Does it look bad if you've never had a job?

[rifle4802]

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I never had to work in college and never thought it was a big deal, but looking at these AMCAS applications it has a section on work/previous jobs held. I also have pre-med committee interviews next year and a list of jobs is one of the sections to fill out on the application.

A lot of kids (pre-med) at my college have to work full time or part time jobs to pay for school. Is this a big deal/red flag if you never had a job?

 

[masaraksh]

Have you done anything outside of class?

- work
- research
- TAing
- clubs
- school sports
- outreach/volunteering.
- community service
etc...

if there are a lot of 'no's to the above then yes, it would be a big deal.

 

[drumstix]

I never had to work in college and never thought it was a big deal, but looking at these AMCAS applications it has a section on work/previous jobs held. I also have pre-med committee interviews next year and a list of jobs is one of the sections to fill out on the application.

A lot of kids (pre-med) at my college have to work full time or part time jobs to pay for school. Is this a big deal/red flag if you never had a job?

oh wait, here we go...

 

[Bovary]

I'll echo the above post: it looks bad if you've done nothing outside of academics. However, it's more important that you have extracurriculars like clinical or nonclinical volunteering. Those are pretty much required, whereas a lot of people get into med schools without any paid work experience.

If you have extra time and want to boost your application, and if you don't need to work for money, find an unpaid position either within or outside of the healthcare system. If you have that experience then it won't matter that you haven't worked.

 

[Goro]

Nothing will kill your app faster than looking like you had a sheltered, entitled, priviledged life. Get outside your comfort zone.

I'll echo the above post: it looks bad if you've done nothing outside of academics. However, it's more important that you have extracurriculars like clinical or nonclinical volunteering. Those are pretty much required, whereas a lot of people get into med schools without any paid work experience.

If you have extra time and want to boost your application, and if you don't need to work for money, find an unpaid position either within or outside of the healthcare system. If you have that experience then it won't matter that you haven't worked.

 

[TheWeeIceMan]

You could use the affluenza defense.

 

[rifle4802]

Have you done anything outside of class?

- work
- research
- TAing
- clubs
- school sports
- outreach/volunteering.
- community service
etc...

if there are a lot of 'no's to the above then yes, it would be a big deal.

TA and lots of shadowing. Nothing else.

 

[rifle4802]

Nothing will kill your app faster than looking like you had a sheltered, entitled, priviledged life. Get outside your comfort zone.

Your post is rife with illogic. My parents aren't poor and thus I've never needed to work to support myself. I'm skeptical that having wealthy parents will weaken my application because it's not only not a bad thing, but also something I had no control over.

I have good grades so far 3.9+ and also am not even aiming for top tier schools.

 

[TheWeeIceMan]

Your post is rife with illogic. My parents aren't poor and thus I've never needed to work to support myself. I'm skeptical that having wealthy parents will weaken my application because it's not only not a bad thing, but also something I had no control over.

I have good grades so far 3.9+ and also am not even aiming for top tier schools.

Maybe an adcom could give you a better answer....

 

[rain4venus]

Maybe an adcom could give you a better answer....

+1

 

[knv2u]

Your post is rife with illogic. My parents aren't poor and thus I've never needed to work to support myself. I'm skeptical that having wealthy parents will weaken my application because it's not only not a bad thing, but also something I had no control over.

I have good grades so far 3.9+ and also am not even aiming for top tier schools.

This is why the MCAT verbal section is so important. Goro never said your family is poor, and your family's wealth isn't going to hurt you. Being lazy and riding on daddy's coat tails will.

 

[rain4venus]

Your post is rife with illogic. My parents aren't poor and thus I've never needed to work to support myself. I'm skeptical that having wealthy parents will weaken my application because it's not only not a bad thing, but also something I had no control over.

I have good grades so far 3.9+ and also am not even aiming for top tier schools.

