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Donovan Njerenga Ndwiga

Professor Diana Watkins

Comp 1 TR 9am

10 September 2018

My Career Path

“I want to be an astronaut!” is a typical childhood career choice. As children, we tend to

dream big and are encouraged to by adults. As we age, reality starts to set in and most children

start to choose more realistic career paths. When I was a child, I went from wanting to be a

marine biologist to a pediatrician, and to where I am now a physician’s assistant.

When I was a child, my dream was not to float in space. My dream was to float in the

ocean. I wanted to swim with dolphins and lounge in the ocean for a career. Who would not want

to earn a livelihood by relaxing in the ocean all day? As I grew, I started to realize my perception

of what marine biology was, was not exactly correct. Marine biology is the study of marine life,

not relaxing in the ocean with dolphins all day. I also realized this included the study of some of

the most terrifying forms of marine life. I can spend all day in the ocean swimming with

dolphins, but I do not think I would be able to do the same with a shark or even a jellyfish. After

I realized what marine biology really entailed, I decided that it was not the best career choice for

me.

As a marine biologist, part of my dream was to become a scientific doctor. Becoming a

doctor is one of those ultimate dreams people often have. When I was a child, becoming a doctor

was the ultimate career choice. After I decided becoming a marine biologist was not the career I
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wanted to pursue, I decided I would try to attain this dream of mine in a different form. Instead, I

would become a medical doctor. I knew that becoming a surgeon or trauma doctor would not be

something I could excel at and enjoy at the same time. I decided I wanted to be a doctor for

children, a pediatrician. I have always got along with and connected with children very easily.

What made me choose to become a pediatrician, was my love for children and my urge to help

people. As I started to look into the medical field, I discovered it required many years of school

and finances I do not have. I do not want to leave college drowning in student debt and I do not

want to be in school for the next twelve to fifteen years. I decided becoming a doctor was not

exactly within my grasp, so I decided to step a level down and become a physician’s assistant

(PA).

After I decided becoming a doctor was not something I saw as realistic, I chose to pursue

a career as a physician’s assistant. Until about a year and a half ago, I had no idea what a PA

was. It was brought to my attention by one of my classmates in my junior year of high school.

When I learned what a PA was, I started to research it. I found a PA can do many of the same

things as a doctor. A PA has to have a doctor supervising them and cannot have their own

practice, but those are two things I am content with. I also found that becoming a PA requires a

significantly less amount of education than becoming a doctor does. Typically, PA school is two

and half years, but requires a bachelor’s degree before entry. Seven years of schooling was

something I saw as more achievable than twelve to fifteen. Finally, the thing that cemented my

decision to become a PA is the fact that it is not a specialized heath career. I will have the ability

to work in many different fields of health throughout my career as a PA.

In conclusion, my career path has changed since childhood. I started with wanting to

become a marine biologist, then a pediatrician, and finally a physician’s assistant. I still have that
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big childhood dream. I would still love to become a pediatrician, but I have decided to set that

goal aside and possibly come back to it in the future. I might go to medical school once I am

financially stable and once I know I will have a career if medical school does not work out.