"either this or that" advice

[GiantFetus]

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Hello SDNers. College freshman here just getting her feet wet. I know the coursework will become increasingly more difficult but I completed my first semester with solid grades and am quite frankly bored. Therefore, I need something to do with free time, other than socialize, next semester.

Plain and simple I have two options.

I have succesfully inquired about a volunteer position at the hospital adjacent to my college campus. I'm unsure of where I'd be placed but am hoping it'd be somewhere more useful than the gift shop. There's option A.

Said hospital is also offering a position as a pharmacy tech filling prescriptions and delivering throughout the hospital (ie. being able to interact and smell patients). This is a paid position. I guess what I'm wondering as a future applicant, would this be applicable to my application or solely to pharmacy school?

So.. should I take the volunteer position and not apply for the job?
Or apply for the job and see if I have enough time to also volunteer far less frequently?

Thank you for any incite🙂

 

[aSagacious]

Pharm tech all the way. Just make sure you're nosy on your delivery trips. Stop to talk to patients, eavesdrop (or a more polite euphemism) on interactions between the medical staff, etc.

 

[flatearth22]

Thank you for any incite🙂

lol

but srsly volunteering in a hospital gift shop is a waste of time.....go with the pharm tech job at least you'll be in the real part of the hospital and get $$$ for alcohol.

 

[plumhill]

Go with the volunteer position ONLY if you KNOW that you will be interacting with patients. Otherwise, take the job, but do look for something more directly in a clinical setting with patient interaction (free clinics are usually the easiest way to do this)

 

[Narmerguy]

Go with the job, but find minimal volunteering up front as well so you can show long term participation in volunteer work. Later on you can drop the paid pharmacy work and ramp up your volunteer hours as necessary.