Should I tell my employer I am applying to medical school?

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
B

BPMED

Full Member
10+ Year Member
Joined
May 31, 2010
Messages
113
Reaction score
26
Hi guys,

I am fortunate enough to receive a job offer at a career-oriented job. I have to make my final decision this Monday. The problem is that I have the feeling they are assuming I am going to commit to the job longterm (2-3 years), but I am currently hoping to attend medical school one year from now. I told them I wanted to get more experience in biotech, but I never specifically said I was hoping to attend medical school.

Should I disclose this information to my employer?
Members don't see this ad.
 
i don't think it's necessary unless it is specifically a position that requires long term like if you were doing a research paper or something... idk, not necessarily the "most right" thing to do to ignore it, but you also have to look out for yourself and maybe that is something they should have asked is if you have any future plans. do they have ANY inkling that you are interested in medicine?
 
baxt1412 said:
i don't think it's necessary unless it is specifically a position that requires long term like if you were doing a research paper or something... idk, not necessarily the "most right" thing to do to ignore it, but you also have to look out for yourself and maybe that is something they should have asked is if you have any future plans. do they have ANY inkling that you are interested in medicine?
Click to expand...

Well, my resume is heavy on clinical experience, and a past job was in a medical office. Aside from that, though, I don't think so.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
They probably will not read too far into your resumé like that. Idk, wait for some other opinions here, but I don't think you need to. Now if they directly ask you about medical school or your future plans, then yes I think you need to.
 
I'm in my gap year now and working as a practice administrator for a health network. I was up front with them that I was applying, but they seemed to think it would be worth the risk. I'd say as long as you aren't hiding it from them then you're in the clear.
 
baxt1412 said:
They probably will not read too far into your resumé like that. Idk, wait for some other opinions here, but I don't think you need to. Now if they directly ask you about medical school or your future plans, then yes I think you need to.
Click to expand...

They asked me this (or something like this). I responded by saying I saw myself getting clinical experience or growing in biotech.
 
u may have goofed there in my opinion. all in all, you are not REQUIRED to tell them personal business like that. legally you're fine, but i don't think that is what you are really worried about.
 
Business is business. Do you think they would keep you on staff if it wasn't beneficial to them? Do they expect you to stay with them if it's not beneficial to you? Take the job, and if you get into med school then it can be the happiest letter of resignation that you ever write. Is it slightly dishonest? Sure. However, you can't put all your eggs in the med school basket and put the rest of your professional life on hold.
 
LChristmas said:
Business is business. Do you think they would keep you on staff if it wasn't beneficial to them? Do they expect you to stay with them if it's not beneficial to you? Take the job, and if you get into med school then it can be the happiest letter of resignation that you ever write. Is it slightly dishonest? Sure. However, you can't put all your eggs in the med school basket and put the rest of your professional life on hold.
Click to expand...

Hmm I definitely agree with this. If I were to do something other than medicine, I could really see myself in this career.
 
No way. Never disclose anything to an employer that might give them reason to fire you or not give you a positive working environment.

Depending on where you work though, once you get accepted it might be ok to tell. But don't do that if they are the type if employer that will let you go once you put notice in.

Fwiw, I told my employer about my acceptance to school a few months before I planned to leave. However, I knew that they wouldn't let me go and would be happy for me, but I know some places of employment don't work that way and can make things pretty miserable.
 
baxt1412 said:
u may have goofed there in my opinion. all in all, you are not REQUIRED to tell them personal business like that. legally you're fine, but i don't think that is what you are really worried about.
Click to expand...

Yes, I am an honest person, and I was honestly surprised with how fast they offered me the position. I am thinking about telling them about my desire to attend medical school before committing to the position on Monday. What do you think?
 
If you tell them that it is your intention to leave, you risk them rescinding their offer of employment. I suppose this is all colored differently if you plan to use this experience to get a LOR.
 
LChristmas said:
If you tell them that it is your intention to leave, you risk them rescinding their offer of employment.
Click to expand...

I understand that. Maybe I'll tell them if I get admitted since what I told them thus far was honest (although perhaps not the whole truth). As I have said, I would love to continue with the firm if I had to choose something other than medicine.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
I didn't bring it up until I had scheduled interviews and needed the time off.
 
Yeah that's a good plan. Tell them if you get admitted. Until then, there isn't really much for you to disclose.
 
BPMED said:
Yes, I am an honest person, and I was honestly surprised with how fast they offered me the position. I am thinking about telling them about my desire to attend medical school before committing to the position on Monday. What do you think?
Click to expand...

Why would you tell them? How does it benefit you? There really is no reason for you to tell them.

