Hi guys, I'm so confused with my life.
I am about to start 3rd year next month and its time to look for jobs/apply for fellowships. I'm really interested in endocrine but I'm so tired of being in training and not having time off to do whatever I want. I don't want to work as a hospitalist or primary care because I'm on a J1 visa so I need a waiver and if I start working i'll be stuck in that waiver job for 3 years. Also, Im from canada and want to go back as my husband and family are there.
My question is: I really want to take a year off after I graduate is that normal? has anyone ever done that? Plan to have a kid etc
So you don't have much time to decide - the fellowship application cycle starts on July 15th, so if you want to apply this year you would need to get your token right now to start working on your application (+ get your letters lined up, etc).
Honestly, this would be a major disadvantage for future fellowship prospects. Working as a hospitalist for a year or two would be +/-, but no clinical work at all for a year would make it much less likely anyone would want to take you for a fellowship. Endocrine isn't particularly competitive, but it's not nephrology - there's still competition for spots.
The J visa also complicates matters. Going home for 1 year is no advantage at all - you'd still be stuck on a visa waiver when you came back because you have a 2 year requirement to go home. In addition, you're stuck being Canadian - as you have observed, you are not eligible to work in your home country without a fourth year of training.
Oh, and *another* issue that you might run in to is that Canada had cracked down on statements of need for 2+ year fellowships for people on J visas - you very well might not even be able to do a fellowship on a J1 visa because your home government won't let you. This was a big deal around 2017 and I don't know how it turned out.
Your realistic options are
1) Go home for a year and not work, at all. Then try to come back and get an Endocrine fellowship or waiver job in the states -
Waiver jobs are usually pretty desperate so getting in won't be an issue, but you'd be stuck there for 3 years before you can convert your visa to a more permanent status. Then you're probably never eligible to work in Canada without a fourth year of training.
Endocrine fellowship is nice, but again, it will be tough to match after a year off.
2) Get a random waiver job - you're also actually fairly short on time to do it right now. You have one year before you're done, and the paperwork for a waiver job takes
months. If you planned to work after residency, you should have applied to jobs 6 months ago.
2) Get a random fourth year of training either in the US or Canada. Many Canadian fellowships (including Endocrine) have a PGY4 entry pathway - but they're also reasonably competitive. In addition, there's always 1-year US fellowships - Geriatrics and Sleep are reasonably popular for this purpose because they're relatively chill and not super competitive - plus Canada automatically certifies any 1 year fellowship as acceptable for a statement of need. Then you can just go back to Canada for 2+ years (with always having the option to just come back after your J period is over) while working there.
3) Go straight to a US Endocrine fellowship - this is the most streamlined option if Canada allows it. You apply next month then just do your 2 years of fellowship straight out. This is your best chance of getting in - but would mean 2 more years in the states right now.
4) Take *2 years* off from working, then you can come back to the states without requiring a visa waiver. You'd just be able to get a job anywhere that can sponsor an H1 - which is a fair bit more flexible than a J1 waiver job. But then you'd need a job willing to hire you after 2 years of not working.
Honestly, this is something that you should have figured out 1+ years ago. All of your options right now are crappy. The "best" in my opinion would either be do a 1 year geriatrics/sleep fellowship or see if you can do an Endocrine fellowship in the states right now - but you have a few weeks to sort out your application and see if your country will even allow you to do an Endocrine fellowship here.
