What to do with my year off

[gatewasani]

Ok so I have this upcoming year off. I am currently in the app cycle and I've been looking for a job (healthcare, clinical, patient contact, hospital etc...) but I haven't been able to find ANYTHING that doesn't require some type of certification.

I have no certification in anything and am literally broke so can't afford any type of classes to get certified in anything.

Does anyone have any advice as to what I should do with my year or where I might go about finding a job (i've tried craigslist, monster, indeed, careerbuilder, local nursing homes/hospitals)

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[Infinity6]

I'm in the exact same boat as you. I'm glad you posted this!

 

[crazynate]

I am in the same boat as well...At this point I'm about to start volunteering in a hospital again and im taking a graduate level class and an EMT course in the fall. Except without a form of income I don't know how long I can sustain this.

I've been trying to find a "real" job but it seems impossible right now. (research assistant and such) I think I might end up applying to my old high school jobs lol

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

I say get a research job and attempt to get a publication in the field you want to go into for residency. It'll help somewhat along the road. Or consider applying for a 1 year MPH or MHA program at the school you're accepted to.

 

[CanV]

Research assistant jobs are great since they usually offer 12 month contracts. The profs know that you're stuck in limbo waiting on grad applications to process so they don't expect you to stay forever. Check research hospitals/universities/colleges.

Use the job bank available specifically from your University. Additionally, if you have friends from nearby universities, you can ask to use their login to get into their school job banks. It's really helpful. Look at the internships since again you do only have a short 1 year time frame for the full time job. As interns, the employer knows that you do not have any certifications but is still willing to place you in a higher position for you to gain experience. Such employers may even have incentives from the government/organization that placed you as your pay is split between the employer & the gov't/organization. Also, check out your university's career services website. They might link you to specific names of companies that hire graduates with little experience. I find that monster/craigslist aren't great searches unfortunately. But looking up specific companies online and checking out their job opportunities for grads is a better option to find something that fits our qualifications (aka. students without certifications).

hope that helps!

 

[taylormade2006]

If you're currently in this cycle, make sure you get a job or position that is flexible and will allow you to take time off for interviews and travel.

 

[Lukat]

I am currently a research assistant for a microbiology lab while waiting for the app cycle this year. From my personal experience in job search, Monster, CareerBuilder, and all those websites are not very effective. If you know what lab you want to work in, email the PI directly along with your resume and cover letter to ask for a position. Also hospitals/colleges usually have HR website or career website of their own. Try send out resume on these as well. You just need to send out a lot of email and resume. Good luck with your job search!

 

[mommy2three]

i thought you were going somewhere this coming year??

i know you were not thrilled with the length of time but i am really confused as to why you would give up such an incredible opportunity

 

[jslo85]

Yeah I thought you had applied to several SMPs such as CCOM MBS, RFU and LECOM.

 

[gatewasani]

yes, I haven't 100% eliminated those as options yet but am leaning towards working now. I just am really financially strapped right now. I love the CCOM program but i'm not thrilled at having to relocate and the fact that its 2 years just kinda kills it for me. I would rather work this year and if I don't get in, apply next year to the 1 yr program or any other 1 yr programs.

 

[Andres Ponce]

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[gatewasani]

I'm working as an ER scribe during my year off, and substitute teaching. They are both flexible jobs, and both jobs look good to adcoms when they ask "what have you been up to." You don't have to have certification to be an ER scribe either. Try calling some local hospitals and see if they have a scribe program there, and if not ask if you can set one up. It's a great job and allows your to get some real clinical experience. Good luck to you buddy. I hope we all get in this year.

Hi, is this kind of like a medical transcriptionist? I'm interested in learning more, I've heard of a medical transcriptionsit before but not an ER scribe, i'm not really clear on what either does.

 

[Asianjock903]

During the time before med school I was a personal home tutor(all areas of math/science) and SAT I/II teacher. Obviously if you are qualified to go to medical school, you can be a tutor. To tell you the truth, for working part time, its fairly lucrative. I was being paid anywhere from 20-30 per hour and monthly I was getting around 2 grand. I was also only working less than 20 hours a week (lots of time for other things).

It is VERY flexible obviously, so you'll have no problem when you get interviews down the line.

Not everyone can be a successful tutor, but if you have an outgoing personality and can teach high school students, you should be fine. It also doesn't hurt that you're in a "teaching" position, so when the interviewers ask you what you have been up to, its not completely out of academia.

