Deciding a Major

If you want to become a psychologist, you'll have to choose between teaching psychology and doing medical psychology. And after all that studying, it doesn't even pay well. (I doubt Pakistanis go to psychologists alot?)
Dentistry is hard but takes a shorter time. And it pays pretty well (In 32 teeth, one is sure to be troubling someone!)
Pharmacists are in high demand. But I don't know about the studies.

But I wouldn't recommend medicine at all. Unless you're very smart or don't mind studying 24/7. All that headache about getting into a good institution and then all those fat books of anatomy and biochem and surgery and physiology and pharmacology and pathology..

Just study becoming a doctor... if you like it. It is not a matter you're smart or not...and do you think all the doctors are smart?

wa alaykum us-Salaam

format_quote Originally Posted by AnonyMouse~

Asalamualaykum,

I just wanted some pplz opinion on deciding on a major...

Just to let you know i'm Pakistani and my parents like any other tell me to become a doctor...

I dont really think im smart enuff tho so they decided to let me choose between psychology, pharmacy, or dentistry... but i dont know which one to choose.

Im an A&B student..i want to get a good paying job. I really want to do psychology cuz Ive always wanted to help special kids but I heard you dont end up with a job real soon and you dont earn much.

So i just want to hear what you all think

jazakAllah khair!
Masalamah

i personally wouldn't study psychology, because i think its a waste for the reason that i cant understand why you need to spend up to x years to help someone :$ i really find that strange. but that's just my opinion. i would personally go for dentistry or pharmacy...i think pharmacy involves alot of bio-chem () and if bio chem isnt your strong point (like me ) take that into consideration as well

All that headache about getting into a good institution and then all those fat books of anatomy and biochem and surgery and physiology and pharmacology and pathology..

are you serious, those books rock

^ agree with the sentiments for psychology lol!

I'm doing pharmacology alhamdulillah there is ALOT of sceince/biology involved and you have to learn things in quite a depth! however my dentist friends tell me [although its a hard course to get onto] once you are on it you'll be alright because what you learn in lectures is pretty much what comes up in the exams unlike pharmacy/pharmacology/biomed where alot of extra reading and journal reading is required.

The difficult part of dentistry is the clinical side, where you have real patients and you have to treat them for real, but they dont just shove you into a room and say "heres your patient" you have a clinical partner who you train up with then when you're all ready to go you have a real patient waiting to get their teeth done

Pharmacy is a 4 year degree + another 1 year of pre reg [year out in a pharmacy]
Dentistry is 5 years and in the 4th year you go on an elective which everybody always enjoys! same for MEdicine. If you can get the grades sis then by all means go for it insha'Allah

sorryyy i wrote too much lol! clearly i love science lol! keep us in your duaas insha'Allah

oh and about paying ... once you're a dentist the money comes rolling in! its a very high paying job! pharmacy is around the 30K area and pretty much stays about that much ... pharmacology starting is about 18/20 grand but that increases as you're experience increases.

format_quote Originally Posted by mahfuja

once you are on it you'll be alright because what you learn in lectures is pretty much what comes up in the exams.

From what I heard, in the oral exam (is that what its called?) , they ask the kinda stuff which you can't answer even if you know the Qs beforehand.

format_quote Originally Posted by Umm ul-Shaheed

are you serious, those books rock

My sis had exams so she asked me to 'discuss' it with her (even though I didn't get a word of it) so she could learn it better. I fell asleep within an hour <_<
and all I remember now is something about gangrene and necrosis and repiratory tract infections and urinary tract infections and the effects which mainly included nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and hypersensitivity (?) <_<
And I forgot to mention- I hate pharma!
*~Medical totally stinks in my opinion. ~*
OP, go for law! (that is where I'll go when I can't think of anywhere else to go )

Wa alaikum asalam sister

I think you're focusing on the wrong thing- the major. What you really should focus on is your intention for study. Why do you want to go to college? To be able to get a job that pays well? Will you want to work full time when you're done? Do you just want to study for the sake of gaining knowledge? Do you want to study something you enjoy, or something that will give you money/status/something else? Think about your reasons for it, then decide.

For example, you say you want to study psych, but then mention that the pay may not be so high. You've got to decide whether your interest in psych would be more important than having a job that pays better.

Research your options. I remember when I was trying to decide what to study, I looked into absolutely everything, read about it. There are plenty of sources available online. You can look into what each major is like and what career it can take you to- or you can go backwards; decide on a career, and see what major it would require. Or you may not even want to work at all and just study something you enjoy.

