I laid in a cot in my own section of the surgical center. I was about to meet my anesthesiologist for my arthroscopic knee surgery. An anesthesiologist is in charge of administering anesthetics “prior to, during, or after surgery or other medical procedures” (“Anesthesiologists”). The anesthesiologist entered the room and greeted me. She was going to be in charge of my life while I was under. She had to give me just the right amount of anesthetics. Too much and I would perish. Too little and I would awake during surgery and feel every tugging motion inside my knee.
Outside the operating room far off is an observatory where an astronomer is hard at work. What he does is fascinating and fantastical to my eyes but it would not be something I would like to do full time. Becoming an anesthesiologist is what I decided to do because it is more of a true full time job, it requires a lot of work, and it is overall a career that is both exhilarating and interesting for me. An anesthesiologist’s duties and routines require lots of effort and emotional strength and they definitely beats sitting around and examining the planets and stars.
Being an anesthesiologist is like being a CEO of a company. You are running the whole show. You are the top doctor in the whole field of anesthesiology and are also the “most qualified to make anesthesia related perioperative medical decisions” (“About the Profession”). Anesthesiologists obviously have to do a lot if they are the most qualified to make these decisions. Dr. Chu, an anesthesiologist I interviewed, says anesthesiologists make sure the patient is okay and showing vital signs like breathing and giving out a healthy heartbeat.
Anesthesiologists are known as the “airway specialists” because they must use tracheal tubes to keep the patient breathing due to their inability to do so under anesthetics (Chu). This is a major part when it comes to working with an unconscious body. Dr. Chu also expresses while working in anesthesiology you will experience many different types of surgery as well as chronic pain patients or patients in labor because you will administer anesthetics to them to help with the pain.
Astronomy takes a much different turn compared to Anesthesiology for the tasks are not as stressful and relying. Astronomy” explains that being an Astronomer means that you focus your work to studying the planets, stars, moons, etc. Astronomers look at the skies through telescopes with powerful digital cameras attached (“Astronomy”). It is definitely more calming than managing someone’s life. That is, unless a giant meteor is flying at earth. Unlike Anesthesiology, working in the field of Astronomy can be more of a hobby instead of a full time job (“Astronomer,” Careers in Focus 56). This is crucial when deciding which career is right.
Ward and “Astronomers” Both mention that in each career you can take knowledge you learn and apply it to solve problems. However, anesthesiology works with the human body while astronomy works in the skies. The human body is more important than the skies. With astronomy, you hypothesize the sizes, shapes, rotations, brightnesses, etc. of celestial bodies (“Astronomer,” Careers in Focus 53). Astronomy can be used as an offside hobby therefore I can still touch base with it while working fully as an anesthesiologist which portrays itself as bigger, better, and more of a full time job.
The requirements of an anesthesiologist are much higher than that of an astronomer and I look forward to pursuing challenges such as meeting the anesthesiologist requirements. When a student starts college he must complete their four year undergraduate degree and Dr. Chu says that if you are interested in taking anesthesiology then, that you should take some pre-med courses such as biology, chemistry, physics, etc. It is always a good idea to get a head start. Next, you must enter medical school which is four years as well (“About the Profession”).
In medical school you are required to spend a few weeks in different specialties, one being anesthesiology (Chu). By now, you have gotten a taste of a medical career. After medical school you enter another four years of college for anesthesiology (“About the Profession”; Chu). After your schooling, you have an opportunity to take the “ABA exam” to be part of the “American Board of Anesthesiology” (“About the Profession”). That might be an option to consider. There are lots of skilled needed to be an anesthesiologist.
Sacks says that if one scores well on exams and that individual is a particularly a good student that works well in emergency situations and is emotionally and self confident he will be easily taken to be an anesthesiologist (Sacks 94). Another good trait is to retain information well and be really good with hands on activities for you will be working with nerve blocks (Chu). The degrees you need to take in order to be an astronomer differ from being an anesthesiologist. To be an astronomer it is recommended that you get a Ph. D. n astronomy or physics (“Astronomy”).
You must also have good experience with math, computers, astrophysics, geophysics, and space science (“Astronomer,” National Careers Service; Bartusiak). That is much more math than anesthesiology. The skills between an anesthesiologist and astronomer also differ because astronomers need more patience and good powers of observation (“Astronomer,” National Careers Service). There is definitely more schooling involved to be an anesthesiologist which I like, and I also enjoy the requirements to be an anesthesiologist more.
