"Suspicious" jobs & E.C's

[amakhosidlo]

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No, I don't mean "mobile alternative pharmacist" or "promoter of leisure studies"....

I had a meeting with a prof regarding a potential letter of recommendation, and looking at my resume, he brought up my work history, specifically a stint I had as an intern in a law office.

He thought it might raise a few red flags with regards to my level of commitment to medicine, especially when considering the fact that one of my majors is popular for pre-law kids at my school.

I was honest with him, and told him that law school was my last resort career backup plan, "If you can't do what you love, might as well do something you don't and get paid, right?" I went on to go through how my family was pushing me towards law, but I'd learned through my E.C's that medicine was right for me, so on and so forth....

I pointed out my list of E.C's & mcat and he seemed satisfied, but now I'm worried that med schools will have the same reaction, but that allaying their suspicions will be MUCH more difficult.

Does having ties to/a history of pursuing other stereotypically lucrative fields (Law, IB, etc.) as an undergrad on top of a typical pre-med load of E.C's and classes actually raise red flags with adcoms?

....Or am I just being neurotic...

 

[Bacchus]

Medical schools won't fault you for exploring careers. Neither will they fault you for making money, unless of course it is illegally.

 

[enjoydrywax]

You just have to put some spin on it and sell it under a different name: say that you checked out those other traditionally lucrative fields and you were so dissatisfied with the ____(insert BS here)____ and after checking out medicine you instantly fell in love because _____(insert more BS here)____. To tell you the truth, if I were an adcom and you sold your expperiences that way, I would think you have a stronger case than most people who have spent all their time in science/research/typical premed shadowing/volunteering. I feel like that's the key to doing well in this app process-- misdirection and embellishment.

 

[Bacchus]

I don't even think you need to spin it. Your ECs and courses speak for themselves. You need money, thought you might be interested in law, and then found out that medicine is what you wanted to do.

 

[nick_carraway]

You just have to put some spin on it and sell it under a different name: say that you checked out those other traditionally lucrative fields and you were so dissatisfied with the ____(insert BS here)____ and after checking out medicine you instantly fell in love because _____(insert more BS here)____. To tell you the truth, if I were an adcom and you sold your expperiences that way, I would think you have a stronger case than most people who have spent all their time in science/research/typical premed shadowing/volunteering. I feel like that's the key to doing well in this app process-- misdirection and embellishment.

I disagree. Mentioning that you looked at other "traditionally lucrative fields" is not something that you want to say because it implies that you looked at medicine for the same reasons initially.

I would just leave it at the fact that you were seeing what interested you, you tried a brief pre-law experience, found that you didn't like it, and moved on while still enjoying your major. As a previous post said, med schools will not punish you for testing the waters as long as you can show that you're committed to the path you're on now.

If the ratios were reversed and you had a brief pre-med gig and more pre-law experience, this advice wouldn't apply but that isn't what the adcom will see and so you have nothing to worry about.

Just mention this fact in secondaries that ask for additional info you'd like the adcom to know.

 

[silverhorse84]

A couple of my E.Cs were things that I used to check out other fields. It wasn't quite the same as yours; one was that I taught workshops for the general chem series and while teaching is a career path it's not quite the same as something like law. However, when asked why medicine in interviews I usually said some things then said, well I tried out a couple of other fields that were interesting to me then talked about my EC and how it lead me to realize that that particular career was not what I was looking for.

Just an idea 😉

 

[GoSpursGo]

Mentioning that you looked at other "traditionally lucrative fields" is not something that you want to say because it implies that you looked at medicine for the same reasons initially.

I agree; leave all talk of money out of your interviews unless you're pointedly asked about it. One of my schools actually gave us the interview evaluation forms in our intro packet and just told us to give it to our interviewers, so naturally I looked it over to see what they were evaluating us on; they actually specifically listed "being overly concerned with the money/prestige that comes with the profession as being a negative to be marked down for. So while you might not be in this for the money, I really wouldn't even touch that topic with a 10-foot pole in interviews.

 

[45408]

Don't talk about money. Just don't.

I don't think you're in any trouble here, and I'd be interested to see that someone had done a law internship. All you have to say is that you tried hard to like it, but it really wasn't for you. I'm more likely to believe that you know medicine is for you if you've tried something else as well.

 

[StayingSteady]

I would actually say you're in a better position than most people. It shows that you actually took the time to explore other options (your law internship) and do what you're interested in (your non-pre-med-ish major), and that the fact that you're applying to med school shows that you really have considered all your options and determined that medicine is truly your path.

Contrast this with a bio major who has wanted to be a doctor since the age of 5. How would this student know that this is truly the best option? He's never considered anything else.

 

[LizzyM]

Now hope & pray that the person with whom you shared that little tidbit (about $) does not repeat it in his LOR. I've seen this happen. When talking with someone who will write you a LOR do not say ANYTHING that you wouldn't want repeated in an LOR.

 

[redlight]

that silly forum update deleted all i had to say :tear:

basically i was going to point out that ive held jobs/internships in other professional settings, including law, and you can definitely use it to your advantage by saying what you learned about professionalism (and or serving other people in a professional setting) in general or that you gained unique/interesting/significant exposure to medicine n or healthcare world world from the outside perspective of a different field

also, as others have stated, you should just be honest and say your were interested in your major, which has some relation or use in the field of law, you tried it out, discovered you were not too interested, and now you've 'seen the light' and know medicine is for you

orrr, of course, you could just apply for a joint md-jd degree program! :grin: