Post-graduation job choice: Consulting the Oracle at SDN

[amakhosidlo]

Here's the situation:

Right now I intern for the county in a medically-related field, basically serving as a medical scribe for pathologists. It's a pretty boring job (I really just type all day and look up anatomical structures) but it pays the bills. I was sort of counting on my boss to hook me up with a job at public health when I graduated, until a state-wide hiring freeze was announced. Long story short, it's pretty safe to say I won't have a job waiting for me when I get out of school.

With this in mind I found an opening at an outdoor equipment manufacturer that'd be pretty sweet, but isn't at all medically related. If I took the job, I'd obviously have to ditch the medical scribe internship, which I've only been doing for the past 8 months.

Needless to say, any post-graduation job would be a bit of a windfall, as beggers really can't
be choosers in this ecconomic environment.

What I'm worried about though is the potential impact on my application of leaving a medically
related experience for a random private sector job when my prior work experience has shown a
stepwise gravitation towards medicine (i.e"oh well he's pursuing his true passion, which
obviously isn't medicine" application -->trash)
Thoughts? Does taking advantage of an opportunity like this demonstrate a certain degree of
capreciousness? (Not generally, but in the context of a history of medically related endeavors and a professed interest in medicine)
Might adcoms consider/understand the ecconomy's impact on the employment
prospects/decisions of fresh college grads who may not be able to land a job in the health sciences?

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[armybound]

Even pre-meds have to pay bills. I don't think anyone will give you crap when you explain that you found the outdoor equipment manufacturing job interesting (OMG a pre-med has interests outside of medicine?!??!!) and it was an available position for pay, which you needed to pay bills.

I think you need to go with the new job and try to find time to keep volunteering with the old job if you can.

 

[Jolie South]

Even pre-meds have to pay bills. I don't think anyone will give you crap when you explain that you found the outdoor equipment manufacturing job interesting (OMG a pre-med has interests outside of medicine?!??!!) and it was an available position for pay, which you needed to pay bills.

I think you need to go with the new job and try to find time to keep volunteering with the old job if you can.

This, I worked in a very unrelated industry for the year that I was applying because it paid well and was close to home.

When I was asked about why I did so, I said that I needed to pay the bills. No one faulted me for that and I think it was a very respectable answer.

Do what you need to do to survive and volunteer when you have time.