Gap year options! Paid Tutor vs Unpaid Research

[megan0430]

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I have two options for the gap year:

1) Paid full-time math tutor for elementary schools in underserved community ($15+/hr)
2) Unpaid full-time ophthalmology research assistant at my top-choice med school

As far as my previous experiences go, I already have quite a bit of teaching experiences but no laboratory research experiences (I only have clinical research experience). I do live at home so money is not a major issue at the moment...
Should I go with a paid job or an unpaid job that will provide research experience that I never had?
Any input would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Lamel]

Either choice would be fine, but if you've had clinical research experience for at least a full time summer or a part time academic year, then you don't need any more, unless you want to make your app stronger for research heavy schools.

 

[hoihaie]

can you do both?

 

[Lawpy]

I have two options for the gap year:

1) Paid full-time math tutor for elementary schools in underserved community ($15+/hr)
2) Unpaid full-time ophthalmology research assistant at my top-choice med school

As far as my previous experiences go, I already have quite a bit of teaching experiences but no laboratory research experiences (I only have clinical research experience). I do live at home so money is not a major issue at the moment...
Should I go with a paid job or an unpaid job that will provide research experience that I never had?
Any input would be greatly appreciated!

Your avatar nearly matches @Ash_723... weird

If you already have clinical research, having more always helps but doing it for free over the gap year isn't that great. I'd recommend tutoring or possibly both if you can

 

[Fork909]

I also vote for a combination. But, if you can only choose one, definitely go for the paid option. Going an entire year with no source of income (whether you live at home or not), would be brutal.

How did you go about landing an ophthalmology research assistant position, anyways? That's pretty specific for a pre-med.

 

[megan0430]

can you do both?

I would love to do both but they are both 8am-5pm shifts so unfortunately I have to choose one or the other 🙁

How did you go about landing an ophthalmology research assistant position, anyways? That's pretty specific for a pre-med.

I asked an ophthalmologist I know personally if he can recommend any PI that is willing to take a pre-med volunteer research assistant. He gave me an e-mail address and I went from there.

I guess the consensus here is that I should take the tutoring job or do both (which I can't). But I heard that clinical research is not considered "research" and that is why I hunted down a RA position in the lab...

 

[jvquarterback]

Do you want to do optho as a resident? If so take the RA job. If not, take the money or better yet just go to school and don't waste a year of your life. Those kids are going to forget everything you taught them a month into summer vacation anyway.

 

[Redpancreas]

I have two options for the gap year:

1) Paid full-time math tutor for elementary schools in underserved community ($15+/hr)
2) Unpaid full-time ophthalmology research assistant at my top-choice med school

As far as my previous experiences go, I already have quite a bit of teaching experiences but no laboratory research experiences (I only have clinical research experience). I do live at home so money is not a major issue at the moment...
Should I go with a paid job or an unpaid job that will provide research experience that I never had?
Any input would be greatly appreciated!

I vote research position.

 

[Aerus]

Both. It'd definitely doable.

 

[HinduHammer]

Since it is working with an underserved community, I would vote tutoring. Plus, anything you are paid to do carries more weight with people psychologically. If you were a paid research assistant, your compensation would attest to your skill/contribution/value as a researcher. As a volunteer, your contribution will almost certainly be viewed as minimal. The name recognition of the ophtho research won't do much, imo. Personally I think tutoring the underserved community kids is more indicative of the spirit of being a physician than being an ophtho researcher.

 

[poopsicle]

I'd pick the research just because it sounds cool and interesting to do. And I feel like tutoring you can do on your own time if you really wanted to.

 

[ndafife]

Do you have a decent amount of money saved up? Are you going to be able to support yourself in medical school, even if your parents continue to take care of your finances? Are you going to be able to have some spending cash over the 4 years? Are you going to be able to have a car to get around for clinicals? You might not have any expenses this year, but look ahead 4 years and see what kind of expenses you are going to have and whether you'll be able to have a job or are able to make it through them with what you have saved up now.