I have no expertise here, but I'd think top-tier schools would be more sympathetic to your battle with affluenza than some of the schools that are more nontrad friendly

 

[knv2u]

I have no expertise here, but I'd think top-tier schools would be more sympathetic to your battle with affluenza than some of the schools that are more nontrad friendly

👍

 

[BlackBox]

Your post is rife with illogic. My parents aren't poor and thus I've never needed to work to support myself. I'm skeptical that having wealthy parents will weaken my application because it's not only not a bad thing, but also something I had no control over.

I have good grades so far 3.9+ and also am not even aiming for top tier schools.

Since @Goro is an Admin and deals with these things daily- may mean your post is illogical.

But seriously, getting a job is never a bad thing. It can really give you some perspective, as well as some extra cash.

 

[NickNaylor]

I'll echo the above post: it looks bad if you've done nothing outside of academics. However, it's more important that you have extracurriculars like clinical or nonclinical volunteering. Those are pretty much required, whereas a lot of people get into med schools without any paid work experience.

If you have extra time and want to boost your application, and if you don't need to work for money, find an unpaid position either within or outside of the healthcare system. If you have that experience then it won't matter that you haven't worked.

Why would you do something for free when you can get paid for your time? Makes no sense at all.

At the end of the day, it doesn't "look bad." Just as, for example, it doesn't "look bad" if you weren't ever in XYZ organization, or didn't shadow X hours at a big academic medical center, or any of the other typical "staples" to any application. The important point is that you have some experiences that you can point to that demonstrate some particular things about yourself - things that make it clear that you have at least the basics to what is required to be a physician. Unpaid work is not somehow more holy than paid work. That's an absurd assertion. And, in fact, if you really value yourself and your time, it makes sense that you get paid to do something in your extra time. For some people, working is required, and they have very little no free time to do "clinical or nonclinical volunteering."

I guess I just don't understand why you think the advice you gave is true. It doesn't really make any sense.

 

[AlbinoHawk DO]

Your post is rife with illogic. My parents aren't poor and thus I've never needed to work to support myself. I'm skeptical that having wealthy parents will weaken my application because it's not only not a bad thing, but also something I had no control over.

I have good grades so far 3.9+ and also am not even aiming for top tier schools.

Arguing with an adcom over something you misunderstood. Classic SDN.

 

[knv2u]

Arguing with an adcom over something you misunderstood. Classic SDN.

There are more trolls here than normally. I wonder why? It must be a full moon.

 

[OneTwoThreeFour]

Coincidence that the guy who has never had a job wants to be a part-time doctor?

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/easy-to-find-part-time-job-after-residency.1058984/

 

[deleted407021]

There are more trolls here than normally. I wonder why? It must be a full moon.

On SP's blog, she claims to have quite a few accounts on standby that have yet to be found by the admins.

I don't see a problem with never having a job. As long as you don't let your socioeconomic status desensitize you or leave you unaware of the plight of others, and you can communicate a desire to help everyone, you shouldn't have trouble.

 

[wtr24]

I think that as long as your are doing something with your time then you are fine. It doesn't matter if its paid employment in my opinion. I hope to provide enough for my kids that they wouldn't need to do seek employment during college--just like was done for me by my parents. I feel like this was a huge opportunity afforded to me by my parents to be able to stay more involved in my schoolwork and to pursue the things I was interested in (isn't this what college is all about?)

Just make the most of your time and you will be fine.

 

[kk123]

Why would you do something for free when you can get paid for your time? Makes no sense at all.

At the end of the day, it doesn't "look bad." Just as, for example, it doesn't "look bad" if you weren't ever in XYZ organization, or didn't shadow X hours at a big academic medical center, or any of the other typical "staples" to any application. The important point is that you have some experiences that you can point to that demonstrate some particular things about yourself - things that make it clear that you have at least the basics to what is required to be a physician. Unpaid work is not somehow more holy than paid work. That's an absurd assertion. And, in fact, if you really value yourself and your time, it makes sense that you get paid to do something in your extra time. For some people, working is required, and they have very little no free time to do "clinical or nonclinical volunteering."

