Will it hurt to be working as an analyst while reapplying?

[DrateR | RetarD]

Hey everyone,

I am a reapplicant and already have strong health-care related experiences (volunteered in the hospital and research). I am looking for job such as a financial/market research analyst right now while I reapply to medical school. I am doing it to make money to support myself, for personal growth, and to experience the real world. Basically, I think it will make me a more well-rounded person. If I continued to volunteer or do research, I would be doing it for the admissions committee. Do you think the ad coms will look down on this type of job and should I explain why I am doing this in my application or is it a common thing people do?

Thanks!

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[Tre Cool]

i'm in the same boat. while i really do enjoy research, i don't want to do it for the next year because i know i'll be doing that and seeing patients for the rest of my life. i too am looking for something in finance but i don't have any experience in it so it's hard for me to find a job in something not medically related.

i think adcoms will question why you did it but they will certainly not look down upon it if you have a good reason for doing it. and, like you said, adcoms like to see well-rounded people. you don't need to explain it in the application. you may be questioned at the interview. that's all.

 

[DrateR | RetarD]

i'm in the same boat. while i really do enjoy research, i don't want to do it for the next year because i know i'll be doing that and seeing patients for the rest of my life. i too am looking for something in finance but i don't have any experience in it so it's hard for me to find a job in something not medically related.

i think adcoms will question why you did it but they will certainly not look down upon it if you have a good reason for doing it. and, like you said, adcoms like to see well-rounded people. you don't need to explain it in the application. you may be questioned at the interview. that's all.

Thanks for your help. I'm an econ major. What did you major in?

 

[ntmed]

I am looking for job such as a financial/market research analyst right now while I reapply to medical school.

A lot of people work at jobs outside of medicine while they are applying to medical school. I did, and it was never an issue.

 

[Tre Cool]

i majored in psychology.

my only concern with working in a field other than medicine while applying is that i don't have skills in other fields so i'm finding it hard right now to find something to do. how did you find a job? my only other choice right now is either work in hospitality or retail. i'd like to maybe do something in sales but i want a regular paycheck, not living on commission. your help is appreciated.

 

[BaylorGuy]

I agree with medgirl in that i dont have other marketable skills other than something science related.

But to the OP, i dont think that not working in the medical field is a bad thing. If you already have enough experience like you say you do, then working in a non-medical field could be a positive. I think it would give you more outside exposure to people who think on a different waveform than crazy pre-meds and medical professionals

 

[DrateR | RetarD]

I don't have internship/work experience either other than volunteer work/medical research, so I'm mainly using the skills I learned in Economics and my time abroad as my marketable areas. I feel I have lots of transferable skills, nothing specifically to just one field. For example, research improved my analytical abilities, and I had to present the findings to the supervisor. The topic is medicine, but the skills that were developed can be used in another field. I have just started looking for a job, so I will let you know how it goes. I'm thinking about going through some employment agencies also.

 

[gerido]

Hey everyone,

I am a reapplicant and already have strong health-care related experiences (volunteered in the hospital and research). I am looking for job such as a financial/market research analyst right now while I reapply to medical school. I am doing it to make money to support myself, for personal growth, and to experience the real world. Basically, I think it will make me a more well-rounded person. If I continued to volunteer or do research, I would be doing it for the admissions committee. Do you think the ad coms will look down on this type of job and should I explain why I am doing this in my application or is it a common thing people do?

Thanks!

Everyone has to eat, I'm sure the adcom doesn't care. In fact, the adcom at my first choice encourages student to go out and get some life experience. If you go out, work, make money, and still decide to do medicine, certainly shows your dedication.