Interested in learning all about immunology? Then this blog post is for you!
Medicine is such a diverse field, with so many different specialties within it. Today, I’m going to be talking about immunology!
This medical field is especially close to my heart, as my brother has had allergies his whole life, and immunology is a field of medicine that impacts him directly. In this blog post, I’m going to be talking about immunologist basics and hopefully by the end, you’ll have learned something interesting about this medical field!
Let’s get into it. 🙂
All About Immunology:
First off, what is immunology, and what do immunologists do? Immunology is the treatment and study of illnesses related to the immune system. An immunologist (or an allergist, as they’re also commonly known) can help you if you suffer from food and/or seasonal allergies, autoimmune disease, and more.
Immunologists can test using blood tests and skin tests for allergies and come up with a treatment plan. They also conduct research related to immunity and what can affect it!
These types of doctors help people who struggle with their immune system, making them absolutely essential to maintaining a healthy population and society.
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How To Become One:
The road to becoming a doctor is a long one, and that of an allergist is no exception. This is the general roadmap to becoming an immunologist:
- bachelor’s degree (4 years)
- take and pass the MCAT (during or after undergraduate)
- medical school (4 years)
- residency (3 years)
- get licensed for the state you’re going to practice in
- fellowship in allergy/immunology (2 years)
- certification with the American Board of Allergy and Immunology after fellowship
In total (with no breaks), this journey should take roughly 13 years to become a full-fledged immunologist. However, you do start making money once you enter residency!
The Details:
This section is going to cover the general details of what it’s like being a practicing immunologist. Allergists who are into research typically follow a more research-oriented schedule obviously, but if you want to practice as a doctor, this section is for you.
Immunology allows for a pretty good work-life balance, as you really don’t have to be on call. They typically work around 40 hours a week (we love a 9-5 job!), and their work schedule is usually flexible!
To be an allergist, being responsible, concise, caring, and inquisitive are great character traits to have: this is a medical field that requires not only exploring unknown things, but also comforting and taking care of the people going through these things.
If that sounds like you, then immunology may be a specialty to consider!
The $$:
Let’s be honest: a big draw of being a doctor is the financial stability it affords, and immunology is no exception.
According to Salary.com, an immunologist can expect to make a cool average of $274,800 per year.
I know, right?
Depending on where you live, what type of place you work at, and how much experience you have, this number will vary. But good news is that immunology is continuing to grow as a field, offering great job stability!
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The Benefits:
While there are so many benefits to becoming an immunologist, some of my top ones include the great work-life balance, amazing salary, and the opportunities it has to conduct research and make breakthroughs.
But, most of all, it gives you the chance (in abundance, if I may add) to help people struggling. Whether it be from life-threatening allergies or autoimmune disease, immunologists have the ability to help their patients lead a better quality life.
And in my opinion, that’s what being a doctor is truly all about.
My Final Thoughts:
Alas, we have reached the end of this post. Before I sign off, I just want to share my personal thoughts about immunology!
Growing up with a younger brother with life-threatening allergies, I’ve seen how they can affect a person’s everyday life completely. Food is such an important part of life, and having those kinds of severe restrictions on it is so so hard.
That’s why immunology is one of my top choices for medical specialty: they have a really important job to do, and I hope that this blog post gave you a little more information about this amazing field! Thank you for reading…it means the world! <3