I guess I just don't understand why you think the advice you gave is true. It doesn't really make any sense.

Really? I didn't know paid work was valued equally with volunteer work! I had been told that volunteering was more valuable. Yay! I'm one of those people who had to work and had very little time for volunteering so that makes me feel better if what you said is true! 🙂

 

[487806]

Why would you do something for free when you can get paid for your time? Makes no sense at all.

Easy. Premed vs Reality. Two powerful opposing perspectives.

I never had to work in college and never thought it was a big deal, but looking at these AMCAS applications it has a section on work/previous jobs held. I also have pre-med committee interviews next year and a list of jobs is one of the sections to fill out on the application.

A lot of kids (pre-med) at my college have to work full time or part time jobs to pay for school. Is this a big deal/red flag if you never had a job?

As long as you have done something productive (i.e. the usual ECs - volunteering/shadowing/research/tutoring etc.), you should be fine. Working isn't a requirement.

 

[Mt Kilimanjaro]

Reading "Working" by Studs Terkel might be a good alternative to having a job. Well, maybe not. Great book though.

I actually don't think your situation is that uncommon. This is probably part of the reason why there are so many malignant personalities and super-sized egos in medicine. When you start your professional life so near to the top, it's hard not to think you're a pretty cool dude. When you've spent a little while as a fry cook or swinging a hammer for a living, life looks a little different.

 

[Patros]

Really? I didn't know paid work was valued equally with volunteer work! I had been told that volunteering was more valuable. Yay! I'm one of those people who had to work and had very little time for volunteering so that makes me feel better if what you said is true! 🙂

No that isn't true. In every interview, I received 5x more questions concerning volunteering and clinical exposure than I did on what I did for a living. They are checking if you have a good understanding of what medical practice entails, and if you have an altruistic temperament. In other words, things that OP doesn't have.
However, if you did a significant amount of salaried work, they will account for that. Most secondary applications will ask "Did you work? How much?" This way they will know if you had a busy schedule and weren't twiddling around like OP is. However, paid work is not a replacement for volunteering/clinical exposure, and is therefore neither "better" nor "worse" than the latter.

 

[wtr24]

^^Chill. Take out all the quips against OP and your comment is great. No need to paint with such negative, broad strokes.

 

[rifle4802]

Coincidence that the guy who has never had a job wants to be a part-time doctor?

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/easy-to-find-part-time-job-after-residency.1058984/

Yeah, so what? Like I said, not my fault I wasn't born poor. I don't see the point in getting some menial minimum wage job if I don't need it. Would rather spend that time doing other things. Envy much?

 

[mcloaf]

Yeah, so what? Like I said, not my fault I wasn't born poor. I don't see the point in getting some menial minimum wage job if I don't need it. Would rather spend that time doing other things. Envy much?

If the only productive "other things" you've done are TAing and shadowing you're in trouble. Nobody cares if you haven't had to work to support yourself, what matters is that you've spent time productively. Have you?

 

[rifle4802]

As long as you have done something productive (i.e. the usual ECs - volunteering/shadowing/research/tutoring etc.), you should be fine. Working isn't a requirement.

Good to know. Was just curious to know how it would look to have a section completely blank. From what I've gathered it won't matter at all.

 

[rifle4802]

If the only productive "other things" you've done are TAing and shadowing you're in trouble. Nobody cares if you haven't had to work to support yourself, what matters is that you've spent time productively. Have you?

That depends on what you mean by productive. I have a good GPA (3.9+) and I also don't care about applying to top tier schools. I'll probably even apply to some DO schools too.

I spend pretty much all of my non-studying time gaming (MMOs, Xbox One, PS4, etc). That's how I choose to spend my free time because it's what I want to do. If schools have a problem with that, seems lame to me. Plenty of other kids I know game like crazy on school days/weekends.

