When to quit job to travel before medical school?

[hugh2012]

Hello, I’m fortunate enough to have a medical school acceptance at this point. I was wondering when people typically quit their jobs if they want to do some traveling in Europe and Asia? I’m thinking either end of April or end of May. Anyone else have experience in this? Also, anyone have experience of backpacking in Europe or Asia for 1-3 months?

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[getdown]

No one knows your schedule or current life events. When you want to quit, give your 2 weeks notice and then quit.

 

[hugh2012]

No one knows your schedule or current life events. When you want to quit, give your 2 weeks notice and then quit.

I probably need to give a few months cause the hiring process takes a while and I have to train the next person. And I might need a recommendation from my boss in the future so I am no going to burn bridges. Hence end of April/May.

 

[lumya]

I probably need to give a few months cause the hiring process takes a while and I have to train the next person. And I might need a recommendation from my boss in the future so I am no going to burn bridges. Hence end of April/May.

As long as you give adequate notice (2 weeks is standard) you won’t be burning any bridges. If you need the money, May. If not, April and enjoy the time you have before you start med school.

 

[hugh2012]

As long as you give adequate notice (2 weeks is standard) you won’t be burning any bridges. If you need the money, May. If not, April and enjoy the time you have before you start med school.

2 weeks is fine normally but it takes a few months to hire and get paper done for a replacement for me and I need to train them because nobody else does my job on my team.

 

[CandH23]

Then give the notice now lol

 

[hugh2012]

Then give the notice now lol

Yep by end of jan sounds like a good idea

 

[hugh2012]

Also insure that you have completed all prematriculation paperwork, health forms, transcripts, housing, insurance, financial aid, etc at the school.

Good point - probably should get that out of the way before traveling

 

[cafedisco]

2 weeks is fine normally but it takes a few months to hire and get paper done for a replacement for me and I need to train them because nobody else does my job on my team.

Like others said, two weeks is fine. It's not your responsibility to ensure coverage, ultimately it's your employer's as they've set things up in which there's no backup. Do they know about you leaving for med school? Because if they don't, and you're set on helping them find a replacement, that needs to be made clear ASAP. Otherwise, it's really their responsibility as you are entitled to leave with proper notice.

 

[hugh2012]

Like others said, two weeks is fine. It's not your responsibility to ensure coverage, ultimately it's your employer's as they've set things up in which there's no backup. Do they know about you leaving for med school? Because if they don't, and you're set on helping them find a replacement, that needs to be made clear ASAP. Otherwise, it's really their responsibility as you are entitled to leave with proper notice.

I told my boss I was applying to medical school before signing up for the job. I just found out about my MD acceptance fairly recently. It is not my responsibility to give him more than two weeks but I do not want to burn bridges as my boss is a full professor at a major academic medical institution and his recommendation could carry A LOT of weight come time for residency applications. Two weeks would not be enough because it takes atleast a few months to hire and train. And if the last person had left before training me I would have been screwed since there is no guidebook.

 

[hugh2012]

Personally, I advise all students that applying to medical school is a full time job and that all travel more than two weeks should be completed before application is submitted

I mean I have one MD acceptance so I'm set in that respect. I didn't have a chance to study abroad in college and didn't have a chance to do more than a one week vacation in the last few years. So this is my only real chance to do this before diving into school again. How long do "all prematriculation paperwork, health forms, transcripts, housing, insurance, financial aid, etc" take? A few months? FYI, I just got my MD acceptance fairly recently which is why I am now asking about traveling.

 

[cafedisco]

I told my boss I was applying to medical school before signing up for the job. I just found out about my MD acceptance very recently. It is not my responsibility to give him more than two weeks but I do not want to burn bridges as my boss is a full professor at a major academic medical institution and his recommendation could carry A LOT of weight come time for residency applications. Two weeks would not be enough because it takes atleast a few months to hire and train. And if the last person had left before training me I would have been screwed since there is no guidebook.

That's great that they know. I'm in a very similar situation (but no acceptance yet). I am eyeballing end of May, and we've talked about how we need to start training someone like... yesterday. They know I have no intention to burn them, but even one of the supervisors said if you have to go, go. There may be issues that arise in the hiring process, so as long as you make it clear you're a team player, they will understand you can't jeopardize your run-up to starting med school. Tl;dr May is good, should be enough time to do some travel and get everything lined up for school.

 

[hugh2012]

That's great that they know. I'm in a very similar situation (but no acceptance yet). I am eyeballing end of May, and we've talked about how we need to start training someone like... yesterday. They know I have no intention to burn them, but even one of the supervisors said if you have to go, go. There may be issues that arise in the hiring process, so as long as you make it clear you're a team player, they will understand you can't jeopardize your run-up to starting med school. Tl;dr May is good, should be enough time to do some travel and get everything lined up for school.

Best of luck! I hope you get in somewhere soon. I was worried actually I would not get in and have to retake my mcat since my premed advisor didn’t want me to apply with my mcat score. I’m probably going to end April and travel May and June if I can budget well. I never studied abroad so this is my version of that.

 

[cafedisco]

Best of luck! I hope you get in somewhere soon. I was worried actually I would not get in and have to retake my mcat since my premed advisor didn’t want me to apply with my mcat score. I’m probably going to end April and travel May and June if I can budget well. I never studied abroad so this is my version of that.

Thank you! All the best to you too. I think you have a solid timeframe.

 

[UniSushi]

I work as a full time manager and scribe for a scribe company. I gave my bosses a 5 month notice so they can start looking for a replacement early on. Plan to stop working after April and travel for 1-2 months.

