With a little of help of my friends

[ebasappa]

Hey sdn friends! I'm in a bit of a predicament and would like your input!


I'm taking a gap year and I have two situations I can be placed in. I can either:


1] stay at home with my parents and make some money off of a scribe job that has been offered to me around here( I estimated I will make around 10k by the time med shcool starts, so not too much, as it is part-time). I can use this to pay off some undergrad. loans, but I know if I choose this route I'm going to be a bit bored. I'm only going to be working 3-4days max a week, there are no friends (or very few) back in my hometown, and I have less independence

2] Stay in the town around my undergrad. institution and take up an awesome research opportunity that also has been offered to be, that will initially not be paid. My PI said he will have me working 4-5 days a week, and if I worked hard enough he might give me a stipend (educational money) later, and of course publish me on every paper (and he publishes 10-14 a year)! So, I'll be living with friends and having a good time, but I estimate I'll spend around 7k in rent during this time and not be paying loans (unless I get the stipend).



What do you guys suggest?!


I feel like having some fun before going into med school would be a good thing, but do you guys think it's worth it for the money? Of course, I would be volunteering at a Hospice in both situations.

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[Awesome Sauceome]

Assume that you will not be paid in option B. I dont mean to be pessimistic, but I have been around enough research positions to know that for one excuse or another, the promise of money often does not work out in research. This is fine so long as you go in with that in mind, since either way if you get the chance to publish, that is cool. But just be aware of that...

 

[ebasappa]

Assume that you will not be paid in option B. I dont mean to be pessimistic, but I have been around enough research positions to know that for one excuse or another, the promise of money often does not work out in research. This is fine so long as you go in with that in mind, since either way if you get the chance to publish, that is cool. But just be aware of that...

Yea, at this point I'm assuming I'm not going to receive the stipend and just be volunteering. What would you do if you were in my position?

 

[mehc012]

Hey sdn friends! I'm in a bit of a predicament and would like your input!


I'm taking a gap year and I have two situations I can be placed in. I can either:


1] stay at home with my parents and make some money off of a scribe job that has been offered to me around here( I estimated I will make around 10k by the time med shcool starts, so not too much, as it is part-time). I can use this to pay off some undergrad. loans, but I know if I choose this route I'm going to be a bit bored. I'm only going to be working 3-4days max a week, there are no friends (or very few) back in my hometown, and I have less independence

2] Stay in the town around my undergrad. institution and take up an awesome research opportunity that also has been offered to be, that will initially not be paid. My PI said he will have me working 4-5 days a week, and if I worked hard enough he might give me a stipend (educational money) later, and of course publish me on every paper (and he publishes 10-14 a year)! So, I'll be living with friends and having a good time, but I estimate I'll spend around 7k in rent during this time and not be paying loans (unless I get the stipend).



What do you guys suggest?!


I feel like having some fun before going into med school would be a good thing, but do you guys think it's worth it for the money? Of course, I would be volunteering at a Hospice in both situations.

Option C

Stay at home, scribe, AND do something else with your time.

Seriously, scribing is gold experience-wise. It is what keeps me motivated wading through all of this crap and always waiting, waiting, waiting on the next step. But it pays crap. So stay part time, and either find a good paying job and save up some bank, or find some other cool interests/work. It can be anything - research, volunteering, tutoring, you name it! Don't be bored, and don't be boring. Do something that interests you and try to save up as much money as you can in the process.

 

[gtbROX]

Hey sdn friends! I'm in a bit of a predicament and would like your input!


I'm taking a gap year and I have two situations I can be placed in. I can either:


1] stay at home with my parents and make some money off of a scribe job that has been offered to me around here( I estimated I will make around 10k by the time med shcool starts, so not too much, as it is part-time). I can use this to pay off some undergrad. loans, but I know if I choose this route I'm going to be a bit bored. I'm only going to be working 3-4days max a week, there are no friends (or very few) back in my hometown, and I have less independence

2] Stay in the town around my undergrad. institution and take up an awesome research opportunity that also has been offered to be, that will initially not be paid. My PI said he will have me working 4-5 days a week, and if I worked hard enough he might give me a stipend (educational money) later, and of course publish me on every paper (and he publishes 10-14 a year)! So, I'll be living with friends and having a good time, but I estimate I'll spend around 7k in rent during this time and not be paying loans (unless I get the stipend).



What do you guys suggest?!


I feel like having some fun before going into med school would be a good thing, but do you guys think it's worth it for the money? Of course, I would be volunteering at a Hospice in both situations.

You're in a good position. I'm currently a Medical Scribe in the ED, and I can tell you, there are so many different companies and hospitals that offer some form of this job all over CA. Research positions offering publications (and "10-14 per year") are extremely rare and the fact that publications look good on apps and resumes is undisputed. Taking this opportunity doesn't mean you can't also scribe. You can work full time and Scribe part time. I currently work fulltime in the R&D dept of a major biotech and I do an 8 hour scribe shift a week. Granted, my scribe coordinator is kinder and more flexible than most lead scribes.

Again, I would choose option 2 because of the publications and proximity to friends. You definitely need a good support group during the app cycle. I don't know if your parents are like my parents, but I'd probably become suicidal after a month at home.