 

[NickNaylor]

Really? I didn't know paid work was valued equally with volunteer work! I had been told that volunteering was more valuable. Yay! I'm one of those people who had to work and had very little time for volunteering so that makes me feel better if what you said is true! 🙂

Well... no. That's not really true, either. As someone else said, you have to demonstrate that you understand, to some degree, what medicine is about and what specifically being a physician entails. Your work experience may not give you that kind of background, thus you will need to seek it out in another way (likely by the typical routes of shadowing or hospital volunteering). However, you might be able to, say, talk about your work experience as an example of you working on a team, working in a professional environment, demonstrating maturity, etc.. In that sense, it may "substitute" for other experiences that may demonstrate those same things.

 

[OneTwoThreeFour]

Yeah, so what? Like I said, not my fault I wasn't born poor. I don't see the point in getting some menial minimum wage job if I don't need it. Would rather spend that time doing other things. Envy much?

You know what? I wasn't born poor either. But I preferred buying things with money I earned rather than asking mom and dad for their credit card. I learned what it meant to decide if something was financially 'worth it.' You, clearly, have no conception of what that means and seem to have a hard time relating to people who do.
What will you say when a patient can't afford their medication? When they have to eat crappy food because they work 2 jobs and don't have time to cook at home? Hell, what will you do when you're working your 80k/yr part time job and have to pay for rent, food, clothes, debt repayment, your golf membership, your kids' needs, and everything else life entails?

You come off as unbearably spoiled and hope you mature before other people rely on you for their wellbeing.

 

[wtr24]

That depends on what you mean by productive. I have a good GPA (3.9+) and I also don't care about applying to top tier schools. I'll probably even apply to some DO schools too.

I spend pretty much all of my non-studying time gaming (MMOs, Xbox One, PS4, etc). That's how I choose to spend my free time because it's what I want to do. If schools have a problem with that, seems lame to me. Plenty of other kids I know game like crazy on school days/weekends.

I retract my previous defense of OP.

 

[kk123]

Well... no. That's not really true, either. As someone else said, you have to demonstrate that you understand, to some degree, what medicine is about and what specifically being a physician entails. Your work experience may not give you that kind of background, thus you will need to seek it out in another way (likely by the typical routes of shadowing or hospital volunteering). However, you might be able to, say, talk about your work experience as an example of you working on a team, working in a professional environment, demonstrating maturity, etc.. In that sense, it may "substitute" for other experiences that may demonstrate those same things.

Oh, ok that makes sense. So if I have the hospital volunteering experience and shadowing experience, working can substitute for nonclinical experiences?

 

[mcloaf]

That depends on what you mean by productive. I have a good GPA (3.9+) and I also don't care about applying to top tier schools. I'll probably even apply to some DO schools too.

I spend pretty much all of my non-studying time gaming (MMOs, Xbox One, PS4, etc). That's how I choose to spend my free time because it's what I want to do. If schools have a problem with that, seems lame to me. Plenty of other kids I know game like crazy on school days/weekends.

I don't see you getting in anywhere unless you take some time to bolster your application and/or use that wealth your family has to grease the wheels...

 

[Microglia]

I don't see you getting in anywhere unless you take some time to bolster your application and/or use that wealth your family has to grease the wheels...

May be time for a rather generous donation, OP...but seriously. Just do some dang volunteering or research. If you're too much of a lazy bum to even do that, it doesn't matter if a school let you in because you're going to be going right back out the revolving door.

 

[rifle4802]

You know what? I wasn't born poor either. But I preferred buying things with money I earned rather than asking mom and dad for their credit card. I learned what it meant to decide if something was financially 'worth it.' You, clearly, have no conception of what that means and seem to have a hard time relating to people who do.
What will you say when a patient can't afford their medication? When they have to eat crappy food because they work 2 jobs and don't have time to cook at home? Hell, what will you do when you're working your 80k/yr part time job and have to pay for rent, food, clothes, debt repayment, your golf membership, your kids' needs, and everything else life entails?

You come off as unbearably spoiled and hope you mature before other people rely on you for their wellbeing.

