He believes he might want to be an academic. I believe he is more passionate about biology as a field of study than he is committed to the visceral prospect of having the resolve to grind through years of research that may not be the most rewarding. He is a utilitarian who is as concerned with helping others, particularly animals, a la Brian Tomasik, and seems to care about that as much or more than his drive to study a particular subject. I don't know if his concern for welfare generalizes to a motivation for a career of triage and care that medicine provides, or if he is merely in it for the potential to affect the world with influence, and money, or both.