Tutoring ok as a gap year job? Is it ok to have more than one job?

[JulianaW]

I'm looking for some input about tutoring as a job. I graduated last spring and decided to take the year to build my application and take my MCAT since it was expired. After graduating, I worked for one month as a patient care tech (full time) and then decided that I wanted to do something more academically stimulating and switched to research. I loved my research job but I had to leave it in March (on good terms and everything) due to a medical issue with working with the animals.

Right now, I am looking for another job and studying for the May MCAT. I've tutored on the side since college (both as a volunteer and paid) and now I've picked up my tutoring to about 20 hours a week. I am paid for 5 of my students and I tutor for free for the other one.

I know it doesn't look good to be unemployed... but I am wondering if my tutoring "counts" as a job - at least enough to make it obvious that I am trying to stay busy while finding something new and not just bumming around. I really love teaching, and it is a common theme that runs throughout my undergrad, so it just made sense to try to step it up while I'm looking for clinical/research employment.

I guess in general, I'm just nervous about how closely your work experiences are evaluated. I originally thought this year was pretty great since I was able to do lots of interesting and new things. But I'm kind of getting mixed signals about this from my school advisors. Some are telling me that my experiences are great, some say as long as I can talk about my jobs meaningfully, then they're good to go (no matter how short). But one other advisor seems to think that it is bad that I bounced from such a short clinical job to research, and now am looking for a job again. He also says tutoring will not be looked at as a real job so it will just appear that I am unemployed.

Does anyone have any advice for me?

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[acb88]

If tutoring is what you enjoy doing, and you can continue it throughout the year, then it will look fine. The gap year is time for you to do something meaningful, but also to take some time off and do things you enjoy. I know some people who didn't do anything during their gap year, and were accepted to medical schools with no problems. The fact that you enjoy tutoring will look good and you can talk about your experiences with teaching.

In terms of the other short-term jobs, if it is brought up in an interview, just be honest. The research one can easily be explained that you enjoyed the research but couldn't continue due to animal allergies. Even if you wanted to continue, many research facilities won't let you work with the animals if you have allergies or get sick because of your work.

 

[JulianaW]

Anyone else?

 

[Potatoman1800]

Screw school advisers. Take a job in whatever you want to do.

I'm taking a gap year and have been tutoring this whole time to make some extra cash. It's been brought up at nearly every interview I've been on and was always put in a positive light. If you want something that's established, work for a tutoring company, but also do your own tutoring on the side. In addition to that, unless you have time constraints, another job would be perfectly fine.

Who said work is a bad thing?

Have fun in your year off.