I am in first year life sci, and i really hate it, also, there are no job prospects that seem to interest me- for example i dont want to go into med school or research, etc. I'm just really unsure of what to do because i feel like i am walking into a dead end. I really want to transfer programs, maybe nursing or medrad, could anyone give me some insight on these two programs? (and if possible how to apply to transfer/requirements etc). I know that these two programs are very specific, and you have no choice to switch once you are in them, right? Also, I would love to become a physics teacher (highschool) but everyone is discouraging me and saying that it will be impossible to get a job. Could anyone give me some insight on becoming a high school science teacher in the near future? Confused...
Thank you

Originally Posted by psps

I am in first year life sci, and i really hate it, also, there are no job prospects that seem to interest me- for example i dont want to go into med school or research, etc. I'm just really unsure of what to do because i feel like i am walking into a dead end. I really want to transfer programs, maybe nursing or medrad, could anyone give me some insight on these two programs? (and if possible how to apply to transfer/requirements etc). I know that these two programs are very specific, and you have no choice to switch once you are in them, right? Also, I would love to become a physics teacher (highschool) but everyone is discouraging me and saying that it will be impossible to get a job. Could anyone give me some insight on becoming a high school science teacher in the near future? Confused...
Thank you

Physics might be possible, its not over saturated (I think) like Bio and English right now. You need to do Teacher's College, which I want to say you can apply to after Year I or Year II (check!) Don't let what anyone says discourage you. What, your not going to follow your dreams because someone said its hard?

Talk to an Academic Adviser for Nursing or Med Rad. GO IN PERSON, or else you won't get all the answers. Bring your timetable (so you know what courses you have) and your marks so they can ball park if you have a chance or not at transferring.

I urge you to CALM THE **** DOWN.

But in all seriousness, look into medical physics.

If you can stick with Life Sci until second year, you can apply to switch into the accelerated nursing program. Basically you cram 4 years of nursing courses into 20 months, and use the courses you already had as electives. You need to have 2 Psychs, 2 Chems, 2 Anatomy and Physiology and 1 Stats. The best way to be able to get a Stats class in second year is by going into Psych or BioPsych- that way you can take Psych 2RRA3.

I started in Life Science as well, and was able to make the switch. Its definitely something you should look more into!

If you're willing to go out of province, the job prospects for physics / math teachers would likely be very good. There are issues with where you get your teacher's certificate and where you teach, but they're all problems that are solvable / preventable with some planning. If teaching is what you love and are really interested in, then its definitely a goal worth pursuing. Please note that if you go out of Ontario you should expect to be paid significantly less, but if you love it, then that's likely a secondary consideration for you .

Thanks for all the advice, it is greatly appreciated Does anyone know what the requirements are to transfer to medrad are? i cant find info on the mac website

Originally Posted by psps

Thanks for all the advice, it is greatly appreciated Does anyone know what the requirements are to transfer to medrad are? i cant find info on the mac website

I'm not 100% sure of this, but I believe because Medrad is so specific and they have so many required courses, I don't think you can transfer into it after first year, because you would've missed a lot of introductory first year courses and such! Sort of like Kin.

Originally Posted by britb

You need to do Teacher's College, which I want to say you can apply to after Year I or Year II (check!)

Just wanted to say, in order to apply to teacher's college, you need at least a General level bachelors degree (3-year), but that will put you at the bottom of the payroll, and will make you look 'less appealing' to prospective schools/employers. Next up is an Honours degree (4-year), and if you're hoping to teach highschool (e.g. physics) you need a 2nd teachable (i.e. (varies slightly from school to school) take 3 full years of a secondary subject, math goes well with english) in order to apply for the 'intermediate-senior' grade range. This will put you at the 2nd highest pay grade (I think), with the highest being teachers who hold a masters.

Not saying it's not doable or unreasonable or anything, but it's actually rather competitive to do teachers college these days so I wanted to emphasize that 1-2 years of undergrad aren't sufficient.

Originally Posted by ~*Sara*~

I'm not 100% sure of this, but I believe because Medrad is so specific and they have so many required courses, I don't think you can transfer into it after first year, because you would've missed a lot of introductory first year courses and such! Sort of like Kin.

I had a friend who transferred into Kin at the beginning of second year. She wasn't in life sci though, so maybe she had more electives and took a lot of Kin courses in first year?

Originally Posted by Mowicz

Just wanted to say, in order to apply to teacher's college, you need at least a General level bachelors degree (3-year), but that will put you at the bottom of the payroll, and will make you look 'less appealing' to prospective schools/employers. Next up is an Honours degree (4-year), and if you're hoping to teach highschool (e.g. physics) you need a 2nd teachable (i.e. (varies slightly from school to school) take 3 full years of a secondary subject, math goes well with english) in order to apply for the 'intermediate-senior' grade range. This will put you at the 2nd highest pay grade (I think), with the highest being teachers who hold a masters.

Not saying it's not doable or unreasonable or anything, but it's actually rather competitive to do teachers college these days so I wanted to emphasize that 1-2 years of undergrad aren't sufficient.

Not entirely true...you can get a 3-yr bachelor's, and then do a masters in education, and that will put you up to the top of the payroll. You don't need to go through the 4-yr honours degree intermediate.

Also, physics and math teachers generally don't have TOO much trouble finding a job.

Originally Posted by psps

Thanks for all the advice, it is greatly appreciated Does anyone know what the requirements are to transfer to medrad are? i cant find info on the mac website

In terms of course requirements, they'll look at high school courses (phys, chem, bio, math). If you do get into medrad, all those first-year bio, chem, math, and phys courses that you're most likely taking now will be considered transfer credits. Also, you'd be starting new in first year medrad, not second.

Try to get as high a GPA as possible as it's gotten harder and harder to transfer into the program.

Join the army.

Originally Posted by Alchemist11

I had a friend who transferred into Kin at the beginning of second year. She wasn't in life sci though, so maybe she had more electives and took a lot of Kin courses in first year?

Originally Posted by _Luu_

In terms of course requirements, they'll look at high school courses (phys, chem, bio, math). If you do get into medrad, all those first-year bio, chem, math, and phys courses that you're most likely taking now will be considered transfer credits. Also, you'd be starting new in first year medrad, not second.

Try to get as high a GPA as possible as it's gotten harder and harder to transfer into the program.

Ignore my post above. This is what I meant, You'd have to start all over from level 1.

Originally Posted by nerual

Not entirely true...you can get a 3-yr bachelor's, and then do a masters in education, and that will put you up to the top of the payroll. You don't need to go through the 4-yr honours degree intermediate.

Also, physics and math teachers generally don't have TOO much trouble finding a job.

could you clarify on how exactly you go about getting that masters in education, or how difficult it is to get into the master's program, it seems like easy money w/o lots of school...

Originally Posted by manap3000

could you clarify on how exactly you go about getting that masters in education, or how difficult it is to get into the master's program, it seems like easy money w/o lots of school...

This is a site with a list of all graduate school programs related to education (Masters + PhD's). If you click on the program it takes you to the university's site for admission info and such.
http://www.canadian-universities.net...Education.html
I didn't know half of these programs existed till now DX