy there. On the other hand you might find you love it.

There's things like "engineering (biomedical)" but I'm extremely sceptical as far as careers go for that, and in most cases it's really a mechanical engineering degree in fancy clothes.

 

[ohexploitable]

engineering should be better than maths/science.

Oh okay, I really couldn't think of much you could do with a science degree (in Australia at least). How about medical science? I heard that was a dead end too :S

If I choose engineering then what should I avoid in terms of job prospects?

 

[Chemical Ali]

Also did you ever consider radiology/nuclear medicine? It's not a glorious sort of career but you do use physics and it is in a medical field, good prospects pretty decent pay but not spectacular, you're probably a bit 'above' that tho

 

[ohexploitable]

engineering should be better than maths/science.

Oh okay, I really couldn't think of much you could do with a science degree (in Australia at least). How about medical science? I heard that was a dead end too :S

If I choose engineering then what should I avoid in terms of job prospects?

 

[M3H]

bachelor of arts

its a really good pathway into med

 

[ohexploitable]

Also did you ever consider radiology/nuclear medicine? It's not a glorious sort of career but you do use physics and it is in a medical field, good prospects pretty decent pay but not spectacular, you're probably a bit 'above' that tho

Ooooh I never thought about that, yeah I'd actually be really interested in that especially since it's medically orientated.

 

[enoilgam]

Engineering is always a good choice. If you like science and maths but are worried about career prospects, then B Commerce/Science (adv maths) is another good course. If your really into medicine though and you get a high ATAR (98+), then you should think of doing medical science at UNSW, because they have a transfer program into medicine. However, taking this path is a risk because the career opportunities with this degree arent very good and it is very competitve (most of the top medicine "rejects" try to get in this way).

I was in the same boat as you last year, and my advice would be to find a backup course you are really into because it makes things so much harder if you dont.

 

[Chemical Ali]

Engineering is always a good choice. If you like science and maths but are worried about career prospects, then B Commerce/Science (adv maths) is another good course. If your really into medicine though and you get a high ATAR (98+), then you should think of doing medical science at UNSW, because they have a transfer program into medicine. However, taking this path is a risk because the career opportunities with this degree arent very good and it is very competitve (most of the top medicine "rejects" try to get in this way).

That's what I thought, I dunno if other unis have something similar to UNSW's med sci system

Med Sci is a funny thing, if you do a bachelor's, pretty much all it qualifies you for is to be a lab tech earning ~40k (or less), but if you're good and willing to stay at uni for 10 years you could end up inventing cancer drugs or something

 

[ohexploitable]

There's a few things to think about here: I don't know how transfers into medicine actually work, but I do know that for med entry you want at least 98 UAI to be competitive but again I dunno if they'd still look at that in a transfer situation.

The second thing is that some unis have a transfer into med arrangement for the top x% of students in Medical Science so you might want to look into that. On the other hand, MedSci itself isn't that useful unless you want to go into research. In fact, that's what most science degrees are basically training you for, going into research. Have you considered that? Having said that there's also some prospects in industry for a geology and chemistry major. I'm told by people who did geology that the Miners are always short of geologists.

As for engineering, I wouldn't do engineering purely because you like maths and science, you have to have some interest in, e.g. building stuff, or electronic devices, or technical things. I mean you can do it, but if you've never had any aptitude or interest that way you'll find it incredibly boring and might not be very happy there. On the other hand you might find you love it.

There's things like "engineering (biomedical)" but I'm extremely sceptical as far as careers go for that, and in most cases it's really a mechanical engineering degree in fancy clothes.

Well at UWS a 93.55 is just as competitive as 99.95.

Hmmm scientific research, yeah I could see myself enjoying that but what is the pay like? I'm imagining it's like living off $50 a week until you get a research grant lol (please tell me I'm wrong haha).

Yeah I definitely have an interest in engineering, especially in regards to computer semiconductors and transistors etc. but also chemical/medical. Also I sort of have a passion for pure mathematics My fav <3

Biomedical engineering is a dead end?

 

[Chemical Ali]

It isn't like living on $50 a week, it IS living on $50 a week (well, $430 actually but after rent and the rest...) and there's no guarantee of a post-doc after your phd and why am I doing this kill me now

It's not that biomedical sci/engo is a dead end, it's just, I mean how big is the biotech industry in this country? Do we even have one? Maybe if you wanted to go to the USA there'd be something there. Going for the mines/construction/manufacturing is just a more logical bet if you're going to train to be an engineer.

You'll get to learn plenty of maths doing electrical engineering

 

[ohexploitable]

Engineering is always a good choice. If you like science and maths but are worried about career prospects, then B Commerce/Science (adv maths) is another good course. If your really into medicine though and you get a high ATAR (98+), then you should think of doing medical science at UNSW, because they have a transfer program into medicine. However, taking this path is a risk because the career opportunities with this degree arent very good and it is very competitve (most of the top medicine "rejects" try to get in this way).

I was in the same boat as you last year, and my advice would be to find a backup course you are really into because it makes things so much harder if you dont.

What jobs could I procure with B Commerce/Science (adv maths)?

 

[ohexploitable]

What are the job prospects like for combined civil engineering and architecture?

 

[enoilgam]

What jobs could I procure with B Commerce/Science (adv maths)?

Both degrees go well together if you want to do something like actuarial, finance or banking. You mentioned before that you like pure maths, I'm pretty sure that you can go into it with adv maths.

 

[Chemical Ali]

Actuarial supposed to be a good one if you like maths but I don't know anything about commerce stuff...

 

[Chemical Ali]

What are the job prospects like for combined civil engineering and architecture?

Waste of time, either become a civil engineer (good) or architect (bad)

 

[ohexploitable]

I know for medicine it doesn't matter what uni I go to in terms of job prospects but is that the case for engineering? I'd imagine not... would it be beneficial to go to UNSW instead of say UWS?

All of my friends will be going to Wollongong and I kinda want to join them

 

[ohexploitable]

Both degrees go well together if you want to do something like actuarial, finance or banking.

Definitely not then, I want to pursue a career that has a very practical aspect.

 

[Chemical Ali]

Do UWS even have engineering?

UoW is a great uni for engineering, you would not be disadvantaged getting a job at all