That's good for you. Do whatever you want to do. To me money is money, and whether it comes from your 8.25/hour retail job or from rich parents, it's the same. I won't have any debt to repay, or rent, and the other necessities of life (food, clothes, etc) can easily be paid for off a part time 80 - 120K/year salary. Unless you believe that engineers struggle to provide for themselves as well? Because I'll be making more than your average engineer. Keep that in mind before being so dismissive about one being able to support himself and live the high life on a part time doctor's salary. Because it can easily be done.

 

[Corvid]

I never had to work in college and never thought it was a big deal, but looking at these AMCAS applications it has a section on work/previous jobs held. I also have pre-med committee interviews next year and a list of jobs is one of the sections to fill out on the application.

A lot of kids (pre-med) at my college have to work full time or part time jobs to pay for school. Is this a big deal/red flag if you never had a job?

That depends on what you mean by productive. I have a good GPA (3.9+) and I also don't care about applying to top tier schools. I'll probably even apply to some DO schools too.

I spend pretty much all of my non-studying time gaming (MMOs, Xbox One, PS4, etc). That's how I choose to spend my free time because it's what I want to do. If schools have a problem with that, seems lame to me. Plenty of other kids I know game like crazy on school days/weekends.

No, it's not a red-flag. I know a friend who never worked (privileged guy who didn't have to take out loans, etc) and had 6 interviews (1 materialized into an acceptance). He, like you, gamed heavily on his free time.
However, he also had TA experience, clinical research, volunteering, and shadowing. The last of these three demonstrated clinical exposure, something you really need to have in your app. How do you know medicine is for you if you've never spent any time in a hospital and/or interacting with healthcare professionals. Volunteering is always helpful because it shows that you're willing to go out of your way to help others (altruism).

Without having to support yourself, you should have a lot of free time to pursue extracurricular activities that demonstrate your commitment to becoming a doctor. Just getting good grades isn't enough...even if you "don't care about applying to top tier schools" and will apply to "even DO schools." Medicine is about helping others and if you don't have a genuine interest in pursuing activities for the betterment of your fellow man (research, volunteering, tutoring, etc.), I would consider looking into another profession.

No one is advocating that you don't have some hobbies and things you do for fun. But if you spend all your free-time gaming, you're not showing that you are serious about medicine.

Yeah, so what? Like I said, not my fault I wasn't born poor. I don't see the point in getting some menial minimum wage job if I don't need it. Would rather spend that time doing other things. Envy much?

On a side note, you come off as having a sense of entitlement and a condescending attitude. That won't do you any favors. People can pick that up right away in the interview.

 

[Lucca]

That's good for you. Do whatever you want to do. To me money is money, and whether it comes from your 8.25/hour retail job or from rich parents, it's the same. I won't have any debt to repay, or rent, and the other necessities of life (food, clothes, etc) can easily be paid for off a part time 80 - 120K/year salary. Unless you believe that engineers struggle to provide for themselves as well? Because I'll be making more than your average engineer. Keep that in mind before being so dismissive about one being able to support himself and live the high life on a part time doctor's salary. Because it can easily be done.

Yah but do more stuff before you send your app in unless you are a fan of rejections.

 

[rain4venus]

Yeah, so what? Like I said, not my fault I wasn't born poor. I don't see the point in getting some menial minimum wage job if I don't need it. Would rather spend that time doing other things. Envy much?

Because a menial minimum wage job in a research lab (assuming you're doing research and not just washing dishes) gets you paid while you earn highly valued research experience.

 

[WillburCobb]

On SP's blog, she claims to have quite a few accounts on standby that have yet to be found by the admins.

I don't see a problem with never having a job. As long as you don't let your socioeconomic status desensitize you or leave you unaware of the plight of others, and you can communicate a desire to help everyone, you shouldn't have trouble.

SP has a blog? Link plez.

 

[OneTwoThreeFour]

That's good for you. Do whatever you want to do. To me money is money, and whether it comes from your 8.25/hour retail job or from rich parents, it's the same. I won't have any debt to repay, or rent, and the other necessities of life (food, clothes, etc) can easily be paid for off a part time 80 - 120K/year salary. Unless you believe that engineers struggle to provide for themselves as well? Because I'll be making more than your average engineer. Keep that in mind before being so dismissive about one being able to support himself and live the high life on a part time doctor's salary. Because it can easily be done.

