Taking a Prestigious Software Engineering Internship?

[Maido]

Hi all. I'm currently a CS major that just added on the premed track a few months ago. Before I made this decision, I got an offer for an Amazon software development internship. This internship would take place next summer (2022). I've been thinking for a long time on whether to do it and I just don't know enough about how this would be viewed. On one hand there is almost no chance I work on anything healthcare related so it's unlikely that admissions officers care. On the other hand, my narrative will be about combining CS+medicine so having Amazon on my resume would help reinforce the CS part. And med schools value non-medical things like hobbies and being an olympian, so I can see an argument for Amazon making my application more unique. What does everyone think?

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[DoctorFate]

I think you should definitely take it unless you land a high end medical opportunity

 

[Maido]

I think you should definitely take it unless you land a high end medical opportunity

Can you go a little in depth about why?

 

[Bored_Conscious]

Hi all. I'm currently a CS major that just added on the premed track a few months ago. Before I made this decision, I got an offer for an Amazon software development internship. This internship would take place next summer (2022). I've been thinking for a long time on whether to do it and I just don't know enough about how this would be viewed. On one hand there is almost no chance I work on anything healthcare related so it's unlikely that admissions officers care. On the other hand, my narrative will be about combining CS+medicine so having Amazon on my resume would help reinforce the CS part. And med schools value non-medical things like hobbies and being an olympian, so I can see an argument for Amazon making my application more unique. What does everyone think?

100% take it for the reasons you have listed.

1. It will be an interesting part of your application.
2. Adds to your CS + medicine narrative/theme
3. Awesome opportunity financially. What if you decide to take a gap year (intentionally or unintentionally) or decide eventually medicine isn't worth it?

As long as you have the other necessary hours (clinical, shadowing, non-clinical, etc.) or you will have time to obtain those other requirements.

 

[KnightDoc]

Hi all. I'm currently a CS major that just added on the premed track a few months ago. Before I made this decision, I got an offer for an Amazon software development internship. This internship would take place next summer (2022). I've been thinking for a long time on whether to do it and I just don't know enough about how this would be viewed. On one hand there is almost no chance I work on anything healthcare related so it's unlikely that admissions officers care. On the other hand, my narrative will be about combining CS+medicine so having Amazon on my resume would help reinforce the CS part. And med schools value non-medical things like hobbies and being an olympian, so I can see an argument for Amazon making my application more unique. What does everyone think?

Yes, it will make your application more unique. It is cool and you want to do it, so there is no reason not to. Not EVERYTHING in life has to be geared towards a med school application.

It will be impressive, but will not be a substitute for the other elements expected for a successful med school application. Since you will be losing your availability next summer to do all the other things (clinical and non-clinical volunteering, research, etc.) that everyone else will be doing, and since you just started on a premed track, you might be looking at an additional gap year to accommodate this experience.

You should do this because you want to. It certainly will not hurt a med school application, if that is your concern, but it won't enhance one like it would an application to go work for a tech giant. It would also be invaluable experience in case you change your mind about med school, or in case things don't work out. I'd do it in a heartbeat. Good luck!!

 

[Maido]

Thanks for the responses everyone! I’m definitely more inclined to take the internship now. It sounds like Amazon would be a good way to differentiate myself once I get every other part of a med school application down. The internship is only 40 hrs/week and I’ve heard in the beginning it’s very easy. So I can look for some volunteering or shadowing outside of my hours. I was just wondering what exactly a “high end medical opportunity” @mshumor entails. I’m not sure what premeds usually do in the summer besides volunteering and research so an explanation on that would be great.

 

[EdgeTrimmer]

Take it and make some money 🙂 my N=1 CS premed did 2 internships for 2 summers (no healthcare connection at all) and did clinical volunteering over the weekends and had multiple As last cycle.

 

[DoctorFate]

Yes, it will make your application more unique. It is cool and you want to do it, so there is no reason not to. Not EVERYTHING in life has to be geared towards a med school application.

It will be impressive, but will not be a substitute for the other elements expected for a successful med school application. Since you will be losing your availability next summer to do all the other things (clinical and non-clinical volunteering, research, etc.) that everyone else will be doing, and since you just started on a premed track, you might be looking at an additional gap year to accommodate this experience.

You should do this because you want to. It certainly will not hurt a med school application, if that is your concern, but it won't enhance one like it would an application to go work for a tech giant. It would also be invaluable experience in case you change your mind about med school, or in case things don't work out. I'd do it in a heartbeat. Good luck!!