Business is business. In general, companies look out for their bottom line, so if they need to get rid of employees they will. It's typically best to always look out for yourself because businesses are always looking out for themselves.
 
I wouldn't tell them. It's not their business what you do with your life. As long as you give an appropriate 2 week notice, you are fine.
 
BPMED said:
Hi guys,

I am fortunate enough to receive a job offer at a career-oriented job. I have to make my final decision this Monday. The problem is that I have the feeling they are assuming I am going to commit to the job longterm (2-3 years), but I am currently hoping to attend medical school one year from now. I told them I wanted to get more experience in biotech, but I never specifically said I was hoping to attend medical school.

Should I disclose this information to my employer?
Click to expand...
No, don't disclose -- especially if this is all based on a feeling and not the employer requesting a 2-3 year commitment.
 
Agreed, you're better off not telling them. In the worst case scenario that you don't get accepted in two years, then you'd be out of a job and not in medical school.
 
My employer knew from the beginning I was applying (worked there 3.5 years) to med school but it's a low level customer service job with relatively high turnover SO that part doesn't help you. On the other hand, I'd wait to tell them if I were you until you are at least starting to schedule interviews because you'll need to take time off. My work was super supportive and understanding when they knew I was missing work for interviews.
 
Keep in mind most companies don't give employees any notice when they lay them off, and you don't have an employment contract.
 
BPMED said:
Hi guys,

I am fortunate enough to receive a job offer at a career-oriented job. I have to make my final decision this Monday. The problem is that I have the feeling they are assuming I am going to commit to the job longterm (2-3 years), but I am currently hoping to attend medical school one year from now. I told them I wanted to get more experience in biotech, but I never specifically said I was hoping to attend medical school.

Should I disclose this information to my employer?
Click to expand...

They'd drop you in a heartbeat if it were in their interests. Do what's best for you and pay no attention to them.
 
You should not tell them until you're leaving. On interview days, you're sick or have a doctors appointment or whatever. Companies don't want to invest in someone who already from the get go doesn't plan to stay with them. I worked at GEICO before school and without a question they would not have hired me if they knew I was going to leave in 6 months. Training alone was for like 3 months.

There was another girl who applied to pharmacy school and got accepted that did exactly the same thing I did.
 
I agree with you all about not telling. Just had an interview at a very career oriented contract research organization and I decided that I would not tell them about applying to med school. My mom thinks I should tell them after they offer me the job but I think that that is too risky. I have not received positions in the past for telling them my plans to go to medical school in 1.5 years.
My question is about how I will miss days for interviews as a new employee who doesn't want to appear MIA. Any advice on this? I applied to 20 schools.
 
I disagree with the whole thing about giving them false information. And NOT telling them can be the same as giving them false information. For example, if you're doing some kind of training, then it's totally wrong to take the training --- an investment from a company --- and leave shortly afterwards. Whether you are legally bound to say anything depends on your employment contract. (Usually the employment contract says you are working "at will", which means you can quit anytime or they can fire you at any time.)

In your scenerio, if the job is such that they require a 2 year commitment, like some research jobs, and you leave after one year, you have broken your agreement. It's not likely, but you could get sued.

If you don't tell them, but need to take some time off for interviews, you should NOT say you're sick. That is a lie. Just explain you need to take some personal time off. If it ever happens that you get an acceptance letter, they might be very happy for you. Much better that way than getting them annoyed that you lied and hid something from them.
 
Last edited:
ThisCouldBeYou said:
I disagree with the whole thing about giving them false information. And NOT telling them can be the same as giving them false information. For example, if you're doing some kind of training, then it's totally wrong to take the training --- an investment from a company --- and leave shortly afterwards. Whether you are legally bound to say anything depends on your employment contract.

In your scenerio, if the job is such that they require a 2 year commitment, like some research jobs, and you leave after one year, you have broken your agreement. It's not likely, but you could get sued.
Click to expand...
You aren't giving false information by not telling them how long you are gonna work there.
 
I don't think that not telling them is the same as giving false information. On one hand you are saying something (possibly lying) and on the other hand you are not.
 
unless you sign a contract it will be ok. employment is at will by the employer and the employee. If don't want to burn bridges and want them as a reference that is when you should consider telling them.
 
They can sue you only if they have a document signed by you that explicitly says you promise to work for them for a specified time period, and if you quit before the time period is up, then you owe them a penalty of X dollars, or Y dollars they spent in training you. (Or a non-compete covenant - I doubt any court would rule that med school is a competitor to any business.)
 
