For those who didn't attend med school right after they graduated what did you do with your time off

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Took a couple classes. Got a research job at a medical school. Spent some time shadowing docs and further exploring the field. It has worked out pretty well so far, I have been happy at least. I really feel like my application is solid. I will let you know if the gap year paid off in a couple months haha.
 
Worked a crappy desk job, played a lot of video games, and went to the gym.
 
Life Eternal said:
Worked a crappy desk job, played a lot of video games, and went to the gym.
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Hahaha exactly. I could add played video games, drank beer, and fished a ton to my list. I know a lot of people are afraid of gap years, but honestly it has been tremendously helpful not only to my application but just my own happiness. A good break has gone a long way. I am excited for the second gap year (while I wait to see if I am accepted anywhere). If/when I get that first acceptance, the rest of the year is going to be smoooooth sailing haha.
 
worked full time in a hospital setting, building rapor with physicians and gaining clinical experience. Pretty cool gig actually, glad I had the time to do it. Saved money for school too.
 
Beginning my gap year right now as a mental health associate (basically a CNA/psychiatric tech).
 
Gap year and a half for me. Graduated in Dec. I've worked, traveled, volunteered, golfed and wrote applications. It has also been nice to read books that aren't related in any way to school. It is very relaxing so far and if I get accepted this cycle, I think this break will have been exactly what I needed to recharge after undergrad.
 
This is my third gap year. In my first gap year I lived in China, employed as an English teacher, got to travel around a bit, learned another language. When I returned (gap year #2) I got CNA certified and worked in a hospital and then moved to a different state and now work as a CNA in a prison. I also got married somewhere in there. In this third gap year I still will be working as a CNA at the prison. Hopefully this is my last gap year.
 
I worked as a lab tech for an outreach lab. Got my CNA certification but the pay was too low to support my family so I went back to the lab. Couldn't find anything in a hospital since I wasn't certified and had no experience.
 
(Currently) working as a scribe full time during my year off. I'm already accepted for next year, though, so I'm not doing anything to specifically improve my app or anything since I don't need to.
 
Taught Enlgish in Japan, traveled Asia, worked as a full-time scribe, attempted to live out the sex scenes from Dangerous Liaisons
 
Worked, spent 3 months in SE Asia, and spent 2 months going coast to coast. Settling down in a week for school is going to be tough!
 
I've said this on this forum a million times before, but I highly recommend pursuing research if you're interested.

Almost any other job you do will have zero impact on your career and will be a small stepping stone to getting into med school. In the long run, it will be completely meaningless. Conducting research, acquiring techniques, networking, and publishing will impact your future career if you continue on as a medical student. Publications will be a permanent part of your CV and your past experiences will allow you to obtain better positions/network as a med student, which will be important longterm.
 
DrEnderW said:
I've said this on this forum a million times before, but I highly recommend pursuing research if you're interested.

Almost any other job you do will have zero impact on your career and will be a small stepping stone to getting into med school. In the long run, it will be completely meaningless. Conducting research, acquiring techniques, networking, and publishing will impact your future career if you continue on as a medical student. Publications will be a permanent part of your CV and your past experiences will allow you to obtain better positions/network as a med student, which will be important longterm.
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Main reason why I tried to get paid research positions. Never succeeded, but at least I have a review article published through a research rotation. Plus I felt like most other part time jobs or extra curriculars stop becoming intellectually challenging after sometime. With research, this rarely happen (well IMO).
 
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I traveled and worked as an emergency department technician. Experience in a hospital or clinic is invaluable in my opinion. I'm going into medical school knowing how to intubate, do IVs (could do these at my previous job, bonus of working in a rural area 🙂), spike bags, react in intense situations, etc. Many of my classmates probably won't even know where to start when administering an IV or IO.
 
I work as a clinical research coordinator, and I have learned a lot in the ways of research as well as patient interaction and phlebotomy skills. I have also gained publications, abstracts and posters from my work. I have shadowed different doctors including a DO. On a personal note, I joined a kickball league and was able to spend time with friends that I may not see too often when I am in medical school.
 
First two years: Earned MPH, worked as a TA, retook Orgo 1 and 2 at JC, met new people and chilled
Third year: Took the MCAT, worked as a Clinical Research Coordinator, retook Intro Bio 1 at JC, applied to school, partied hard
 
DrEnderW said:
I've said this on this forum a million times before, but I highly recommend pursuing research if you're interested.

