[disjunction]

[ QUOTE ]

Children should be brought up with the beliefs that if they work hard and exhibit intelligence they should aspire to enter the fields of medical research, law, or engineering. These are all scalable as far as impacting lives. A med research breakthrough can cure millions of disease. The courts hold government in place. Engineering is the gateway to technology. All of these fields are impacted on a large scale when a genious enters the stage. Geniouses are just flat out wasted on the doctor-patient relationship.

[/ QUOTE ]

I agree with the point that doctors can be a bit overrated as compared to other professions.

However, the good that a doctor does is much less nebulous. It's not as satisfying to be an engineer. Most engineering is some piece of the larger picture. And even if you do save lives, it's not the same. Google search has probably saved countless lives, right? Does the founder of Google leave work with a smile on his face because he saved 1,000 lives yesterday? Furthermore, if the google algorithm were not invented, would some other college kid have filled the void with something better?

How about the guy who just had his 2-year project cancelled, or the professor whose funding ran out due to the bureaucracy?


When you are in college you think that you can live your whole life as an engineer, satisfied that you are doing good despite the lack of immediate feedback. It's an easy thing to say. But years and years can wear on you.