 

[hugh2012]

I work as a full time manager and scribe for a scribe company. I gave my bosses a 5 month notice so they can start looking for a replacement early on. Plan to stop working after April and travel for 1-2 months.

That’s great! Maybe we’ll cross paths in Europe lol(if that’s where you’re traveling)

 

[medschool19]

I was in a dilemma about when to tell my boss about my med school application, but I actually told him at the beginning of the interview season as I knew I would be taking off of work to travel. They were surprisingly supportive. I think your end date depends on the school you're going to (some schools start in June, some in August), whether or not they have a summer experience, etc. I would say definitely give more than 2 weeks if it takes time to train someone. Your company won't be upset at a courtesy 2 weeks but they would be appreciative of a greater time. I just told my boss last week that my last day would be mid-May, so they have 5 months to prepare. End of April/beginning of May is a good time as you'll have finalized your school decision. Btw, you can sign up for emails like Scott's cheap flights, track flights on google flights, etc. to see flight deals. Also, feel free to PM me about Europe as I've been a few times. Congrats on your acceptance!

 

[UniSushi]

That’s great! Maybe we’ll cross paths in Europe lol(if that’s where you’re traveling)

Bummer! I'll be traveling in Asia. Skiplagged has been a blessing finding cheap flights. Flying out of LA to China for $600 round trip and hopping countries from there.

I wish I could do Europe but my funds are limited :/ I've been selling my plasma to save up as much as possible

 

[PreMedMissteps]

Do not give too much early notice. If you do, and the boss finds someone soon, he may have you train them and then he may let you go much earlier than you planned.

If you think two weeks is too little, then give him a month. Anything more than that is too much and too risky

 

[UniSushi]

Do not give too much early notice. If you do, and the boss finds someone soon, he may have you train them and then he may let you go much earlier than you planned.

If you think two weeks is too little, then give him a month. Anything more than that is too much and too risky

I agree with the caution. I think it really depends on the job and the work place culture, though.

In my case as a scribe, I have a great relationship with my bosses and transparency keeps us afloat. For scribes, they typically won't get rid of you unless they absolutely need to. That way, there's full coverage, even as a back-up. Providers also put pressure on them to keep their experienced scribes as long as possible.

For my admin position, a replacement will take about 2 months to train. Finding a candidate takes anywhere from 1-2 months. I took these factors into consideration to give them a notice.

People will have to use their best judgement before putting their notices in early.

 

[hugh2012]

Bummer! I'll be traveling in Asia. Skiplagged has been a blessing finding cheap flights. Flying out of LA to China for $600 round trip and hopping countries from there.

I wish I could do Europe but my funds are limited :/ I've been selling my plasma to save up as much as possible

Sarcasm with the plasma?

 

[hugh2012]

Do not give too much early notice. If you do, and the boss finds someone soon, he may have you train them and then he may let you go much earlier than you planned.

If you think two weeks is too little, then give him a month. Anything more than that is too much and too risky

He can’t because the coordinator who trained him gave him a few months in advance. A month would not even have the new person hired because of bureaucracy. Then there is training. If he fires me, then he loses a lot since nobody else on his team does my job and I doubled the productivity since last person who had my role.

 

[hugh2012]

I agree with the caution. I think it really depends on the job and the work place culture, though.

In my case as a scribe, I have a great relationship with my bosses and transparency keeps us afloat. For scribes, they typically won't get rid of you unless they absolutely need to. That way, there's full coverage, even as a back-up. Providers also put pressure on them to keep their experienced scribes as long as possible.

For my admin position, a replacement will take about 2 months to train. Finding a candidate takes anywhere from 1-2 months. I took these into consideration to give them a notice.

People will have to use their best judgement before putting their notices in early.

Yep - I definitely took this into consideration. Have a good relationship with boss. Anything less than two would be too short to hire and train. Anything more than 4-5 months is too long.

 

[UniSushi]

Sarcasm with the plasma?

No sarcasm. I went to CSL plasma..they have a special going on this month.

 

[hugh2012]

No sarcasm. I went to CSL plasma..they have a special going on this month.

Woa - how much does the plasma pay? My round trip to Europe is actually in the 400s direct flights, so a cheap European trip can be done. Although asia I heard can be cheap.

 

[UniSushi]

Woa - how much does the plasma pay? My round trip to Europe is actually in the 400s direct flights, so a cheap European trip can be done. Although asia I heard can be cheap.

The location I went to, first time donor gets $60 and then your 2nd donation within the first week is $75 with the promo right now. They have different bonuses depending on how many times you donate per month. I think typical donations are $35 per.

 

[hugh2012]

The location I went to, first time donor gets $60 and then your 2nd donation within the first week is $75 with the promo right now. They have different bonuses depending on how many times you donate per month. I think typical donations are $35 per.

Wow that's actually a sizable amount!

 

[UniSushi]

Wow that's actually a sizable amount!

The first time you go will take a little longer (3-4 hours depending on the time of day) with all the new donor paperwork, tests, etc. It was a fairly simple process overall. After the initial donation is completed, subsequent donations can take about 1-2 hours, depending on how busy it is. They told me the best time to come is in the mornings, and NOT on Sundays.

Make sure to eat a good meal before you go and drink plenty of fluids (more than you normally would) the day before and day of the donation.

 

[ArdorAyurveda]

Turning in my two weeks notice either on Friday or Wednesday. Probably on Wednesday. YOLO