As an anesthesiologist you work at different locations and have different hours which are more suitable compared to an astronomer. Anesthesiologists can work in dental offices, labor and delivery units, critical units, classrooms, but they primarily work in the operating room (“Anesthesiologist Information”). The three main machines you use during surgery to watch and care for the patient’s vital signs are the Anesthesia Machine which consists of a vaporizer to vaporize anesthetics to give to the patient and a ventilation system, a life monitor, and a Carbon Dioxide Monitor (Chu).
I am excited to get to work in these environments and use the required machines. The hours of an Anesthesiologist are usually fitting and can vary due to the cases but sometimes you might have to spend a night at the hospital on call (Chu; Sacks 95). Those are hours that I can deal with. As far as communication, anesthesiologists will communicate with the patient before surgery to get information on medical issues, etc. and with the patient’s family (Chu; Sacks 94).
Astronomers on the other hand are usually found in observatories, labs, and, like anesthesiologists, in classrooms (“Astronomer,” Careers in Focus 53-54; “Astronomer,” National Career Service). I usually like being more social so I would enjoy talking with the surgeons in an operating room more than being alone in a lab or observatory. “Astronomy” says most of an astronomer’s hours are spent in offices analyzing data. As an astronomer, you can travel around to different countries to share and expand your work (“Astronomer,” National Career Service).
Anesthesiologists do not usually move to different countries like astronomers for work. However, the hours of anesthesiologists vary on the situations just like astronomers and both can work at different locations. Anesthesiologists get a much higher pay compared to astronomers but both have great benefits. Anesthesiologists get paid a national average of $220,100 annually (“Anesthesiologists”). Compared to Astronomer’s average of around $104,670, that is significant (“Astronomer,” Careers in Focus 51). There is a really distinct difference in income.
Taking classes in medicine and anesthesia can really be useful because if you decide that anesthesiology is not for you, you can easily turn back and pursue something else such as acute pharmacology (Sacks 94; Ward). As mentioned before, an Astronomer has an average annual salary of $104,670 (“Astronomer,” Careers in Focus 51). That does sound like a good deal but it does not feel as deserving as the pay you get as an anesthesiologist. Astronomers also have the option to quickly shift careers to computing or engineering in tight market times (Bartusiak).
That is really beneficial. Anesthesiologists get much better pay overall than astronomers but I am in it more for the experience and enjoyment and anesthesiologists have good benefits that suit me. The overall outlook for an anesthesiologist is much more open and large compared to astronomers. After completing the required twelve years of college you can take an additional fellowship year to specialize in a certain area of anesthesiology such as cardiac, neurological, or obstetric anesthesia (“About the Profession”; “Anesthesiologist Information”).
I would personally enjoy doing neurological anesthesia. Moving on, there are over 157 programs offered per year for anesthesiology (Sacks 103). That’s a great deal of programs. But imagine how many more there will be available if you choose a related occupation instead such as dentistry, pharmacist, physician assistant, etc (“Anesthesiologists”). The outlook for anesthesiology is vast and grows quickly while the outlook for astronomy is slow and more narrow (“Astronomer,” Careers in Focus 51).
A slow outlook can mean it is hard to land a job. However, there are over one hundred U. S. colleges offering Ph. D. ’s in astronomy and there are a number of “summer or part time jobs” in observatories (“Astronomer,” Careers in Focus 55-56; “Astronomy”). Because of a slow outlook it may be better to just use astronomy as a hobby. I could go to some related jobs like electrical engineers, geo scientists, or surveyors but anesthesiology seems more interesting (“Astronomers”).
Anesthesiologists have more openings and is more of an open career rather than being an astronomer but it is still hard to get in so I still would rather tackle anesthesiology. I have chosen to be an anesthesiologist because it is more of a true job than being an astronomer, it is a lot of challenging, difficult, schooling and work that I want to do, and it is something that I am more interested in doing. I have more life experience with being an anesthesiologist.
I find the planets and stars fascinating but nothing can beat the satisfaction of someone loving you, thanking you, for ceasing their pains. You have more control in anesthesiology as well. You can control anesthetics, you can not control orbit. I can also fulfill my liking for astronomy in a hobby. Anesthesiology requires strenuous amounts of work, but I am ready to start now by taking the required classes. I will succeed in the chosen career of being an anesthesiologist.