Qualifications
You'll want to enroll at a college with a great science program, as you'll be getting pretty serious with your biology and chemistry courses. After about three years of undergraduate classes (though most people go ahead and get their bachelor's degree), you'll be ready to take the plunge and—cue scary music—apply to med school.
If (and it's a big "if," because it ain't easy) you get into med school, get ready to work your tail off. The first two years will be all about general medicine. You'll learn all about the systems of the body and the smorgasbord of diseases that are in the world.
If you make the cut, you'll eventually have to take the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) or the Comprehensive Osteopathic Medical Licensing Exam (COMLEX) if you want to hang a medical license on your wall.
Congrats—you're done.
Wait, what's that? There's more?
Okay, moving on.
You also have to do a residency, which usually lasts four years. This is where you'll get all the hands-on experience with tissue stains that you've been dreaming of for all these years. As your residency progresses, your responsibilities (and stress levels) will increase.
If you manage to make it through your residency, you'll probably then do a fellowship where you focus on the kind of pathology that you dig the most. These fellowships usually take around a year or two to complete. Once you've wrapped up your grueling years of training, your last hurdle will be getting certified by your state and the American Board of Pathology.
Congrats—now you're done.