What to do with semester off? Please Help!

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byorkie

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I recently graduated undergrad and have been accepted into 3 dental schools so far. Now I have a semester off and am finding myself getting a little depressed. For the first time I have absolutely nothing to do, and can't seem to find a job with my biology degree. It seems like all of the health related jobs would rather you have a 2 years certificate in something rather than a bachelors degree. Please help! What should I do?
 
take a loan and go to europe for 6 months...it's the only time you'll be able to do that, and i guarantee, it would be an unforgettable experience

to tell you the truth, i'm kinda jealous
 
take a loan and go to europe for 6 months...it's the only time you'll be able to do that, and i guarantee, it would be an unforgettable experience

to tell you the truth, i'm kinda jealous

I did the same thing with my girl friend for a shorter period of traveling there upon my first graduation and have never got a chance to get back again. It's not as expensive you as would imagine if'll you plan ahead with a budget tour. G/L into venturing.
 
i'm in the same position as the OP and i would like to travel and do some fun stuff, but where do i get a loan like that from? i can't get anymore education loans, so do you just get a loan from a bank or what?
 
take a loan and go to europe for 6 months...it's the only time you'll be able to do that, and i guarantee, it would be an unforgettable experience

to tell you the truth, i'm kinda jealous

I did the same thing with my girl friend for a shorter period of traveling there upon my first graduation and have never got a chance to get back again. It's not as expensive you as would imagine if you'll plan ahead with a budget tour. G/L into venturing.
 
I finished up in the summer and I also had a difficult job finding a job with my biology degree. I ended up taking a bartending job at a country club.

If you have the funds, have fun and travel a little. If not, just get a job to pass the time, save some money, and keep you from dying from boredom.
 
I was in your same position. I went to Europe for a couple months and it was one of the best experiences of my life. Get a railpass, check out hostelworld.com to book your hostels, and go meet some european ladies/guys (whatever your preference). If you can't find anyone else to go with then go solo...that's what i did. You will never regret it.
 
the movie Hostel scares me hahahaha... :laugh:
 
These are all great ideas. Thanks a lot.
 
These are all great ideas. Thanks a lot.
 
Absolutely travel!

And if you still want to be involved in something productive (as I get the feeling you do), there are many health/dental clinics that love having international volunteers for any period of time.

Or if traveling isn’t for you, think of this as your opportunity to do something you’ve always wanted to do but never had time for. Get a random fun job, volunteer somewhere, or get involved in a new hobby.
 
1. Improve your short game.
2. Find a hobby. I suggest drinking or Triathlons, but not both.
3. Travel. If you are interested in seeing Columbia or Peru, PM me. Airfare is paid for if you're willing to bring back a few packages(around 1 kilo each) for me.
4. Buy Everquest. If you're any good, you can pay for dental school with the proceeds from your magical weapon sales.
5. Buy your Decks and start studying for boards. Then cry yourself to sleep every night because you will die alone.
6. Find a trophy wife.
 
Do something you didnt have the chance to do while in undergrad.
Learn to brew Beer
Learn to build a house
earn your pilots license
blow your tuition in vegas in hopes of having it pay for all of ds
buy a ps3 (if you can) and become a gaming master
bike across America
go hangout at your dental school
 
i'm still wondering if there is any way to get loans to pay for traveling cuz i ain't got no money and i don't wanna be stuck working up until i get my financial aid from my d-school. anyone know about this? did you all travel w/ your own money you saved or did you borrow any of it?
 
I recently graduated undergrad and have been accepted into 3 dental schools so far. Now I have a semester off and am finding myself getting a little depressed. For the first time I have absolutely nothing to do, and can't seem to find a job with my biology degree. It seems like all of the health related jobs would rather you have a 2 years certificate in something rather than a bachelors degree. Please help! What should I do?

I have EXACTLY the same problem. I also have a bio degree and I've been looking for a job since I graduated in December. I cannot find anything. I don't really have any advice...I just wanted to commiserate! Let me know what you end up doing....
 
i'm still wondering if there is any way to get loans to pay for traveling cuz i ain't got no money and i don't wanna be stuck working up until i get my financial aid from my d-school. anyone know about this? did you all travel w/ your own money you saved or did you borrow any of it?

im sure you can take a personal loan, but the interest rates would be higher, and i feel you'd have to have excellent credit to take out a loan to travel. at least for d-school loans, they give you the loans knowing that you're going to be a dentist and be able to pay it off. would be a little risky to give someone a loan just to travel. did anyone else do this at all?
 
learn to surf. you can travel and get into shape!
 
