What does it take to become a dermatologist?
I'm 17 and a senior in high school. I really want to become a dermatologist but I have no idea about the process of becoming one. What colleges could i attend (I live in california)? How much time will I spend in school? What will it cost from my freshman year to graduation from medical school? What is the difficultly level of all the schooling? How much money do dermatologist make on average and to begin with? What should I major in before medical school?
You get your bachelors in whatever you want, I am going for biology, but many schools like a versatile student, so something such as history would also work. Then you go for another 4 years in medical school. To become a dermatologist you have to specialize so it may be up to 3-5 years after you graduate medical school. But before that you need to have a residency at a hospital.
I’m not sure about colleges near you because I live in NJ, but the site http://www.collegeboard.com will help you in your search for schools. The cost is very expensive especially for medical school, I am going to a community college now so I can save money. If you have a really good GPA and many activities, then you might a get a good scholarship to a school, so try to do that. It doesn’t matter where you go for your bachelors so even if it’s not a really good school, its ok, because those schools may be cheaper.
The school time is tough, classes are hard from what I’ve heard, but you can do it if you try.
Here is a link to about how much dermatologists get paid… http://swz.salary.com/salarywizard/layoutscripts/swzl_salaryresults.asp?op=salswz%5Fpsr&jobfamilycode=12&txtKeyword=dermatologist&hdOmniNarrowDesc=Healthcare+%2D%2D+Practitioners&hdZipCode=&hdOmniTotalJobsFound=1&pagefrom=selectjob&hdJobCategory=HC03&hdGeoLocation=U%2ES%2E+National+Averages&countertype=0&totaljoblistnum=1&joblevelcode=2&hdCurrentPage=1&hdNarrowDesc=Healthcare+%2D%2D+Practitioners&hdLocationOption=0&hdViewAllRecords=0&hdJobTitle=Physician+%2D+Dermatology&hdSearchByOption=0&hdKeyword=dermatologist&rdbSearchByOption=0&hdStateMetro=&jobcounter=1&hdSortBy=0&hdJobCode=HC07000221&state=&hdJSBoolDisplayAdvertisement=&hdAjaxKeyword=dermatologist&hdAjaxKeywordWithOR=%23dermatologist%23&hdAjaxDisplaySection1=1&hdAjaxDisplaySection2=0
TO become a doctor, its a long road, but if you have the motivation and it’s your dream you’ll be able to do it. =] Good luck.