I suggest you do the tutoring gig, then use that money to fuel whatever other certifications or whatever it is you want to do. Or just spend it on booze and women....your call...lol...

 

[Winning11]

During the time before med school I was a personal home tutor(all areas of math/science) and SAT I/II teacher. Obviously if you are qualified to go to medical school, you can be a tutor. To tell you the truth, for working part time, its fairly lucrative. I was being paid anywhere from 20-30 per hour and monthly I was getting around 2 grand. I was also only working less than 20 hours a week (lots of time for other things).

It is VERY flexible obviously, so you'll have no problem when you get interviews down the line.

Not everyone can be a successful tutor, but if you have an outgoing personality and can teach high school students, you should be fine. It also doesn't hurt that you're in a "teaching" position, so when the interviewers ask you what you have been up to, its not completely out of academia.

I suggest you do the tutoring gig, then use that money to fuel whatever other certifications or whatever it is you want to do. Or just spend it on booze and women....your call...lol...

how do u find a tutoring job? is there a web site or something?

 

[gatewasani]

I live in Indiana, if that matters.

 

[DOwnage]

This is actually a sweet idea that is so simple, I don't know why I didn't think of it myself. How did you get your name out there and market yourself? Also, how did you justify the price of 20-30 per hour for high school kids?

During the time before med school I was a personal home tutor(all areas of math/science) and SAT I/II teacher. Obviously if you are qualified to go to medical school, you can be a tutor. To tell you the truth, for working part time, its fairly lucrative. I was being paid anywhere from 20-30 per hour and monthly I was getting around 2 grand. I was also only working less than 20 hours a week (lots of time for other things).

It is VERY flexible obviously, so you'll have no problem when you get interviews down the line.

Not everyone can be a successful tutor, but if you have an outgoing personality and can teach high school students, you should be fine. It also doesn't hurt that you're in a "teaching" position, so when the interviewers ask you what you have been up to, its not completely out of academia.

I suggest you do the tutoring gig, then use that money to fuel whatever other certifications or whatever it is you want to do. Or just spend it on booze and women....your call...lol...

 

[TripodLuv]

gatewasani- What part of Indiana? I lived in southern Michigan and worked as a nurse tech in a hospital, even though I am not a CNA. If you're close enough to commute to another state, check it out because their certification requirements may differ from your state.

Don't be shy about utilitizing whatever services your undergraduate school may offer, too. You might be surprised how well-connected your pre-med advising office could be in terms of finding work or volunteer opportunities for you.

 

[antapolar]

yeah, without any certificate, i've also worked as Research technician for the year off. Great money, and was able to get a paper publish (well underway) during the time. Even finding one within the field you want could be difficult, but hey, at least not wasting time right.

 

[Asianjock903]

To answer the people above who were wondering how to get started with tutoring, here it goes.

Right after undergrad I applied to a large tutoring company that provides tutors to CA/NY (I live in southern CA, if that matters). It started slow, the pay was bad, around 18 per hr. After a while of working with this company (many many years back) I stopped in order to do something else.

Anyways, When I was applying to med school I wanted a flexible job. I called up the company again and got reactivated in their system. I then posted an ad on Craigslist (don't be discouraged by what seems like hundreds of new posts a day for tutoring, people will find you). So I found a few students that way. I also scoured craigslist and the internet for other tutoring companies, signed up for most of the free ones, put my profile up. I then looked around the surrounding area at after-school academies for middle school/high school students.

In the end I was prob receiving paychecks from like 5 different companies, not to mention the students I found myself.

Now here is the reality check for people who want to pursue this. YES you can make a LOT of money, but not everyone can tutor successfully, you need to have a relatively charismatic personality and obviously know the material. It will take time for you to establish a routine. I'm not going to try to sugar coat this next part...probably only 20% of CURRENT premeds/med students can be as successful as I was, the rest will prob do tutoring here and there and make some spending money. So don't assume you can just make 2 grand starting out. I would say around 200-300 a month is a more realistic start, and it gradually increasing from there.

Although we all know the US NEWS rankings are a bunch of bull, parents of high school students think of it as GOLD. So if you graduated from a good university (I grad from a top 25) use it to your advantage.

Before this gets too long and mundane for the uninterested, if anyone is really serious, send me a personal message and I'll give you sites/companies/info.

Good Luck!

