Student tech school break activities

[Amicable Angora]

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As an incoming (out of state) student pharmacy tech at a hospital I apparently have the option to keep working there during winter and summer breaks and they would want me to stay from P1 to P4. Aside from not being able to see my family back at home, is there a downside to working at the same place during breaks?

What I mean is, should I be diversifying my experiences? For example during the summer would it be better for me to find an internship experience somewhere else (for example working at some other company in another state or location) rather than having my resume turn into working consistently but only at one location? Would I be stronger if my resume said I worked (summer) at X location year 2, Y location year 3, etc while holding down my regular hospital position during the school year?

Is my situation common? If anyone could share their experiences or thoughts I would be very grateful, thanks. I'm just wondering if I would be lacking if I just stayed at the same place instead of doing other things.

 

[BidingMyTime]

From a resume standpoint, it would really only matter if you think you might want to go into an area other than the one you are teching in. If you are teching in a hospital, and would like to work in a hospital as a pharmacist, than there would be no need to get other work experiences. If you think you might want to consider retail, than you probably should try to get some retail experience at some point. Otherwise, a long term gig at any one place is going to look far better than several short term gigs.....that could make the interviewer question why you changed jobs so frequently.

Resume aside, from your standpoint, if you aren't sure what you want to do as a pharmacist (and as a P1, even if you think you do, you probably really don't know for sure), the more different experiences you get, the better an idea you will have about what kind of job you would like as a pharmacist. However, a careful selection of rotations can help you see different areas, without having to switch jobs.

My advice, make your decision based on whether you want to spend summers at home or at your new college address, and how that will affect your financial situation (I'm guessing it will affect it adversely if you have to pay rent to live away during the summer, as opposed to living rent-free with your parents....but if you have a year-long contract in your college, town than that wouldn't matter.) As a P1, I would worry more about your current financial situation, rather than how your resume will look in 3 years.

 

[Amicable Angora]

Thanks for the advice. To clarify, I would be able to keep my job during the school year, I'm just wondering if I should do something different during the summers.

 

[Amicable Angora]

Anyone else have some advice? I'd greatly appreciate it.

 

[ShockingPurple]

Thanks for the advice. To clarify, I would be able to keep my job during the school year, I'm just wondering if I should do something different during the summers.

If you're doing internships, you could possibly try a few during the summers. You don't want to keep finding new places of employment only to keep going back to the same tech job during the semester. I'm not sure of the arrangement you may have with your job but I know that my pharmacy wouldn't let me quit one summer just to come back in the fall when school resumes. But then again I'm in a different situation since I do live where my school is and we are almost year round due to being accelerated so I really don't have the same breaks as other schools.