Wow I thought I was the only one in this situation. I too have a bio degree, just graduated, and can't find a bio-related job. So far I've been working as a dental assistant for my uncle since his assistant left for Russia for like a month, but she'll be back soon. After that, I have no clue what to do. I'm thinking of being a secretary or calling Tufts and asking if I can get a head start on doing research there. As much as I'd love to travel I dont think I can afford it and don't know anyone who'd be free for a few months to go with me. But I'm definately going to the carribbean before going to dental school.

I'm happy to know I'm not the only one finding my bio degree useless.
 
I have EXACTLY the same problem. I also have a bio degree and I've been looking for a job since I graduated in December. I cannot find anything. I don't really have any advice...I just wanted to commiserate! Let me know what you end up doing....

There are hardly any jobs in the biology realm. I was fortunate enough to get a job as a chemist despite my biology degree. Chemistry is where ALL the jobs are.
 
i got a job at a lab that i wokred in during my undergrad when i had to get research credit. it only pays $9.50/ hr but i can get 40 hrs a week and it's kinda interesting. i play with dogs and mess with their blood and urine. i'm trying to talk my sister into giving me a loan at 7.5% so i can go travel, but mixing family with money can be a bad thing so i might just live off nothing for the next few months and then max my credit card to get to mexico.
 
1. Work out and eat healthy, get in the best shape of your life like previous posters said. You will be in a good habit going into dental school, and perhaps that will carry over despite the hard academic load.

2. Become a competitive eater. Go to a buffet once every 3 days and practice stretching your stomach. *note- #1 and #2 are somewhat polar opposites, it may be best to choose just one and go for it.

3. Learn to grow that sticky icky. I hear if you are always high, time passes you by quickly! Something to think about since you are bored out of your mind.

4. If you don't want to grow it, you could always book a stay in amsterdam, and become a resident at one of the local hash bars/coffeeshop

5. Take a job, no matter if it is tied into dentistry or your degree and save money to start paying off the massive debt you will be aquiring over the next 4 years.

6. Don't listen to me and be original? You could start a scrapbook to keep memories of dental school, go meet someone to fall in love with, become educated on computers (building them, Operating systems -linux, vista, mac osx, etc) you could take up snowboarding and live in the mountains for a month. work on your golf game so that if you are playing with any of your professors in dental school or possible business acquaintances you could really stand out as not terrible, or even perhaps mildly good.

7. Get into showing dogs. Personally I would take out a loan and go purchase 4 of the finest french bulldogs I could find( I love them 😍 ) If they are old enough to breed go ahead and allow them to breed, if not, then grow them up with love and allow them to breed. Then sell each pup for $2000. Each litter they have you could afford to pay off some of dental school. Plus, you have 4 of the best dogs ever!!!

You have a lot of really good options there, let me know if you would like some more.
 
5. Take a job, no matter if it is tied into dentistry or your degree and save money to start paying off debt you will be aquiring over the next 4 years.

Pretty funny. Job won't make a dent on ur future debt. :laugh:
 
In the same boat!
Have a free trip to Israel so I might do that but I am afraid I might like it too much and never come back to start d-school.

If you don't like to travel, rent a movie every night. Start with The Sound of Music.
 
May I ask which schools you got accepted to????
 
I have EXACTLY the same problem. I also have a bio degree and I've been looking for a job since I graduated in December. I cannot find anything. I don't really have any advice...I just wanted to commiserate! Let me know what you end up doing....

Quite a few people have mentioned this same problem: A new bio degree, but no job, and no money to travel.

There are a lot of opportunities out there that combine biology, travel, and adventure, which seems to be the theme of this thread.

http://www.ecojobs.com/index.php
http://www.adventurescrosscountry.com/

These sites are just a few that offer seasonal positions (short term if you're entering dental school), that involve teaching bio to some extent in different parts of the country and world. And most of them involve an adventure aspect to them as well.

I did some of these myself for a while, and had some incredible experiences. And in the end, your wallet may even be a little fatter!
 
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