Almost any other job you do will have zero impact on your career and will be a small stepping stone to getting into med school. In the long run, it will be completely meaningless. Conducting research, acquiring techniques, networking, and publishing will impact your future career if you continue on as a medical student. Publications will be a permanent part of your CV and your past experiences will allow you to obtain better positions/network as a med student, which will be important longterm.
Click to expand...

Tried, couldn't find squat. Applied to some crappy assistant position at a university and even interviewed, only to find that they were looking for super specific experience from someone with a PhD. All this for a $40k job (lmao). I applied to lab tech jobs throughout 6+ months and finally got a call back for a min wage glass washing job when I'm almost ready to leave for school. Needless to say, it wasn't worth the effort.
 
I wanted to take 2 gap years but ended up with 3. First year and a half I spent getting my master's degree and applying to med schools the second fall. After that I spent 6 months looking for jobs in the city where I got my master's, then moved back home to save money and look for a job in a city with more opportunities. Spent another 2 months looking for research/medical positions before getting a job as a delivery driver that actually ended up paying well and reapplying to med schools. I also volunteered in the ER 6-8 hours a week and coached some youth soccer teams along with just relaxing and playing some semi-pro while I could. I'll be starting med school in 2 weeks.

TreadLightly said:
Tried, couldn't find squat. Applied to some crappy assistant position at a university and even interviewed, only to find that they were looking for super specific experience from someone with a PhD. All this for a $40k job (lmao). I applied to lab tech jobs throughout 6+ months and finally got a call back for a min wage glass washing job when I'm almost ready to leave for school. Needless to say, it wasn't worth the effort.
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Same thing happened here. If you can get a research job during gap year I think that is the best way to go. Actually getting that job is a whole different story. Like Treadlightly said, everywhere I applied either wanted experience with really specific techniques/software or they found PhDs. I was shocked that the applicant was so over-saturated with PhDs that someone with a master's degree and almost 2 years of research experience could only get 2 interviews out of around 150 job applications. Other than research, I'd try and find a medically related job where it would be easy to rack up clinical hours and just do what you enjoy doing before starting school.
 
Stagg737 said:
Same thing happened here. If you can get a research job during gap year I think that is the best way to go. Actually getting that job is a whole different story. Like Treadlightly said, everywhere I applied either wanted experience with really specific techniques/software or they found PhDs. I was shocked that the applicant was so over-saturated with PhDs that someone with a master's degree and almost 2 years of research experience could only get 2 interviews out of around 150 job applications. Other than research, I'd try and find a medically related job where it would be easy to rack up clinical hours and just do what you enjoy doing before starting school.
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In my n=1 experience, getting a job in research without a doctorate is largely about who you know.
I worked as a research assistant for one professor while in school and when I graduated, he wanted to keep me on part-time but couldn't afford a full-time hire. It so happens that his colleague was hiring for a position that would bump me up to full-time employment in the department and he put in a good word so I got the job after an interview that was pretty much a formality. Due to the university's regulations, they had to make an online post advertising the position even though they had already pretty much told me it was mine.

So what probably helped the most was getting my foot in the door with that small gig during school.
 
We will see if this works for me as I am currently applying to schools, but I have been working as a lab tech at the local med school and used the crazy (95%) tuition discount to get my MPH. Whether or not that helps me out in the application process is TBD. I wish I was able to get a job with more clinical exposure, bit I am trying to supplement with as much volunteer/shadowing time as possible. Good luck!
 
Found a job at an environmental lab after graduation to afford the mcat study materials and have been saving up money for app fees as well, will have close to 10k available for the app process. Also continued to volunteer and shadowed and of course the big one: studying for and taking the mcat.
 
GUH said:
In my n=1 experience, getting a job in research without a doctorate is largely about who you know.
I worked as a research assistant for one professor while in school and when I graduated, he wanted to keep me on part-time but couldn't afford a full-time hire. It so happens that his colleague was hiring for a position that would bump me up to full-time employment in the department and he put in a good word so I got the job after an interview that was pretty much a formality. Due to the university's regulations, they had to make an online post advertising the position even though they had already pretty much told me it was mine.

