Extracurricular activities for non-trad applicant

[sixty8]

I've been told that I'd be considered a non-traditional applicant for when it comes time to apply to medical school based on the fact that I took a break in between my education. Currently planning my next two years at my university and I'm wondering what's expected of me in terms of extracurricular activities.

1) Hoping to work 20+ hours while in school full-time. As a non-trad with no source of outside financial support, I need the money to sustain myself. Are med schools understanding of this with non-trad applicants? Does it look bad if working results in less volunteering hours?

2) Would one full year of clinical, non-clinical volunteering and shadowing be enough as a non-trad applicant? How many hours specifically should I aim for for each category?

3) Other than clinical/ non-clincal volunteering, shadowing and research, what are some other activities I should be able to present as a non-trad applicant?

4) Also, during my break from school, I worked full-time as a public servant in the security industry. It involved dealing with thousands of people daily, including individuals with disabilities. Would this experience count towards any hours I'm expected to document and report?

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[OneTwoThreeFour]

1. It is understood up to a point. It doesn't absolve you from the requisite shadowing/volunteering but would be a good reason for the numbers to be lower than possibly some traditional applicants. This only goes so far, though. As a non-traditional student you've had more overall time to accumulate these extracurricular activities so there needs to be SOMETHING for the hours.
2. What does one full year mean? 3 hours a week for a year or 10 hours a week? Personally I look for >30 hours shadowing and >100 hours spent volunteering with bonus points for duration/integration into the "theme of an application.
3. Leadership in things that are not your premed (or regular) fraternity. Or your club softball team. A good MCAT.
4. This experience would count towards paid employment. Sounds like you worked a front desk at a public building or something? Won't help much but would be something you can draw from to chat about during interviews.