Postbac: Start a part-time job making $60/hr in an unrelated field, or $15/hr in medical field?

[j_diggity]

Hey all.

I’m broke and I need money, and have some credit card debt to pay off. I can only work part-time. I’m trying to decide whether to go back to my old career as a software engineer for something like $40-60 an hour, which would be game changing, or whether to work as an ER tech or research assistant for something much more lousy like $15 an hour.

Background: I’m a 30M non-trad premed postbac. Currently doing very well, sitting at a 3.98 sGPA with one year left of prereqs including orgo, biochem, and cell bio. My cumulative GPA will be around 3.63 though because my undergrad was a 3.52 with a downward trend because I got lazy and was studying business and they don’t care about grades as much.

• No MCAT yet.
• I have no research experience period.
• Clinical hours: currently hospital volunteering 3 hours a week, so I’m on track to have 150-200 by the time I apply, however have considered adding on a second hospital shift, which should get me to 300-400 by the time I apply. Thoughts appreciated on this.
• I worked for 6 years as a software engineer increasing in scope and responsibility over time.
• No recent leadership but in undergrad I was president of two clubs. This was 7 years ago.
• 2 red flags for criminal activity that took place respectively 9 and 14 years prior to when I’ll apply. Was being young and dumb smoking weed and got caught twice. Been told by advisors that this won’t kill my chances but that some schools will likely filter me out, though if the rest of my app is good I should have a strong chance of getting at least one A.

I don't think my ECs are that great so I'm anxious about that, but tell me if I'm wrong here. I really want to avoid reapplying if at all possible due to my age.

So yeah, I’ve got some credit card debt that I need to pay off, a lot of student debt from my postbac, and I’d like to save up a little money to travel before I start med school. If I do a $15/hr medical related job I’ll make enough to get by and maybe pay my cc debt off over the next year, but not enough to save up for anything or pay back loans. If I do a $40-60/hr software job I won’t get any additional clinical or research experience, but I’ll be able to pay off my debt in 2 months and have enough saved for an emergency cushion while I’m in med school. Plus be able to do a little traveling before I can’t do any in med school for 4 years.

Let me know what you good folks think I should do here.

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[bomba]

Could you take the higher paying position and do some clinical volunteering on the weekends a couple times a month?

 

[j_diggity]

Could you take the higher paying position and do some clinical volunteering on the weekends a couple times a month?

It would be part-time, so I could keep my weekday volunteering that I currently do.

 

[BritainKittenMittens]

Can you find a software job that is health care / research related?
Also, out of curiosity, how are you broke after working as a developer for that long?

 

[deleted1112122]

Hey I just faced a similar situation and am applying this cycle. Old career in tech/tech adjacent vs continuing to medical scribe for $15 an hour and I live in New York City.

This process has bankrupted me and while I really didn‘t want to go back to my old field, I needed money. I started searching and recently started a new ”big boy/girl” job. For the last 2 years I’ve been doing my post bacc I’ve had to be extremely frugal, and also accumulated cc debt. I now am not worrying about any of that for once, and am able to concentrate on secondaries.

I’m also maintaining weekly volunteering. Having to pick up the old field sucks, but it’s a reality some of us non trads have to face.

Note with your sitch: do you feel like you’ll be able to study for the MCAT alongside the SE gig?

Also, with the way economy is going, I would take the job that allows you to secure some money personally. Caveat: My ECs were already built out when I returned to the old field, so I dont want to speak in absolutes.

 

[AvsPearTree]

Hey all.

I’m broke and I need money, and have some credit card debt to pay off. I can only work part-time. I’m trying to decide whether to go back to my old career as a software engineer for something like $40-60 an hour, which would be game changing.

This should be the end of the discussion. The rest of life won't stop and debt won't go away as you pursue medical school, and applying to med schools alone costs thousands of dollars, hundreds just for the MCAT. Take the better paying job as you will need money and can maybe build a little nest egg for your own safety/well being when you finally start attending school.

You do not need paid clinical work to get into school, volunteer more at the hospital, and if you can I recommend volunteering at a hospice. Med school admissions appreciate hospice work and its a really meaningful experience on its own.

 

[j_diggity]

This should be the end of the discussion. The rest of life won't stop and debt won't go away as you pursue medical school, and applying to med schools alone costs thousands of dollars, hundreds just for the MCAT. Take the better paying job as you will need money and can maybe build a little nest egg for your own safety/well being when you finally start attending school.

You do not need paid clinical work to get into school, volunteer more at the hospital, and if you can I recommend volunteering at a hospice. Med school admissions appreciate hospice work and its a really meaningful experience on its own.

Can you tell me a little more about hospice experience? I’m guess you did it or at least can speak about it. What do people get from volunteering there and why is it such a valuable experience?

I’ve thought about hospice quite a bit. In fact I tried to volunteer earlier this year but the volunteer coordinator stopped responding to my emails 😂. I think maybe they stopped having volunteers during the omicron wave.

 

[bomba]

Can you tell me a little more about hospice experience? I’m guess you did it or at least can speak about it. What do people get from volunteering there and why is it such a valuable experience?

I’ve thought about hospice quite a bit. In fact I tried to volunteer earlier this year but the volunteer coordinator stopped responding to my emails 😂. I think maybe they stopped having volunteers during the omicron wave.

I can provide some insight as I'm currently volunteering at a hospice in-patient unit. Essentially you get an opportunity to help very sick, actively dying people--this is not a side of the human condition non-medical folks such as myself get to experience with any sort of regularity. Aside from being extremely meaningful work, it's important to know that you can stomach the less "glamorous" side of medicine.

For example, a couple of weeks ago I helped the nurses change a patient who wet himself because he was in a confused/agitated state after starting a morphine drip. He had a squamous cell carcinoma tumor that he had unsuccessfully attempted to treat with essential oils; over the course of five years it had grown into a large mass that covered half the circumference of his neck and was now intruding into his trachea, leading to extremely labored breathing as he was gasping for air. So I supported his weight as the nurses removed his underwear, cleaned him, then dressed him in a diaper. I also assisted the nurses while they changed his wound dressing because his tumor was actively oozing puss and would bleed profusely if disturbed. There was no hope of recovery, nothing about it was "exciting" or "sexy". I choked back tears a couple of times while chatting with his family about how he was such a loving, attentive father.

In the end it's about proving to yourself that you truly want to dedicate your life to helping the sick and dying, not just checking a box to attain clinical hours for an application. Maybe this all sounds morbid, but oddly enough hospice volunteering is always the highlight of my week. I've never experienced anything so meaningful, and fully intend to continue hospice volunteering even if medical school doesn't work out for me. It has solidified my resolve to dedicate my life to medicine and that will serve as a guiding beacon when trudging through the long, arduous path to becoming a physician.