So what probably helped the most was getting my foot in the door with that small gig during school.
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I totally agree with you. I tried so hard to get a research assistant job at a local university. I applied about 50 position over a span of 6 months. Not a single interview. Then I met a researcher through my other job and ended getting a connection to her PI. It's an unfair world sometimes...
 
Fargofargo said:
I totally agree with you. I tried so hard to get a research assistant job at a local university. I applied about 50 positions over a span of 6 months. Not a single interview. Then I met a researcher through my other job and ended getting a connection to her PI. It's an unfair world sometimes...
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working as an allergy technician. and studying for my retake. 🙁
 
Got married, got divorced, went to Europe, got engaged, worked 9 different jobs, established a solid clinical career, broke off the engagement, played some video games, made a lot of friends, lost a few, tracked down my long-lost father, you know, stuff. I did have a whole lot of years off though.
 
Got a job working for a Big Pharma company. Got married. Paid off the wife's and my student loans. Best two years of my life, it really helped me solidify that I was ready for the grueling task ahead of me
 
Fargofargo said:
Wha

What's allergy technician?
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keels99 said:
I may not be a genius, but based on context clues I would guess a tech... for an allergist...
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The company I work for partners with physicians and they essentially open up a mini allergy clinic within their clinic. I do allergy testing and allergy shots.

They start paying at $15/hr with a college degree (some states' laws require a CNA or med aide though)... if you are interested in applying, shoot me a PM. Mods, please delete this is not allowed.
 
I worked for 1.5 years as a Lab technician then decided to go to grad school for my masters for 2 years. Did lots of research, teaching and shadowing in the my 3.5 year gap between undergrad and medical school.
 
I didn't feel the need to get any research or lab position/ full time job at a big company/hospital. I wanted to explore my options and have lots of time as well as many different job experiences. For the first year I was unemployed as well. Then 2nd/3rd year I retook some prereqs and some extra science classes at local colleges. I also shadowed MD's /DO's, kept up my volunteer work/clinical experiences, and worked many part-time jobs to help pay for future med school app expenses. My jobs included being a tutor/marketer in local low income neighborhoods, a substitute teacher, an auction clerk, and a cs step 2 proctor. I had so much time and made pretty good money. I am taking the MCAT soon and have 1.5 years left before i attend. Not sure what i'm going to do later. I feel like a lot of my time went to reading many missed classics I never read, getting into great shape, changing my post-college diet/learning cool recipes, catching up with people, &discovering who I am. I took really neat classes at a JC for fun and I don't regret these years. I'm more prepared for the real world and a lot more confident in who I am as a person. I personally needed it and I think it really depends on the person. A total of 4 gap years for me 🙂
 
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My father died shortly after college graduation, so I used a lot of my time to help my mom pay bills. I worked in education because it paid better and allowed for the flexibility I needed to do a post-bacc, study for the MCAT, and volunteer a lot. I also started a non-profit and gained clinical experience at another job and through my volunteer work. I feel like my 4 gap years have been good for me. It gave me time to heal/grieve, mature, and gain a lot of real-life experience that I think will be useful in the future.
 
Take some relevant classes (physio, pharm, psych) at a local community college to display your interest to continue education. Community classes are cheap.

Also, it is important to gain hospital experience. I personally don't think anyone should go into medicine if they haven't had some experience in healthcare and working with patients. It isn't always easy getting a job and it is even more discouraging obtaining a job when all of the job descriptions require advanced certifications or want years of experience. I began my gap year journey working in a kitchen for a hospital... I washed dishes and was extremely discouraged... However, I kept applying and soon enough I found myself with two other jobs which paid double and gave me the clinical experience I needed.
 
nannied and retook 2 classes (6 months), CNA in skilled nursing home (6months), just got a full time job at an international contract research organization which helps run clinical trials for big pharmaceutical companies (hopefully I'll do that for the next year).
 
I moved to Texas to serve with AmeriCorps for 1 year as a mentor at a low-income elementary school, moved back home, worked a variety of odd jobs, went back to school for a masters in basic medical sciences, took a Kaplan course to improve my MCAT, kept working in a school setting, shadowed, and here I am: applying for 2015.
 
Have you looked up medical scribe programs? The pay is what you would expect after just graduating but it does have minimal amount of training and are very flexible when scheduling interviews for medical school. I have worked in the ER for two years now and nearly all the physicians I work with say that they couldn't imagine a better job to prepare you to be a doctor
 
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