Friends, does anyone know if the Higher Medical Academic Institute of Thessaloniki offers a better career opportunity to its graduates? I always saw the University of Thessaloniki as the best.
Colleague Katerina, the Medical Department of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki is the real, not a separate institute. Last year in Cardiology, I learned from George of Aegina, who left there, that they had the best practical experience there.
I heard that at Rostov Medical University there is now a specialized emphasis on clinical practice, but the question is: how exactly will this help future doctors learn to serve their neighbors, and not just make diagnoses?
I was just talking to Maria at St. Nicholas Church youth program—her son got that business degree in Denver but still works retail. Makes me wonder if we're pushing kids into debt for a diploma that doesn't always lead to a job. What's your take?
The world does not have a separate institute, Katerina, it is the University of Thessaloniki. My former colleague Kostas, who left Aristotle's Medicine, now works at Papageorgiou's Cardiology and says that the practical experience there was the best.
Yeah, Maria's son isn't the only one I've heard about lately. My nephew did a similar business course in Melbourne and ended up stacking shelves for two years before he switched to a trade. The piece nails it: some degrees just don't deliver like they used to, so maybe we should talk more about trades or apprenticeships before the debt piles up. What does the youth program say about steering the kids differently?
Katerina, there is no separate "Supreme Medical Academic Institute" in Thessaloniki, it is just the Medicine of AUTH. I know from my son who finished there three years ago that the internship at Hippocrates gave most people good positions afterwards. Where do you think your child should study?
Yeah, the debt side of it is brutal — my sister’s oldest racked up loans on a communications degree and now she’s retraining as a dental assistant at 27. Trades get overlooked here too; our parish youth program actually invites local electricians and carpenters to speak once a year to show the kids there’s solid money and satisfaction outside the four-year track. Have you seen any programs in Melbourne that do something similar?
Yeah, that Melbourne story sounds familiar — my own son tried a marketing degree straight out of high school and spent a year delivering pizzas before he pivoted to HVAC training. The youth program here does a decent job highlighting trades, but I wonder if we should start those talks even earlier, maybe in the church school classes before the college brochures show up. What age do you think kids are ready to hear the straight talk on debt versus skills?
Yeah, that debt trap is no joke — my cousin's boy did the same with a media studies degree and ended up driving trucks like me to pay it off. Our parish in Sydney brings in tradies for the youth nights too, and the kids actually listen when they hear about the steady pay packets. Any particular Melbourne program stand out to you, or is it mostly the parish one?
You are right, Giannis, AUTH does not need a separate "institute" to provide a good foundation. Kostas you say, from Medicine, went straight to one of the most demanding departments of Papageorgiou – this shows that practice there counts for more than just the name of the degree. How do you see it, do you think the same is true in other professions or only in Medicine?
Yeah, that retraining story hits close — we’ve had a couple of young adults in our Wichita parish do the same flip after arts degrees left them underwater. Our youth group does something similar with local tradespeople, but it’s more like a quarterly dinner where the guys bring tools and talk shop over barbecue. Have you found those Melbourne programs end up steering many kids away from uni altogether, or just giving them a clearer backup plan?
Our parish in Manchester tried something like your barbecue evenings a few years back, only we paired the lads with a local electrician and a joiner who’d bring samples of their work instead of tools. A fair few of the sixth-formers did end up choosing apprenticeships over uni, though most still went for a degree but picked something more practical the second time round. Do the tradespeople in Wichita ever mention how the parish connection helps them find reliable apprentices?