Last edited:
ThisCouldBeYou said:
I disagree with the whole thing about giving them false information. And NOT telling them can be the same as giving them false information. For example, if you're doing some kind of training, then it's totally wrong to take the training --- an investment from a company --- and leave shortly afterwards. Whether you are legally bound to say anything depends on your employment contract. (Usually the employment contract says you are working "at will", which means you can quit anytime or they can fire you at any time.)

In your scenerio, if the job is such that they require a 2 year commitment, like some research jobs, and you leave after one year, you have broken your agreement. It's not likely, but you could get sued.

If you don't tell them, but need to take some time off for interviews, you should NOT say you're sick. That is a lie. Just explain you need to take some personal time off. If it ever happens that you get an acceptance letter, they might be very happy for you. Much better that way than getting them annoyed that you lied and hid something from them.
Click to expand...

The job did not specifically mention this. It was more in the context of wanting me to grow through the company, get promoted within, etc.

I was hired as an at will employee, so legally I can leave whenever I want.

I made it clear to them that I was unsure of what my future held and that I wanted to get further experience in the biotech world. I think this is truthful, whether that means going through the company or becoming a physician (physicians are just as much a part of biotech as companies, would you agree?).

Also, the position is 'entry-level' but with a lot of room to grow (or so they say). So I don't think they are investing a lot of resources into training me. Rather, I think I am contributing a lot of my technical skills and knowhow to help them with their company. It's more that I feel like I am getting groomed for promotion within their ranks. Although who knows how much of this is true or just lip service to get me hired.

As an aside, sorry if any of this sounds snarky (not just to you but to everyone). I genuinely enjoy hearing both sides of this dilemma, and I really appreciate all the input that has been given thus far.
 
@costales: Non-compete usually applies to jobs in sales: where you've developed a business relationship with that client and when you leave, that client sends business to you and your new employer, rather the old company.

BPMED said:
The job did not specifically mention this. It was more in the context of wanting me to grow through the company, get promoted within, etc.

I was hired as an at will employee, so legally I can leave whenever I want.

I made it clear to them that I was unsure of what my future held and that I wanted to get further experience in the biotech world. I think this is truthful, whether that means going through the company or becoming a physician (physicians are just as much a part of biotech as companies, would you agree?).

Also, the position is 'entry-level' but with a lot of room to grow (or so they say). So I don't think they are investing a lot of resources into training me. Rather, I think I am contributing a lot of my technical skills and knowhow to help them with their company. It's more that I feel like I am getting groomed for promotion within their ranks. Although who knows how much of this is true or just lip service to get me hired.

As an aside, sorry if any of this sounds snarky (not just to you but to everyone). I genuinely enjoy hearing both sides of this dilemma, and I really appreciate all the input that has been given thus far.
Click to expand...
This is a very thoughtful response. I doubt you said anything, but I hope that over time, when you have built some mutual trust, you can share your long term goals. They'll be happy for you and your future even if that future doesn't include them.
 
Definitely depends on the employer, friend got into medical school and the lab he was working for knew about it. He didn't take any of his "sick" days off so they encouraged him to stay home and relax before he goes back to school. He is very lucky because I have known people who felt very uncomfortable telling their employers they were applying to medical school during their gap year out of fear of getting fired.
 
Depends on if you think your employer would be cool with you potentially leaving within a year and if you think they will understand your future plans. Do what you think is best for you because your employer will do the same. I know I won't tell my employer I'm leaving until I get an acceptance offer because I need the income and I don't want to risk being laid off without a firm offer.
 
Last edited:
You don't have to tell them anything. Take the job, get experience and put in your 2 weeks notice when you get your acceptance letter.

Unless you sign a contract for X amount of years you can resign whenever you want.

Get the experience for a year and put it on your resume.
 
You should tell them but take your time . As you mentioned that "it's a good firm".
 
There is no "job security" anymore in pharma or biotech. Since 2009 the pharmaceutical industry has announced more than 156,000 job cuts (56,000 from Pfizer). Just last week Amgen said it's laying off 15% of its workforce.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

BayerischeMotorenWerke
  • Locked
Should I defer my acceptance to a DO school to apply to MD schools next year?
Replies
5
Views
628
BayerischeMotorenWerke
BayerischeMotorenWerke
P
  • Locked
Should I still apply to DO medical schools as a Canadian applicant?
Replies
4
Views
1K
havil
H
BM0
Should I send an update letter to my top choice?
Replies
5
Views
949
lioneljohn
L
S
How high should I reach?
Replies
8
Views
399
dial1010usa
D
dolephant
Am I early or on time if I submit my DO primary application today?
Replies
5
Views
2K
Goro
Goro
Top