Again, if none of that money stuff is of any concern to you, the research is probably a better experience and sets you up a bit better if you dont get into medical school (good experience to get a paid position or for applying to PhD programs). But you do have an opportunity to save up $30,000 + or so in the paid employment. I dont think anyone is going to criticize you passing up a research position for that

 

[MrTaco92]

You can do both for sure. Get a decent paying job and do research on a part time basis.

 

[megan0430]

You can do both for sure. Get a decent paying job and do research on a part time basis.

If I try to do both paid job and the research, that means I'm gonna have to let the tutoring job go and find another job since that one is full-time only. I honestly don't know if I will be able to find another job though since out of the 100+ job applications I submitted, the tutoring job was the ONLY place that offered me the position. I still have not decided but I will try to look for more part-time jobs as you have suggested. Thanks 🙂

 

[Lamel]

What are you actually more excited for?

 

[megan0430]

What are you actually more excited for?

I honestly would like the research experience. If it was paid, I would choose research in a heartbeat. The fact that it will be full-time unpaid labor is kind of a turn off... Tutoring is something I am good at, and the annual salary for this position is $25,000 which seems pretty decent to me. Also, I have mentioned in many of the secondaries that I am currently looking for a full-time job, so I don't know how they will see it if I end up with an unpaid position 😕

 

[sundancing]

I don't think you could do both. If the tutoring job is a full-time position, it's not like your supervisor will let you take time off during the work week to do an unpaid research position, so I'm not sure why people think that is so feasible.

Personally, I would take the tutoring job. You are going to need money just to apply, and while broadening your experiences for application purposes is tempting, you need to figure out if going without any income for year is practical for you or not.

 

[onceawolverine]

I have two options for the gap year:

1) Paid full-time math tutor for elementary schools in underserved community ($15+/hr)
2) Unpaid full-time ophthalmology research assistant at my top-choice med school

As far as my previous experiences go, I already have quite a bit of teaching experiences but no laboratory research experiences (I only have clinical research experience). I do live at home so money is not a major issue at the moment...
Should I go with a paid job or an unpaid job that will provide research experience that I never had?
Any input would be greatly appreciated!

My personal suggestion is that you round out your application with the research experience. Proper research skills, while not mandatory, are certainly looked upon favorably by medical schools. BUT, if tutoring is something you love, I would recommend looking into evening/weekend tutoring for that community. Surely they would appreciate having you there for as much time as you are willing to donate. Then you would get the best of both worlds, albeit without money.


SIDENOTE: if you look hard enough, there will surely be grants/scholarships awarded for your research that you can apply for, that would support your application costs. I was awarded a research fellowship (w/ stipend) which has been incredibly useful in mitigating/alleviating the financial burden of secondary applications. Perhaps there's a similar opportunity available for you!

Also both experiences sound awesome, and you're gonna have a great time no matter what you choose!

 

[URHere]

I think you should think about this in the context of your application and your future career goals. Down the road (as a physician), do you imagine yourself working with underserved populations in primary care or do you imagine yourself as a physician at an academic medical center with a possible involvement in research?

When you apply to schools, you will have to talk about your motivations for medicine, and they will get some idea of what sort of career you want. Pick the option that is most consistent with that picture. You don't need either position to have a successful application, but if your experience adds credence to your PS and general story, that can only help you.

 

[megan0430]

I think you should think about this in the context of your application and your future career goals. Down the road (as a physician), do you imagine yourself working with underserved populations in primary care or do you imagine yourself as a physician at an academic medical center with a possible involvement in research?

When you apply to schools, you will have to talk about your motivations for medicine, and they will get some idea of what sort of career you want. Pick the option that is most consistent with that picture. You don't need either position to have a successful application, but if your experience adds credence to your PS and general story, that can only help you.

This was actually a really helpful advice. Thank you. Although I am interested in research, my passion definitely lies in serving the underserved communities.

I think I will be taking the tutoring job after all. Thank you everyone for all the helpful inputs!🙂