Back at the beginning of the program, someone (I don't even remember who!) asked me if I was coming to Germany looking for a way to stay here. I wondered why on earth I would ever want to do that and answered no. This person then told me there were a small, but decent number of people in the program who really wanted to find a job here and stay. I didn't think much of it.
However, here I am more than halfway through the program and I have realized that I do not want to leave. Maybe it's because Germany is the land of opportunity or maybe it's because being unable to escape the black hole has given me Stockholm Syndrome, but the more I think about it, the more I would prefer to stay here. However, this would be problematic for a lot of reasons.
I am premed. In the US, this means that I already have a Bachelor's and I need to attend 4 years of medical school (+3-5 years of residency) to be a doctor. In Germany, I would need to start from scratch. Their medical schools start right after they finish high school and last for 6 years. It would take even longer if I want to get an MD (which I would!), I would need to do a thesis then, which could involve taking a year off of school to do research. Transferring the degree back to the US would involve retaking all of my exams and possibly doing a second residency in the US. Alternatively, I could immigrate here, but I think that a lot of my career goals are shaped around my perception of the American healthcare system. Also, I would never make enough money as a doctor in Germany to pay off my student debt. Germans get free education, but doctors in Germany also don't earn as much as doctors in the US. This wouldn't be a problem for me, if it wasn't for I have already soiled my credit score with the American education system.
I could also choose to go for a Masters and PhD in Biology. However, I want to be a doctor. That would be a huge career change to make simply because I want to stay longer in a country.
It's a lose-lose situation, really.
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