Career Dilemma

This is a post Ive been wanting to do for a long time so BEWARE! THIS IS LONG!!!

My whole life, I have always put my mind to something and then "just done it!" No questions, No "I cant do this", No 2nd thoughts. When I was a senior in highschool, I decided that I was going to become a Physical Therapist. Well, about 2-3 months before N and I decided to break up, I woke up one day and realized... I dont think I can do that for the rest of my life. Since then, I have looked into the Sonography program at the local community college in my hometown and am pretty interested in what I know so far. I mean, who wouldnt want to be able to look at babies all day long and give parents the opportunity to see their child!! I need to make a decision ASAP as DPT (Doctorate of Physical Therapy) program applications are due in October and I would still need to take the GRE and go through the whole application process.

Obviously, I have had some really mixed feelings from friends and family members about the change. Some say, "OMGOSH that is a perfect fit for you! You should definately do Sonography!" while others give an awful facial expression and a "Are you sure you want to switch from a great field such as Physical Therapy?" My older sister has made me feel like crap about changing my mind and "wasting my parents money" for four years and I am having a really hard time dealing with that. For some reason, I really want her support with whatever decision I make but I also dont want to make a decision based on what SHE would do instead of what I want to do. My parents, brother, and younger sister are supportive of whatever I choose and my rents have said repeatedly that they DO NOT view the past 3 years as me "wasting money." They just want me to be happy and do what I love. I am at a loss. I really dont know what I want to do. I have put together some Pros/Cons and would love some feedback if you guys feel like doing so.

A few things you need to know about me first:

1. I DO NOT do well with blood and wounds. When I was 8, my hamster bit me and I fainted at the sight of my own blood. My parents had to call an ambulance because they didnt know what was wrong with me. Also, I get lightheaded, nausous, and must lay down after I get shots at the doctors. I cannot give blood (I am borderline for weight anyways but I will straight pass out everytime!) I almost pass out when I try to give my mom her allergy shots.
2. I have lived at the beach my whole life and I absolutely LOVE IT (well except for the stress of N being in the same town as me right now)
3. I am extremely close to my family and talk to my mom almost every single day while at school.
4. My parents have paid for me to get through my undergraduate studies but I will be solely responsible for any Graduate Program I attend. This means taking out loans and eventually paying them back on my own (I am completely fine with this! They have done their part putting me through college- Now its my turn.)

Alright, so here it is...

Medical Sonography Degree

• 2 year Program (includes 1 summer)
• $15,000-$20,000 in debt (DOES NOT INCLUDE Living Expenses- see below)
• only 10 out of around 150 applicants are accepted each year
• Offered at my hometown community college
• Would be able to live at home with my parents and avoid having to take out loans for housing and living expenses
• Would not enter the Program until August of 2010 (instead of May with DPT Program) so I would have an entire summer to work and make money before starting school (AND RELAX A BIT AFTER UNDERGRAD)
• Would be able to babysit my normal families when available throughout the school year and summers
• Average Starting Salary: $40,000 - $50,000/year
• Some "blood and guts" due to the fact that we guide biopsies and those can bleed some during the process.
• Would have to ultrasound vaginas, scrotums, and rectums during my rotations (Dont know about you, but I'd rather not mess with people's poo holes.) (No, I would not settle into any of those areas once I graduate so it would just be throughout school)
• I would lean towards OBGYN sonography and that is where the majority of people want to be. Less job openings???

Physical Therapy

• 3 year program (INCLUDING 3 summers) beginning in May 2010 (mere week(s) after I graduate from undergrad)
• $80,000-$100,000 in debt by graduation (Includes living expenses)
• Only 26 students are accepted from THOUSANDS of applicants each year for each program (may vary depending on the school)
• No programs in my Hometown so I would be far away from my family. Closest is 2 hours away (UNC) but does not have very good number of clinical rotation sites.
• Program I would like to attend is in SC (MUSC) so my debt would be significantly higher because of out of state tuition. Other program is in Greenville, NC (ECU) and I dont know about you, but I dont really want to live in Greenville for 3 years.
• Would not be able to work AT ALL during the entire 3 years due to how time-consuming the program is and the fact that I would have 3 summers of the program instead of time off to work)
• Average Starting Salary : $45,000-$55,000/year
• Some "blood and guts" because patients come in for therapy PostOp with fresh wounds/bleeding from surgery.
• Would have to work with dead bodies during my Human Anatomy course during the first year (Not sure about you, but I thought dead cats during undergrad was bad)- I know I could deal with it but UGH- gross.
• I would want to work as a Pediatric PT. I would LIKE to work with premies and multiples who have developmental delays due to their prematurity but this is a small population of who I would work with. Majority would be special needs children with Down Syndrome, Cerebal Palsy, etc and I am not sure that I could handle that emotionally.

One of my big reasons for leaning towards Sonography (besides lack of passion/motivation to go through PT school) is money and the fact that I will not be near my family. Although I enjoy UNCG (where I am now for Undergrad), I do not like the town and I feel like Ive "done my time" being miserable in a place that I dont want to be. Also, I have ALWAYS wanted to be a stay at home mom or at least only work part time so I would hate to put so much time and money into something (PT) that I may not even continue once I have children if my husband and I are able to live off of only one income or his income and my partial income. When I talked to one of my friends who is in PT school in Boston about my concerns, she immediately told me that she has never seen the passion in me for PT that you typically see in someone who really loves what they do. That really made me think that if I dont even have the passion NOW, what am I going to do when I'm trying to make it through a vigorous 3 year program?? I have decided to go ahead and complete my bachelors in Sports Medicine at UNCG since I only have one year left and can always fall back on that if I need it (And it will be helpful when trying to get into any program) but really that degree is a "stepping stone" degree so I cant really stop after Undergrad if I want to make enough to live on.

Sorry for the novel. What do you think?