Taking a ~minimum wage job after college?

[virtuoso735]

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Was wondering what your guys' thoughts on this would be, and how adcoms would view this. I graduated from college in 2011 but spent the 2011-2012 academic year doing volunteer work, studying for the MCAT, and preparing my application since I decided on medicine later in my undergraduate career. My GPA and MCAT are not great, but I do believe I will get into a few schools (I applied very broadly to both MD and DO schools). I am currently filling out secondaries, and money is not a huge issue since I have family supporting me (although my family is by no means well-off).

I have tried applying to lab/clinical research positions sparingly through the last few months, but all of them have come back negative. It is just SO hard to get a job nowadays, and I'm saying this as a graduate of a top 20 school. And biology majors just don't really have that many marketable skills. Anyhow, I got a call from a biotech company a few hours ago with a job offer, but it sounds really boring and would pay only slightly higher than minimum wage.

Should I take the job? I guess I don't really have much else to do for the coming year other than taking a few classes to finish prereqs, and application stuff like finishing secondaries and going on interviews (crossing my fingers!). I guess if I needed to apply again I can at least say I did something with my time, right?

 

[samsunimomo]

Take it! As you've mentioned, jobs in bio are hard to come by. At the very least, you'll be doing something productive.

 

[JABWS]

Take the job! You're not too good for a minimum wage position, and adcoms certainly won't penalize your willingness to work a menial job in order to save money and stay occupied.

I had about an 8 month gap between graduation and the start of medical school. Up until a couple of weeks ago, I had actually been working at a bank. I applied for several lab tech/related positions, but most of the programs I encountered wanted at least a two year commitment, or preferred someone with an M.S. In addition, most labs aren't too keen on the idea of hiring a temporary pre-med student. In fact, pre-meds tend to have a negative reputation amongst our less medically oriented science colleagues.

With that being said, if you can find a decent clinical/research position, by all means take it, but it's not going to hurt you to do something else for the time being.

 

[circulus vitios]

At least you have the opportunity to work in biotech, even if the wages are garbage. I'll probably be doing blue collar crap during my gap year.

 

[Praefectus]

Do it! You'll have something to put on your resume and you won't have a conspicuous gap of time in this period of your life.

 

[Ansar]

I'd go for it! As you've experienced yourself, it's not like opportunities are throwing themselves at you and people are not opening the doors to your requests, so it wouldn't be very good to throw away this opportunity.

 

[Starlightembers]

Unless you have a better opportunity available to you -- say, a higher paying and/or more interesting position -- I would take it. It gives you a way to stay occupied and productive throughout your gap year [in a relevant industry, no less] and, while a salary in the minimum wage range is less than ideal, the presence of parental support minimizes that concern.

Out of curiosity, what is causing you to hesitate? Admissions committees will not look down on you for working what is considered a menial job and will assume you were doing it to support yourself. If anything, it will provide a nice touch of real life experience and responsibility to your resume and application.

 

[virtuoso735]

I will definitely go for the job then!

I think the reasons for my hesitation are that it is a bit of a commute from where I live, it is only temporary for now, and I'm not sure how it will line up with my interview schedule. In any case, I will deal with those problems when I get there, but the job should help relieve my boredom a little bit when I'm not volunteering or working on secondaries at least.

 

[virtuoso735]

I relistened to the voicemail about the position and I think the woman said something about glass washing. 🙁. I guess I won't even be pipetting. I don't think I'm above it or anything but it's not exactly what I had in mind after graduating from college.

 

[Ellie Arroway]

Take the job. Have you looked at the economy during the last 3 years? My local grocery store is harder to get into than medical school.

 

[MaenadsDance]

Never think you are too good for minimum wage. Count your blessings every day that you're employed and paying off your student loans.

** caveat -- also don't forget to advocate yourself. 6 months in, you should initiate a conversation with your supervisors about your job performance and nudge them about a raise, even if it's only a 25 cent raise. You need to remind your supervisors that you're adding value to their company. This is as true if you're working retail as if you're working in biotech. They won't always say yes -- but be your best advocate.

 

[lobo.solo]

Of course take it, you're not doing anything else. Stop living off your parents 🙂 is good experience!