A lot of high schools have career and aptitude tests you can take that can give you a general idea of what you may be interested in. They aren't going to give you a straight answer, by all means at times they could come up with something completely senseless, but they can give you somewhere to start investigating.

And always remember that even if you do end up studying something, and then decide you don't like it, there's always a chance to change, either while still in uni, or later on during your working life.

Good luck sis, inshaAllah you discover what you're meant to do!

^^^i totally agree with you ukhtee.

study smart first...and and at the end of the day let you yourself choose what you want to be...and don't let the results choose what career you want.

Just want to add that pharmacy is a six year degree in the U.S, but you graduate with a doctorate in pharmacology.. I am not sure where you are from and if it differs in Europe in general?..
Medicine is hell and not all that it is cracked up to be but I can never deter someone from doing what I personally consider to be the world's most noble profession.

Pharmacy is an excellent choice for women. Excellent pay, great hours, and you have the benefit of doing it per diem, full time, in hospital or retail of even becoming a clinical pharmacist.. My sis is a pharmacist, I always consider them to be much smarter than doctors, I can certainly say Masha'Allah, she has always been endowed with the brains that I never had!

the decision should really be yours..and do give it some good thought..
it isn't about what it looks like to people, since like marriage it is a life long commitment that only you will have to live with.. so take some time off and make a good list of pros and cons and then make istikhara and take it from there insha'Allah..

I wish you the very best insha'Allah

Hmmm...I think im going to go for dentistry but if I fail to get into dentistry school ill go onto pharmacy school..and medicine, i'm not even going to consider it cuz of the amount of studying involved. >.< I would like to have time to study Islam too. But just another question, I live in the US. Does anybody know of any college or uni that has Islam AND science majors??

btw jazakAllah khair for taking out your time to reply!

Having spent a large part of my life as a psychologist I find that most people outside the field mistake Therapists, Counselors and Analysts being the only fields open for psychologists.

Psychology is a very diverse and large field consisting of at least 50 different areas and numerous disciplines. Some fields of psychology are:

Clinical--That is what most people think of when they hear the word psychologist a clinical psychologist will often be working in one of the 3 fields I mentioned.

Physiological--Which is the field I was involved in, that is basically a medical field very similar to neurology although I worked most often in research and when reserch was not available I usually worked as a counselor.

Educational--that is a fascinating field and usually results in working as a school administrator or as a curriculum planner.

There are numerous fields of psychology, investigate them before you rule out pychology as a choice.

That's what I thought but then everybody started saying how i'd end up with no job and who really wants to study for 4-8 years n end up with no job..? But just a quick question, would you say it requires a lot of studying? Cuz the main reason I want to do it is to be able to balance out my days with memorizing quran, learning more about Islam, and then studying for exams etc. I've seen people with science majors and they spend the whole day studying! I don't want to end up like that!! Life is short.

format_quote Originally Posted by AnonyMouse~

That's what I thought but then everybody started saying how i'd end up with no job and who really wants to study for 4-8 years n end up with no job..? But just a quick question, would you say it requires a lot of studying? Cuz the main reason I want to do it is to be able to balance out my days with memorizing quran, learning more about Islam, and then studying for exams etc. I've seen people with science majors and they spend the whole day studying! I don't want to end up like that!! Life is short.

There is no easy way to bypass the intensive study required if you are planning on a professional level degree such as a Ph.D or an MD

A Ph.D in psychology often follows the same curriculum as an MD.

A good choice if you are not decided between Med or psych would be to take a BS in psych and carry either a second major in biology or at least a strong minor in bio. This would prepare you to switch to premed in your senior year if you desire at that time also it would give you a good back ground to seek a Masters in Education or Psychology if for some reason you do not get accepted by a Med School

jazakAllah khair! This was the best advice i've recieved so far alhamdulilah and it'll work out too inshaAllah even if I want to do dentistry or pharmacy and don't get accepted..at least i'll have a backup. I appreciate it a lot. May Allah reward you immensely.

Masalamah

format_quote Originally Posted by AnonyMouse~

jazakAllah khair! This was the best advice i've recieved so far alhamdulilah and it'll work out too inshaAllah even if I want to do dentistry or pharmacy and don't get accepted..at least i'll have a backup. I appreciate it a lot. May Allah reward you immensely.

Masalamah

Although we all want to follow our original Plan A, a wise person will also develop a plan B as an alternative. Go for the stars but also be certain you can land on the moon if you are prevented from reaching the stars.