I am just curious as to your self-awareness. Do you hear how spoiled you sound? How, rather than make the most of the opportunities your parents' wealth has given you, you choose to denigrate and dismiss those who didn't have the same opportunities? You went so far as to accuse me of being envious of your (PARENTS') money.

And how long do you think it will take you to get to this cushy, part time job of yours? Med school + residency + how many years after? Are you going to specialize? And how are you going to handle it when your patients are the 8.25/hr retail job types, and you have to spend your WHOLE day talking to them, dealing with their worries about money, their hesitancy to get treatments because of its cost?

I hope, for your sake, your parents are happy to buy you things your entire life. Because I'd worry about you once the gravy train stops.

 

[allisongod]

No one should let this kid get within a 10-mile radius of any medical school...

 

[NickNaylor]

Oh, ok that makes sense. So if I have the hospital volunteering experience and shadowing experience, working can substitute for nonclinical experiences?

To a variable degree. It's not as if this is a 1:1 conversion or something like that. It depends on what you take away from your work experience and the way that's presented on your application and in your interviews.

 

[NontradCA]

No one should let this kid get within a 10-mile radius of any medical school...

You know, as trollish as posts like the ones the OP made, I find it funny SDN makes this comment based off online posts. I actually appreciate that people speak their true feelings anonymously where I can see, instead of me thinking everyone around me has good intentions. Because when it comes down to it, medical schools DO admit people like the OP. It's not hard to be fake for 8 hours, let alone in a sea of candidates that are essentially being fake as well.

 

[KnuxNole]

oh wait, here we go...

Hey, stolen ponies are serious business! It could have been murdered D:

 

[KnuxNole]

That's good for you. Do whatever you want to do. To me money is money, and whether it comes from your 8.25/hour retail job or from rich parents, it's the same. I won't have any debt to repay, or rent, and the other necessities of life (food, clothes, etc) can easily be paid for off a part time 80 - 120K/year salary. Unless you believe that engineers struggle to provide for themselves as well? Because I'll be making more than your average engineer. Keep that in mind before being so dismissive about one being able to support himself and live the high life on a part time doctor's salary. Because it can easily be done.

Why go to med school? Be a NP/PA and work part time.

 

[Redpancreas]

That depends on what you mean by productive. I have a good GPA (3.9+) and I also don't care about applying to top tier schools. I'll probably even apply to some DO schools too.

I spend pretty much all of my non-studying time gaming (MMOs, Xbox One, PS4, etc). That's how I choose to spend my free time because it's what I want to do. If schools have a problem with that, seems lame to me. Plenty of other kids I know game like crazy on school days/weekends.

OK...wow, so cringe-worthy that I call troll...Can't be sure though.

Here's a general rule:

Those who overestimate medical school admissions overwork themselves, check all the boxes, and get into a decent school, those who underestimate it never get in...those who get it just right spend their time doing the right things and end up at one of their top choices. Take your pick!

 

[corndogger]

i think never having worked would rankle a lot of people looking at your application. I know a surprising number of people who never worked, and each one of them is lazy, some are entitled too. from your posts, OP, it sounds like you fit the bill. Or are a convincing troll.

 

[Lucca]

i think never having worked would rankle a lot of people looking at your application. I know a surprising number of people who never worked, and each one of them is lazy, some are entitled too. from your posts, OP, it sounds like you fit the bill. Or are a convincing troll.

oP is absolutely a troll, but let's not go stereotyping people that don't work as lazy and entitled. Cmon.

 

[487806]

i think never having worked would rankle a lot of people looking at your application. I know a surprising number of people who never worked, and each one of them is lazy, some are entitled too. from your posts, OP, it sounds like you fit the bill. Or are a convincing troll.

Lol ok dude.