Summer plans?

[ahc336]

Advertisement - Members don't see this ad

Hey SDN, I don't really have a single idea what I should do during this summer.

Option A. ---I'm a lab tech at my uni's vet school so I could stay on there for the summer while volunteering at a local hospital, but I would have to pay rent. I have a job paying $8/hr on-campus, but I still can't afford to live there.

Option B. ---Hospital A back home requires a 4-month commitment to volunteer, so I can't volunteer there. I have a doctor I could probably shadow with a bit at family practice C, but not for more than 40 hours probably. Hospital B in the hometown also requires a 4-month committment, but shadowing apart from those 40 hours at family practice C is probably out of question. Hospital A requires applicants to jump through insane hoops just for 40 hrs of shadowing and I'm not terribly sure if it's worth it.

Wherever I am at (home or near school), I will probably get a certification like CNA or something of the sort.

Those are really my only two options. I need a way to make money this summer, but I'm quickly realizing I may not be able to both get experience needed for Med/PA school and make money. Please feel free to suggest alternatives or different combinations. I'm really kind of lost here haha.

edit: Could I also take summer courses for pre-reqs? I'm a humanities major so it would help me graduate quicker. There is a 4-yr state university in my hometown (different from the state school I attend).

 

[Dro133]

So it sounds like you could either stay at school and work a job that will have you netting zero dollars, or less, after rent/living expenses, or living at home for free?

I would go with option B. It would be one thing if the job was allowing you to make some savings, but it isn't, so you might as well live at home. Also, depending on what year in school you are, 40 hours of shadowing is nothing to sneeze at; I would say that most agree anything over 100 shadowing hours and you're looking at diminishing returns. so 40 is a solid chunk of hours.

Living at home could also free you up to do other things such as taking pre-reqs (like you suggested) or even joining a lab to gain some research experience. Have you thought at all about tutoring for some extra money? If you're in a decently-sized town, you might be able to sign up to be a tutor with one of the tutoring companies (Varsity Tutors comes to mind) and make around $20/hr for a few hours of tutoring per week.

 

[Mansamusa]

Some options that may or may not be possible:
1) Research program that provides a stipend
2) See if your school provides summer work-study funding, so you could get paid for your research or find a hospital job at your school that pays
3) TA during the school year. I would hold two TA positions one quarter/yr, which paid $2K and I would live off that for the summer
4) Research at the school in your hometown and shadow

 

[ahc336]

So it sounds like you could either stay at school and work a job that will have you netting zero dollars, or less, after rent/living expenses, or living at home for free?

I would go with option B. It would be one thing if the job was allowing you to make some savings, but it isn't, so you might as well live at home. Also, depending on what year in school you are, 40 hours of shadowing is nothing to sneeze at; I would say that most agree anything over 100 shadowing hours and you're looking at diminishing returns. so 40 is a solid chunk of hours.

Living at home could also free you up to do other things such as taking pre-reqs (like you suggested) or even joining a lab to gain some research experience. Have you thought at all about tutoring for some extra money? If you're in a decently-sized town, you might be able to sign up to be a tutor with one of the tutoring companies (Varsity Tutors comes to mind) and make around $20/hr for a few hours of tutoring per week.

Lots of good suggestions, thanks. I assist at a vet school (only in the state I think) so it's unlikely the researchers I work with will have ins at the state school in my hometown, but I'll ask. I'll cold call and see if any faculty need any help at the school in the hometown as well. And I will fill out the mountain of paperwork to shadow if the omniscient SDN gods say it shall be so haha

Will it matter if I take pre-reqs at a different school than my university? Still 4-yr.

Some options that may or may not be possible:
1) Research program that provides a stipend
2) See if your school provides summer work-study funding, so you could get paid for your research or find a hospital job at your school that pays
3) TA during the school year. I would hold two TA positions one quarter/yr, which paid $2K and I would live off that for the summer
4) Research at the school in your hometown and shadow

1) I don't think they're willing to pay me. I'm new to the team and I've only set up like 3 PCRs haha, I doubt they'd be willing to pay me.
2) I will research this, though my uni doesn't have a med school/hospital so it may not have anything like that.
3) not smart enough to TA for pre-reqs. painful but true
4) the best option it seems

Thanks to you both 🙂

 

[Dro133]

Lots of good suggestions, thanks. I assist at a vet school (only in the state I think) so it's unlikely the researchers I work with will have ins at the state school in my hometown, but I'll ask. I'll cold call and see if any faculty need any help at the school in the hometown as well. And I will fill out the mountain of paperwork to shadow if the omniscient SDN gods say it shall be so haha

Will it matter if I take pre-reqs at a different school than my university? Still 4-yr.

Thanks to you both 🙂

If there are fewer hoops to jump through to shadow the family doc versus at the hospital, then shadow the family doc. Shadowing is shadowing.

Taking pre-reqs at a school other than your own university is a non-issue.

Good luck!

 

[ahc336]

If there are fewer hoops to jump through to shadow the family doc versus at the hospital, then shadow the family doc. Shadowing is shadowing.

Taking pre-reqs at a school other than your own university is a non-issue.

Good luck!

True. The FM doc is a family friend and I've already done all the HIPPAA **** I need to do to shadow (shadowed him over xmas break). But the shadowing through the hosp. network will let me get an additional 40. Thanks for all the help

 

[thatwouldbeanarchy]

I may not be able to both get experience needed for Med/PA school and make money

Would it be possible for you to find just a regular job (waiting tables, retail, some kind of entry level office work) with a flexible enough schedule that you can keep up with volunteering/shadowing on the side? It's awesome to be able to kill 2 birds by getting clinical experience and making money at the same time but I think the fact that you're just looking for a summer gig and don't have a ton of experience will make that challenging. But schools won't care if you're working a regular job to make money for the summer.

 

[ahc336]

Would it be possible for you to find just a regular job (waiting tables, retail, some kind of entry level office work) with a flexible enough schedule that you can keep up with volunteering/shadowing on the side? It's awesome to be able to kill 2 birds by getting clinical experience and making money at the same time but I think the fact that you're just looking for a summer gig and don't have a ton of experience will make that challenging. But schools won't care if you're working a regular job to make money for the summer.

I am gonna retake a pre-req I'm currently flunking (Chem. 1) at a state uni in my hometown, volunteer for a clinic, and maybe wait tables or something. Thanks for the tip