What do you mean by "it won't enhance one like it would an application to go work for a tech giant." Amazon is one of the biggest names in tech you can work for.

 

[DoctorFate]

Thanks for the responses everyone! I’m definitely more inclined to take the internship now. It sounds like Amazon would be a good way to differentiate myself once I get every other part of a med school application down. The internship is only 40 hrs/week and I’ve heard in the beginning it’s very easy. So I can look for some volunteering or shadowing outside of my hours. I was just wondering what exactly a “high end medical opportunity” @mshumor entails. I’m not sure what premeds usually do in the summer besides volunteering and research so an explanation on that would be great.

A high end would be an NSF scholarship, or an AMGEN scholar, or something of that caliber.

 

[KnightDoc]

What do you mean by "it won't enhance one like it would an application to go work for a tech giant." Amazon is one of the biggest names in tech you can work for.

Yes, and that will mean a lot more in an application to go work for Google, Facebook or Microsoft than it will in an application to XYZ Medical School.

 

[DoctorFate]

Yes, and that will mean a lot more in an application to go work for Google, Facebook or Microsoft than it will in an application to XYZ Medical School.

Oh, I got it. I thought you were saying working at Amazon wouldn't benefit a med school app as much as it would working at a tech giant. This confused me for the obvious reason that Amazon is a tech giant.

 

[GoSpursGo]

It will make you unique, and will show that you have some "real world" experience, which can be seen positively. It'll certainly make you more interesting in an interview setting.

There are more high-yield activities that you could do that would get you through the pre-reqs faster and be more meaningful for "checking the boxes" like getting clinical experience. But since you're not even fully committed to staying pre-med at this point, it would seem silly to turn a good internship down.

 

[LizzyM]

This is a good opportunity to make yourself less "cookie cutter" than your peers. You'll be "the Amazon one". It is also nice on the CV if you need to work during a gap or if you decide sometime down the road that medicine is not a good fit for you.

 

[Maido]

It will make you unique, and will show that you have some "real world" experience, which can be seen positively. It'll certainly make you more interesting in an interview setting.

There are more high-yield activities that you could do that would get you through the pre-reqs faster and be more meaningful for "checking the boxes" like getting clinical experience. But since you're not even fully committed to staying pre-med at this point, it would seem silly to turn a good internship down.

This is a good opportunity to make yourself less "cookie cutter" than your peers. You'll be "the Amazon one". It is also nice on the CV if you need to work during a gap or if you decide sometime down the road that medicine is not a good fit for you.

So I’m seeing that med schools value uniqueness no matter if it corresponds to actual medicine or not. I imagine once you “check all the boxes” everyone just looks the same so the next step is differentiating yourself in some way. I obviously haven’t checked any boxes yet. But what I’m getting is that when I do get all the basics of an application down, Amazon would be something that takes makes that differentiating step for me. In that aspect, I can do clinical work, volunteering, shadowing, and research whenever I want (within reason), but the opportunity for something unique doesn’t come along often (if at all). So even ignoring other factors, I should just take Amazon anyway. Everyone’s been really helpful, thank you all for the responses!

 

[GoSpursGo]

So I’m seeing that med schools value uniqueness no matter if it corresponds to actual medicine or not. I imagine once you “check all the boxes” everyone just looks the same so the next step is differentiating yourself in some way. I obviously haven’t checked any boxes yet. But what I’m getting is that when I do get all the basics of an application down, Amazon would be something that takes makes that differentiating step for me. In that aspect, I can do clinical work, volunteering, shadowing, and research whenever I want (within reason), but the opportunity for something unique doesn’t come along often (if at all). So even ignoring other factors, I should just take Amazon anyway. Everyone’s been really helpful, thank you all for the responses!

And to be clear, it's not like they value uniqueness just for uniqueness's sake--the fact that you were selected for a competitive internship and, presumably, were productive during that time speaks to some personal qualities that are generally desirable in a professional. Whereas other applicants will be "talking about" how they are hard-working, intellectually-curious, etc, you will have concrete examples that you can give.

 

[LizzyM]

Unique life experiences provide for the diversity that we highly value in a class of medical students. If everyone were the same, the class and the small group class discussions would be rather boring.

After the fifth application in a row from a piano playing, marathon running, zebra fish researching, pediatric playroom volunteer it is nice to see something a little different or something more.