Non traditional student Gap year job

[DrOptimusPrime]

Hey there,

Maybe someone can help me. I'm a no traditional student set on applying to medical school for the class entering in the fall of 2018. I'm currently working on a second bachelors and studying for the mcat-hoping to take in march of 2017.

After taking the mcat and the spring I'll only have two classes left which are just general eds and I wanted a job for the gap year I'll be in. I have a lot of research experience and currently volunteer in a clinic as a Medical Assistant and in the emergency department of another hospital on the customer service side. With my first bachelors and now I've gained research experience with clinical psych research and I've also gained some biology research working with bees, pollen, and fungi (to relevance to medicine but something I was interested in).

Anyway, I've been looking at job openings and I qualify for a lot of jobs at private medical school nearby in the research side both clinical research and lab research. I have a passion for research and the pay isn't bad to pay back my student loans. My only concern is, how do I tell them I am only planning to work for a year and that I'll be taking days off for medical school interviews? I can't NOT inform them because I plan to apply to the medical school or will have already submitted and application there. Also if I do tell them will my chances of being hired be shot?

Any other job suggestions for the gap year that pay well? I've looked at patient care tech and though the clinical hands on aspect is great the pay would be around $10,000 less. Sorry for the long post but appreciate any and all advice

Thank you!

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[WellWornLad]

Research assistant positions usually entail a two-year commitment. It takes time to get up to speed and they want you around both because you're bound to be more productive in year two and because interviewing new hires is a pain. It's not unheard of to find a spot for one year but it'll definitely put you at a disadvantage. You should be honest, although if you're a jerk you could keep it secret since you won't necessarily be needing a letter of recommendation. If you don't get in the first time around you kinda screw yourself there, however.

 

[QofQuimica]

I'd suggest being up front about how much time you can commit for the research job, and then let them decide if they're still willing to hire you. Medicine is a small world, particularly academic medicine. You really don't want to go starting to burn bridges before you've even gotten accepted to medical school....

 

[futuremdforme]

If you're going the honesty route (which sounds like a good plan), be up front that you might not get in this year, in which case you'd be with them for another year (or two). If you would work with them in the summer, discuss that too -- it would show genuine interest and maybe alleviate some concern about only being there a year. You can do a lot in a year though.

 

[libertyyne]

Hey there,

Maybe someone can help me. I'm a no traditional student set on applying to medical school for the class entering in the fall of 2018. I'm currently working on a second bachelors and studying for the mcat-hoping to take in march of 2017.

After taking the mcat and the spring I'll only have two classes left which are just general eds and I wanted a job for the gap year I'll be in. I have a lot of research experience and currently volunteer in a clinic as a Medical Assistant and in the emergency department of another hospital on the customer service side. With my first bachelors and now I've gained research experience with clinical psych research and I've also gained some biology research working with bees, pollen, and fungi (to relevance to medicine but something I was interested in).

Anyway, I've been looking at job openings and I qualify for a lot of jobs at private medical school nearby in the research side both clinical research and lab research. I have a passion for research and the pay isn't bad to pay back my student loans. My only concern is, how do I tell them I am only planning to work for a year and that I'll be taking days off for medical school interviews? I can't NOT inform them because I plan to apply to the medical school or will have already submitted and application there. Also if I do tell them will my chances of being hired be shot?

Any other job suggestions for the gap year that pay well? I've looked at patient care tech and though the clinical hands on aspect is great the pay would be around $10,000 less. Sorry for the long post but appreciate any and all advice

Thank you!

I'd suggest being up front about how much time you can commit for the research job, and then let them decide if they're still willing to hire you. Medicine is a small world, particularly academic medicine. You really don't want to go starting to burn bridges before you've even gotten accepted to medical school....

1. I agree with this sentiment, the problem is that OP does not know if OP will get into medical school that year.

2. Unfortunately in today's job climate employers dont have to give reasons to terminate you why should employees have a higher burden to bear?

 

[QofQuimica]

1. I agree with this sentiment, the problem is that OP does not know if OP will get into medical school that year.

2. Unfortunately in today's job climate employers dont have to give reasons to terminate you why should employees have a higher burden to bear?

They don't. If you're familiar with game theory, I see it as essentially being a case of The Prisoner's Dilemma. Do you "cheat" and hope your opponent is honest, in which case you'll "win" at their expense? Or are the costs of "cheating" and the likelihood of getting caught so high that the incentive is stronger to cooperate instead? I'd argue it's the latter situation here, particularly in a case like this where there is such a strongly unequal balance of power. Being badmouthed by a pissed off PI at a medical school is not such a great thing for a premed who has no medical degree, no academic reputation, and no "friends" in high places. In contrast, cooperating with the PI (and maybe getting a stellar LOR out of it along with strengthening one's app with a research EC) would more likely lead to the highly desirable outcome of a med school acceptance. OP should therefore choose a cooperation strategy out of self-interest, not to mention because it also happens to be a morally superior decision compared with attempting to win by cheating someone else.