job ideas for gap year?

[kateycat]

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things i've been thinking about:

-job w/my degree (exercise science): problem is, all i can find is personal training, i'd prefer doing clinical ex phys/cardiac rehab but i don't want to leave my state
-job at the hospital: though i do have plenty of clinical experience, i just like the environment. but i'm not really qualified for much 🙁 any ideas for good ones?
-job in retail or waitressing: only because it's probably the easiest to find and i can probably make some decent money
-job in research: applied for some but i think my lack of degree in biology is hurting me.

any ideas on which would be best? anyone know of some interesting jobs in the hospital which i could actually get, and/or where i can get a job in research?

 

[Abobo]

In regards to a job in a hospital, some hospitals have programs where they train you for a job that they have a need for, and if they feel like you learned what they want you to, they'll consider hiring you for the job. These jobs range from patient assistant to pharm tech.

 

[GeorgeFoster]

Get your EMT, that's always a good option, and it opens some doors in hospitals as well as allow you to drive around nursing home residents in an ambulance.

What type of city do you live in? That can affect what jobs are availible. If there's research orient university then that's definetly a great place to work as well, cold calls to professors can sometimes work out for you, especially in a college town in the summer (deserted town = less lab help). Your degree may come in handy here after all.

Personal trainer isn't a bad job either, assuming you dont look bad in work out shorts. I mean, you get to give sage-like advice, which is good practice for being an arrogant health professional 😉.

 

[musiclink213]

I worked as a sub teacher during my year off. The pay was really good, but it varies based on the city you're in. Also, you have complete control over your schedule, which makes getting time off for interviews no sweat, you just don't accept a job offer that day. I went on all of my interviews before the New Year, and during that time, I was usually working an average of 3 days a week. Most interviews were away for me, so I needed 2 days off. Also, early on in the school year, there aren't too many people taking time off. By November, I was pretty much working every day when I wasn't on an interview.

After the New Year, I ended up as a full time sub, working every day with the same schedule and same class. I also had some really great stories to tell my interviewers, since I worked in special ed high school, mostly kids with behavoiral problems. Got some great experiences out of it, and the looks on my interviewers faces when they heard hte environment I worked in, one said to me "We need to get you into medical school so you don't have to work there anymore!"

 

[kateycat]

I worked as a sub teacher during my year off. The pay was really good, but it varies based on the city you're in. Also, you have complete control over your schedule, which makes getting time off for interviews no sweat, you just don't accept a job offer that day. I went on all of my interviews before the New Year, and during that time, I was usually working an average of 3 days a week. Most interviews were away for me, so I needed 2 days off. Also, early on in the school year, there aren't too many people taking time off. By November, I was pretty much working every day when I wasn't on an interview.

After the New Year, I ended up as a full time sub, working every day with the same schedule and same class. I also had some really great stories to tell my interviewers, since I worked in special ed high school, mostly kids with behavoiral problems. Got some great experiences out of it, and the looks on my interviewers faces when they heard hte environment I worked in, one said to me "We need to get you into medical school so you don't have to work there anymore!"

hmm. that's something i never thought of. what kind of qualifications do you need to be a substitute teacher though? or does it vary by state?

 

[musiclink213]

hmm. that's something i never thought of. what kind of qualifications do you need to be a substitute teacher though? or does it vary by state?

I think it varies by city, actually. In my city, to work day to day, you just need a bachelors degree. If you wanted to be a full time, you need to have a certified teaching liscense. But I did it kinda under the table, as long as I took at least one day off in 30 days, I was a day to day. That's mainly because nobody wanted to work at that school, and the kids all liked me, so they figured why not.

I also can't renew my license, because where I"m from, you're supposed to take 6 credits a year towards a masters in teaching, otherwise you can't renew your license. But since I don't have to renew it, it's kind of a loophole. You'd have to check with your department of education. Everything I've mentioned is for NY, different cities may have different rules, and different salaries. My friend in NJ was subbing, and she was getting paid just over half of what I was getting paid per day. So maybe it's not as good pay everywhere else.

 

[medguy83]

From my perspective it's kind of difficult to get a job in the health care field unless you've got some level of certification. Want to run an x-ray? you need your tech license. same goes for ekg, surg tech, med tech, pharm tech, etc. And you need to graduate from an accredited program which can take anywhere from 9 months- 2+ years (at least where I am).

Believe me, I've tried applying to a lot of hospitals and clinics to work in some lab capacity (degree in biochemistry). There were lab techs with associate degrees who got in ahead of me. It seems it's either research for me or emptying waste cans in the hospital. As a whole, I'm not sure how much weight is given to a person who say worked as an lpn or something. It certainly shows persistence and dedication, but it seems like an awfully long track to take to eventually get into med school. My advice, take a clinical position/training program if you can (work for hire); if not, just volunteer and get more research under your belt.

 

[Tracie Smith]

I think it varies by city, actually. In my city, to work day to day, you just need a bachelors degree. If you wanted to be a full time, you need to have a certified teaching liscense. But I did it kinda under the table, as long as I took at least one day off in 30 days, I was a day to day. That's mainly because nobody wanted to work at that school, and the kids all liked me, so they figured why not.

I also can't renew my license, because where I"m from, you're supposed to take 6 credits a year towards a masters in teaching, otherwise you can't renew your license. But since I don't have to renew it, it's kind of a loophole. You'd have to check with your department of education. Everything I've mentioned is for NY, different cities may have different rules, and different salaries. My friend in NJ was subbing, and she was getting paid just over half of what I was getting paid per day. So maybe it's not as good pay everywhere else.

I'm a certified teacher in Michigan so I can share with you the requirements for subbing in my district. In fact, I'm trying to get my future doctor son to also do this while he reapplies to med school.

To substitute teach in Michigan - you do NOT have to have certification in teaching. All you need is 90 credit hrs. (earned from a 4-year university). If you do have certification you will make more money. You make $85/day if you are not certified and $95/day if you are certified.

Best of luck to you! 👍

 

[RxnMan]

For exercise science you might want to try contacting cardiology offices to run their stress tests (random idea). Or do gait analysis. Or talk to some folks in rehab hospitals and see if you can work with athletes.