Money or Fun (Gap Year)

[Laura Jean]

I have worked hard throughout my undergrad years. Due to holding several part-time gigs at a time (food service, tutor, TA, grader, research, CNA, etc.) and scholarships, I will graduate with around $45k in my savings. I am taking a gap year and applying the summer after I graduate (Summer 2022). I am deciding how to spend my gap year. May-July will be primarily focused on applying and secondary applications, but after that, I need to decide what to do. I am not in need of any more hours necessarily (I have research, clinical, etc.). I will be moving back home with my parents and 2 sisters for financial reasons and because why not? I am conflicted on how to spend my gap year though

My dad wants me to work my butt off and has already been contacting his connections to get me jobs. He has hooked me up with a scribe job not far from our house for 40 hrs/week M-F from 9am-5pm as well as a CNA position at a local hospital for 16 hrs/week 6am-10pm M-Th. He also suggests that I work 16 hrs each weekend where my older sister used to work as a CNA because it pays bank for requiring every Saturday and Sunday morning from 6am-2pm. He knows that it will be a lot and he does all of this with the best intentions as he knows how money-conscious I am and my goal to graduate medical school with little to no debt. It is a lot of time (72 hrs/week), but I am used to being extremely busy in college with work, school, extracurriculars and such. And during residency I could work up to 80 hrs/week so this could be practice. Doing this would make it so I have about $131k in the bank in time for matriculation.

My mom wants me to have fun. She wants me to work a little during the summer, work a lot during the fall till the beginning of the new year, and then have fun. She wants me to quit my jobs and travel with friends. My grandparents are always willing to donate some $$$ for traveling and she says I should take the opportunity and destress before medical school. She is less money-focused than my dad and I. She wants me to make money and work hard but for half the time and then enjoy life. This would leave me with about $90k in time for matriculation.

These are the two scenarios that I am debating. I know I have a while to decide, but I am a planner and like to know how things are going to go. I know that in both scenarios I do enter medical school with a lot of money. I just don't know which is worth more! Working hard to possibly graduate debt-free or relatively close or working hard for a little bit and then traveling and relaxing. Both have their obvious pros and cons, I am just wondering if anyone can shine any light on my dilemma from their experiences.

Did you work hard and regret not traveling or enjoying time before med school?
Did you travel and regret not earning more money to obtain less debt?

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[doomer_md]

So 72 hours a week including working on weekends for 40k less debt? Haha. No.

 

[M&L]

Definitely have fun !!! Get a part time job to not dip into savings , but HAVE FUN PLEASE (M3 here).

 

[LunaOri]

Working 72 hours a week before med school will burn you out. Take whatever job(s) will give you a decent quality of life for a few months, and take at least a month to relax and travel. You want to go into med school rested, relaxed, and ready to start!

 

[lumya]

I agree with having fun. I'm a non-trad student so I was working before matriculation but I left my job two months early to have time to relax. It definitely feels good to have a financial cushion and it alleviates a portion of stress associated with school, but you need to rest and recuperate.

I would probably work a little so have some income source and also keep myself busy, but please take time for yourself.

 

[EdgeTrimmer]

work part-time until you get your first A and then decide if you want to continue that or have full time fun.

 

[deleted1100659]

enjoy your life! Experience new things. Most of your life will be about work, so take the oppurtunity to have fun when you can.

 

[Kuratz]

Focus needs to be on doing everything you can to actually get in to medical school. Working 72hr weeks at low paying jobs to squeeze out a few extra $$ is fine but not if it comes at the expense of the bigger picture of getting into med school. Likewise taking a celebratory approach to a gap year is also not advisable when you haven’t secured an acceptance yet.

Your job first and foremost is to maximize your chances at med school if this is something you want to do. (Frankly if you are so money focused might be a good idea to at least entertain other avenues as the yield on medicine is declining and the landscape will change and not for the better in the next decade before you’ll be done with training).

Find a balance between applying, working and leisure. Only you know what that combination is to make you happy. I know for me it would be a 40 hr/wk job and possibly some minor side stuff but also time to enjoy time with friends. In my opinion I think selling basically a year of your 20s for an extra 32 hours of probably near minimum wage work is penny wise and pound foolish.

 

[charactercomic2]

In the grand scheme of things, that amount of debt you would be able to pay back is pretty minor compared to what your attending salary would be. Also (not financial advice) but money in your savings is losing value; go invest that hard earned cash!!!

 

[voxveritatisetlucis]

Invest it. Compound interest is your friend.

imo equities are overvalued right now and bond yields are too low. Wait until a drawdown of 10-15% in SP500 and then invest in a passive, low cost index fund

 

[proudofmykids]

In the grand scheme of things, that amount of debt you would be able to pay back is pretty minor compared to what your attending salary would be. Also (not financial advice) but money in your savings is losing value; go invest that hard earned cash!!!

I agree with this ^
Have fun and enjoy the year in your 20’s. $40-60K now isn’t so much compared to your attending salary and ability to pay it back, even in accelerated manner. But it will be a lifetime time before you have the luxury to travel for many weeks during a years, especially strung together.
The risk is not financial per se, the risk is if you don’t get admitted during your cycle, you wouldn’t have improved your application. Minimally, when not traveling, I’d suggest continuing to increase your Service hours to an underserved cause in need.

 

[voxveritatisetlucis]

I agree with this ^
Have fun and enjoy the year in your 20’s. $40-60K now isn’t so much compared to your attending salary and ability to pay it back, even in accelerated manner. But it will be a lifetime time before you have the luxury to travel for many weeks during a years, especially strung together.
The risk is not financial per se, the risk is if you don’t get admitted during your cycle, you wouldn’t have improved your application. Minimally, when not traveling, I’d suggest continuing to increase your Service hours to an underserved cause in need.

Future value of 45k now in 30 years assuming 10% rate of return is 785k. You can do both as well. Some of PIMCOs funds pay a 10% dividend. That’s ~4500 for vacations.