Hello everyone,
I will be starting a PhD program in epidemiology this fall and besides 2 undergrad internships, I don't have a lot experience in public health. Since I am entering without a Master's degree, I will essentially complete the MS coursework as a part of the PhD. For this reason, I intend to only work part-time for the first 2 years to help fund my education (along with a relatively minor scholarship) until I complete the MS coursework and hopefully take and pass the qualifying exams to advance to PhD candidacy.
Since I will be entering a PhD program, I feel as though I should definitely find a part-time position that allows me to build more research experience. However, I am not having luck landing a research job yet (no experience with SAS yet...), and I have also interviewed for an assistant community director position (essentially assistant director of a residence hall) that pays in a stipend and free housing in an expensive city. Since I have been working full-time for 2 years in a very demanding job (though unrelated to public health and research), I almost feel like I want a "break" from a difficult/demanding position so that I can focus on my classes. For this reason, I'm almost inclined to accept the assistant community director position if I get it because it seems pretty simple compared to my current position (and it pays better than most part-time research jobs).
BUT, at the same time, I don't want to screw myself over and lose out on an opportunity to gain more research experience while starting the program. My question is: Will taking a job unrelated to my long-term goals just to help fund my education during the first year of the PhD program hurt me? If i do, it would only run until May of my first year and I could even start looking for a job next summer after I perhaps have networked with professors and stuff..
Just looking to see what those of you who have experience job-hunting are thinking about this.... thanks!
I will be starting a PhD program in epidemiology this fall and besides 2 undergrad internships, I don't have a lot experience in public health. Since I am entering without a Master's degree, I will essentially complete the MS coursework as a part of the PhD. For this reason, I intend to only work part-time for the first 2 years to help fund my education (along with a relatively minor scholarship) until I complete the MS coursework and hopefully take and pass the qualifying exams to advance to PhD candidacy.
Since I will be entering a PhD program, I feel as though I should definitely find a part-time position that allows me to build more research experience. However, I am not having luck landing a research job yet (no experience with SAS yet...), and I have also interviewed for an assistant community director position (essentially assistant director of a residence hall) that pays in a stipend and free housing in an expensive city. Since I have been working full-time for 2 years in a very demanding job (though unrelated to public health and research), I almost feel like I want a "break" from a difficult/demanding position so that I can focus on my classes. For this reason, I'm almost inclined to accept the assistant community director position if I get it because it seems pretty simple compared to my current position (and it pays better than most part-time research jobs).
BUT, at the same time, I don't want to screw myself over and lose out on an opportunity to gain more research experience while starting the program. My question is: Will taking a job unrelated to my long-term goals just to help fund my education during the first year of the PhD program hurt me? If i do, it would only run until May of my first year and I could even start looking for a job next summer after I perhaps have networked with professors and stuff..
Just looking to see what those of you who have experience job-hunting are thinking about this.... thanks!
