Oncologist Career
Oncologist Career
The Real Poop
You have a super-strong mind with a heart to match. You want to do some real good in the world while still challenging yourself. And, if at all possible, you'd like to deliver a roundhouse kick right into cancer's face, because that disease is mean.
Maybe you can't physically beat diseases up, but you can still fight them with your brain if you become an oncologist. Oncologists treat all types of cancer and conduct research into finding cures for various types of the disease. The learning curve is steep, and you'll spend lots of time working and going to school, but the rewards for saving lives are nice.
Oncologists rank at the top of the doctor's pay scale, earning just over $200,000 per year at the beginning of their career (source). So, you start making real money even before you've finished training. Actually, doctors never really finish training—that's why it's called practicing medicine.
First, you have to practice at being a student. We hope you love to learn, because there's lots to learn about in oncology and it takes some serious time commitment. Four years of undergraduate, four years of medical school, two or three years of residency in internal medicine, and then three years of oncology residency. For those of you who were too lazy to add that up, that's a whopping fourteen years of school.
Just because it'll take you fourteen years to become an oncologist doesn't mean it'll be fourteen years of sitting in a classroom, though. Much of medical school is hands-on work; residency is actually working at a hospital as a doctor while you train for a specialty. And there are a lot fewer books than you'd think, given that you'll be studying for fourteen years. (There are still lots of books, though.)
Speaking of specialties, there are many colleges across the U.S. that specialize in training the next generation of medical professionals. This means you'll have a wide variety of schools to choose from when you ace the pre-med program at a college of your choice. If you're applying to Harvard, you'll need some deep pockets. The tuition is over $50,000 a year. Ouch. How about a little CPR for your wallet?
Other top medical schools, like Baylor and the University of Texas, cost less than $20,000 a year (source).
After medical school, you'll start your career as a doctor by working at a teaching hospital, being mentored by seasoned doctors, and completing research projects.
One of the main things you'll learn during this time is how to help patients and their families understand the steps to take when a patient isn't going to survive. As an oncologist, you're likely to treat a patient for a while, meaning you'll get to know a number of people in a patient's family.
Delivering bad news to a patient is never easy. Doctors who deal with end-of-life care turn their attention to the family as well and help them through the loss. It may not be fun to think about, but treating cancer could mean working with many terminal patients.
Being a busy doctor isn't all gloom and doom, though. If that's what you're thinking by now, we're happy to say that you're (mostly) wrong. Many forms of cancer, such as childhood leukemia—which was almost impossible to fight just a few years ago—now have a high survival rate. Plus, as an oncologist, you'll be doing research to test new treatment methods. Who knows what you'll discover?
The field of oncology is growing, both in patient care and in research. If you have the brains, the stamina, the dedication, and the desire to serve your fellow human-types, becoming an oncologist is something you should really consider.