 

[gatewasani]

so i've decided to bite the bullet, borrow some money, and get certified in something.

my options are

phlebotomy, LPN, or CNA

each will take roughly two-three months. I would like to do phlebotomy cause it seems the most interesting but not sure if jobs are readily available for that like the other two.

I really wanted to do medical assistant, but it takes 9 months!

 

[Kevin Baker]

phlebotomy is pretty lucrative if you get a good gig. A lot of research studies, specifically ones dealing with endocrinology, need phlebotomists and pay bank. I think we paid ours $100 for an hour of her time. Granted this was only twice a week and on a weekend but if you can find a few studies, you'll be golden. Email labs directly and ask if they need a phlebotomist on call.

 

[wolverinepwns]

so i've decided to bite the bullet, borrow some money, and get certified in something.

my options are

phlebotomy, LPN, or CNA

each will take roughly two-three months. I would like to do phlebotomy cause it seems the most interesting but not sure if jobs are readily available for that like the other two.

I really wanted to do medical assistant, but it takes 9 months!

I work in a hospital so here's my two cents: Don't do CNA unless you get a kick out of taking vitals every four hours and like to change diapers and clean beds! Stick to phlebotomy, or consider doing an EMT program (there are intesive 4 week classes as well as 3 months programs)

 

[avion321]

I work as a pharmacy tech. I work around drugs all day. No certification required.

 

[gatewasani]

I work as a pharmacy tech. I work around drugs all day. No certification required.

walgreens seems to require a certification

 

[Charles_Carmichael]

Are you absolutely set on doing something clinical (CNA, phlebotomy, etc)? Or are you interested in pursing a research position?

I'm not sure about the clinical stuff since I don't have much experience with them, but if you're considering research also, I would highly recommend getting on that soon. It's already probably too late at most labs since they're likely to have filled their positions by now but you might still have a chance, especially if you wouldn't mind being a research tech (ie. running gels, culturing cells, and generally running experiments for others rather than pursuing independent research).

If you're set on doing something clinically oriented, I've heard a lot of good things about being an EMT. You can probably find a relatively cheap course at your local community college if you're interested and if the training isn't longer than 2-3 months, it would be a good gig.

 

[ccc2009]

I work as a pharmacy tech. I work around drugs all day. No certification required.

do you learn a lot? and how long have you had the job? does it get boring after a while? thanks

ccc2009

 

[gatewasani]

I really don't enjoy labwork which is why i'm pretty sure I would hate research but i'm starting to think there really isn't much else out there.

Any tips on how to find a research tech gig? i'm visiting school websites but not rlly sure where to go from there

I guess i'm willing to do unpaid too since I gotta do something, but i'm broke right now and some income would be nice.

 

[avion321]

do you learn a lot? and how long have you had the job? does it get boring after a while? thanks

ccc2009

I have been there for three years, and have learned a bit. Getting familiar with drug names, generic and brand, some dosing things. I work in an in-patient pharmacy, we supply meds for the whole hospital so we usually keep busy.

 

[Charles_Carmichael]

I really don't enjoy labwork which is why i'm pretty sure I would hate research but i'm starting to think there really isn't much else out there.

Any tips on how to find a research tech gig? i'm visiting school websites but not rlly sure where to go from there

I guess i'm willing to do unpaid too since I gotta do something, but i'm broke right now and some income would be nice.

Yea, research is definitely not everyone's cup of tea. Unfortunately, it seems like some research is at least recommended for a lot of medical specialties these days. I would recommend you stick with something clinical oriented. Even if it takes 2-3 months to train, it'll be better than being miserable in a research position.

If you do have to resort to a research gig, the best way to go about would be email a ton of PIs at labs you're interested in. And by a ton of PIs, I mean you can easily expect to email more than a 100 before getting any bites.

Good luck!

 

[EvryDayImHustln]

Ok so I have this upcoming year off. I am currently in the app cycle and I've been looking for a job (healthcare, clinical, patient contact, hospital etc...) but I haven't been able to find ANYTHING that doesn't require some type of certification.

I have no certification in anything and am literally broke so can't afford any type of classes to get certified in anything.

Does anyone have any advice as to what I should do with my year or where I might go about finding a job (i've tried craigslist, monster, indeed, careerbuilder, local nursing homes/hospitals)

"Lab Support" is a temporary science staffing company. They hooked me up with multiple interviews which eventually landed me a job in materials science research for my year off. It's free and I believe they are located in all major cities