 

[ebasappa]

Thanks for the answers everyone! I am leaning more towards option 2 as well, and you guys have made my decision easier. I appreciate the help!

 

[mehc012]

Thanks for the answers everyone! I am leaning more towards option 2 as well, and you guys have made my decision easier. I appreciate the help!

Lol, glad to help, though the 'as well' bit seems a bit strong considering there is hardly a consensus for option 2 here. The important part, however, is that once you started discussing it you figured out what you want to do.

 

[neurotroph]

Definitely take the research gig and maybe find some other way to make money for those 2-3 days that you're not in lab. Don't spend your last year of true freedom being bored and miserable. Publications are icing on the cake.

 

[mehc012]

Definitely take the research gig and maybe find some other way to make money for those 2-3 days that you're not in lab. Don't spend your last year of true freedom being bored and miserable. Publications are icing on the cake.

Wait...don't be bored and miserable, so take the harder job with much less money and then work a second one so they're far more than fulltime? I don't understand that logic.

If the scribing itself is boring, it's going to be a looooong road ahead.
I find it incomprehensible that they could not find something to do to entertain themselves/make money/boost their app (at least 2 of the 3 in one) with most of the week free. With a second gig, that 10k could be more than doubled (scribing doesn't pay too well, so anything else they find will be at least as much money/hr, and they have the space to more than double the hours). $20-25k is nothing to sneer at.


Option 2, as described, basically sounds like 'work as an unpaid lab rat while staying with friends who will eventually get tired of OP not chipping in on the expenses'. If they don't end up bored, odds are they will be more broke afterwards than estimated.

 

[ebasappa]

Wait...don't be bored and miserable, so take the harder job with much less money and then work a second one so they're far more than fulltime? I don't understand that logic.

If the scribing itself is boring, it's going to be a looooong road ahead.
I find it incomprehensible that they could not find something to do to entertain themselves/make money/boost their app (at least 2 of the 3 in one) with most of the week free. With a second gig, that 10k could be more than doubled (scribing doesn't pay too well, so anything else they find will be at least as much money/hr, and they have the space to more than double the hours). $20-25k is nothing to sneer at.


Option 2, as described, basically sounds like 'work as an unpaid lab rat while staying with friends who will eventually get tired of OP not chipping in on the expenses'. If they don't end up bored, odds are they will be more broke afterwards than estimated.

I def. don't think scribing will be boring, but I will try and find a part-time job that pays to help with loans and what not alongside the fun. I think that would be the best combo. for me, it has friends, research, and some side money!

 

[neurotroph]

Wait...don't be bored and miserable, so take the harder job with much less money and then work a second one so they're far more than fulltime? I don't understand that logic.

If the scribing itself is boring, it's going to be a looooong road ahead.
I find it incomprehensible that they could not find something to do to entertain themselves/make money/boost their app (at least 2 of the 3 in one) with most of the week free. With a second gig, that 10k could be more than doubled (scribing doesn't pay too well, so anything else they find will be at least as much money/hr, and they have the space to more than double the hours). $20-25k is nothing to sneer at.


Option 2, as described, basically sounds like 'work as an unpaid lab rat while staying with friends who will eventually get tired of OP not chipping in on the expenses'. If they don't end up bored, odds are they will be more broke afterwards than estimated.

OP explicitly said that they'd be bored and basically lonely with the first option while they'd be having a good time with the second option. So yes, they could very well be bored and miserable with option 1 even though it pays and requires less effort. For me, a "harder" job is one which doesn't allow me as much fulfillment in and out of work. And making money on the side doesn't necessarily mean working more than full time. Publications are also nothing to sneer at. OP wouldn't quite be an "unpaid lab rat." That implies that there's no reward with the position. I'm working on what the OP has said while you're making up a lot of assumptions about them/their friends.

Anyways, it's your decision ebasappa and your priorities may differ greatly from those of others in this thread.

Edit: aaand it looks like you already made that decision. Best of luck.

 

[mehc012]

OP explicitly said that they'd be bored and basically lonely with the first option while they'd be having a good time with the second option. So yes, they could very well be bored and miserable with option 1 even though it pays and requires less effort. For me, a "harder" job is one which doesn't allow me as much fulfillment in and out of work. And making money on the side doesn't necessarily mean working more than full time. Publications are also nothing to sneer at. OP wouldn't quite be an "unpaid lab rat." That implies that there's no reward with the position. I'm working on what the OP has said while you're making up a lot of assumptions about them/their friends.

Anyways, it's your decision ebasappa and your priorities may differ greatly from those of others in this thread.

Edit: aaand it looks like you already made that decision. Best of luck.

Hey, just because someone thinks they'll be living it up doesn't mean they will. I still affirm that the original choice was too black and white - there is no reason that OP would ONLY do scribing, and thus no reason they'd have to be bored.

They made their choice, and they should clearly go with that...honestly, I feel that they made their choice long before reading the feedback (which is often the case, and not necessarily a bad thing, either) which is perhaps why the given options were so black/white and loaded.

Personally, no way I would make the same one (as evidenced by the fact that I did, indeed, turn down a paid research position post-graduation and am now living with my family, working as a scribe, and doing 85 bajillion other things...and yes, working on that bank account).

 

[qxyfgelredal]

I am leaning more towards option 2 as well, and you guys have made my decision easier