Podiatry as Backup Plan for Med School

Rudolph writes: I am considering podiatry as a possible alternative if I am not admitted to an M.D. school. I understand podiatrists work a regular 40-hour week yet make upwards of $100,000 per year. On the other hand, I’ve searched job listings for podiatrists on the internet and have come up with zero openings. Should I even consider podiatry school, or is the market such that an individual would be better off in some other area like physical therapy or D.O. school? Please help me to get sound advice before making a life-long career decision.

The Career Doctor responds: You have me quite puzzled, R.J., because it sounds as though you want to go to medical school, but that you have some serious doubts that you’ll get in. What makes you think that if you don’t get into medical school that you’ll have better success with other graduate medical programs? You seem focused on pay and workload, but perhaps you really need to be focusing on why you want to be a doctor.