request for advice

[Glum Gus]

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I'd like to ask for some advice. I just graduated from college, and am applying to MD/PhD programs this summer. I currently have two job options to fill my gap year:

1. An environmental consulting position
2. A financial services analyst position

I have been involved in environmental issues through extracurricular activities throughout my college career and have a deep interest in these issues. (However, at the entry level, job responsibilities can be tedious.) However, the financial services position has a much higher salary. (Both should have similar work/life balance.) I was thinking that a gap year not spent doing biomedical research would automatically raise red flags, but it might be much easier to justify spending a gap year in the environmental consulting position given my history of involvement. Any thoughts?

(I apologize for the duplicate post, if anyone knows how I can move my original thread to this location, please tell me)

 

[TooMuchResearch]

I'd like to ask for some advice. I just graduated from college, and am applying to MD/PhD programs this summer. I currently have two job options to fill my gap year:

1. An environmental consulting position
2. A financial services analyst position

I have been involved in environmental issues through extracurricular activities throughout my college career and have a deep interest in these issues. (However, at the entry level, job responsibilities can be tedious.) However, the financial services position has a much higher salary. (Both should have similar work/life balance.) I was thinking that a gap year not spent doing biomedical research would automatically raise red flags, but it might be much easier to justify spending a gap year in the environmental consulting position given my history of involvement. Any thoughts?

(I apologize for the duplicate post, if anyone knows how I can move my original thread to this location, please tell me)

Environmental consulting sounds more entertaining, but the dollar can be tempting. A year spent doing things other than biomedical research shouldn't be a problem as far as I know. A mod will be able to merge your two threads.

 

[Mace1370]

Go with the higher paying job. Neither have anything to do with medicine, and adcoms can't exactly object when you say "I wanted to start saving money to pay off med school."

 

[searun]

I was a construction worker and a waiter during my two gap years between college and med school. Not a problem.