I was wondering how you manage your current employment and non-traditional premed classes. Do you tell your employer? Do you keep it to yourself?
A fellow student in my inorganic chemistry class keeps it a secret from her employer and, as a result, she is always late for her night classes, cannot use her lunch break to study, etc… so her employer never knows. I am on the other hand, told all my directors and VPs that I am taking classes and planning to apply to med school in 2-3 yrs. Sometimes, I wonder if it is not a smart move on my part. Am I hurting future career progression by doing that?
I was wondering what do other non-traditional premeds with professional careers outside of medical fields do?
Well, as a former VP I would want to know that my staff are pursuing their dream but also, sadly, I would be less likely to promote them to the next level knowing I’m not grooming my successor.
So: yes, I would support the career change with time off, leniency on everything and yes, it would stunt career growth in my sector.
Now, as a pre-med student, I have been very careful about who I tell what as stating on contract that I am (was?) trying to get into med school was not favorable. In fact, I had one douche-bag (can I say that on here???) say to my face:
“Well, why in the hell would I keep you on a contract if you’re going to leave in a few months for med school?”
Well, why would you hire someone permanently instead knowing they could well be leaving you too? I mean, once they find out what a dork he is 
I dunno. I’m keeping my mouth shut now.
Hope that made sense… it’s late; I’m wiped.
I only chime in because this did ring home to me. In applying at my current job I was asked the ever popular questions, “where do you see yourself in the next 5 to 10 years.” Of course I couldn’t say backpacking the Sierra Nevadas so a close second response was to finish my current pre-reqs and apply to a couple of medical schools.
Turns out that I actually had to call the hospital back a week later because the department director did not want to invest in a new employee who would be leaving as soon as he gets accepted to some medical school. Careful who you tell and you could always use the ever popular response, “I’m just taking a few classes here and there; don’t know what I want to do with them yet.”
Note: that won’t fly when you’re textbook says “Fundamentals of Biochemistry” though, hehehe…
For my particular situation I saw no benefit and only potential drawbacks if I told anyone of my plans. I believe I said I was taking a class here and there but telling them my overall plan seemed to be not worth it.
I do believe you would be hurting your career progression because you are effectively telling them you are leaving that career. Whether this is a good or bad thing or would impact your post-bacc plans is dependent on the specifics of your situation.
This caught my eye immediately, because I am in the same predicament. I accepted a new job in a new state and specifically moved in order to go back to school (there are two universities close by and I was accepted Post-Bac by both) and take my prerequisites. I didn’t tell my new employer of my plans of course, because why would he want to hire someone new that will be leaving in three years?
I am taking Cal I this summer but it is on-line and will not affect my job. The problem is I registered for Bio I in the fall and lectures begin at 18:00. The university is 53 miles from where I work and I get off at 17:00. I am thinking with traffic at the earliest it will be 18:20 before I get to lecture. I am still trying to solve this problem.
I didn’t tell my employer I was taking classes. I think it depends on how flexible your management is. I know my immediate supervisor would be ok with it but not my one over. This makes it difficult because now you have to find classes in the evening. When I was taking organic chemistry, the only class I could find in the evening was an hour away. I bit the bullet and did it but it really sucked because you’re spending at least 2 hours per class just driving which takes away from your study time. Eventually though, you’re going to have to tell your supervisor if you are going to ask him/her for a letter of recommendation.
James–I had the same issue with a class last semester, and I actually found it easier to work it out with my instructor than with my boss. I made an appointment and went in to see him during office hours. I showed him that I was a mature, well-prepared student, and I basically told him that I had a problem. I understood that it was my problem, not his–but I told him how much I would appreciate it if he could be flexible with my arrival time. I told him that I respected his time and knew that every moment of class was important, and that I would do my very best to make sure that 1)I was responsible for the info I missed, and 2)my arrival was as NON-distracting as possible to his lecture.
He was MORE than willing to accommodate. I think he was used to immature, excuse making ‘youngsters,’ and he appreciated my mature approach. Worked out just fine… and I was always there within the first 15-20 mins of class. (It also helped that I aced all his exams.)
As to my answer for this question, I actually had to fully disclose everything I was doing at work, because I needed my manager to back me with regard to schedule flexibility. I work for a hospital company, and my team works with doctors right out of residency, so it was a pretty easy conversation. I also had to line out an education plan, because my company pays for tuition reimbursement for any class that furthers my career path OR is healthcare related. So I wasn’t about to deny myself a tuition benefit just to stay under the radar.
I think you have to know your work situation, know your timeline, know your goals, and know your backup plan. That will tell you how much you should divulge.
I had to keep my first two semesters of evening classes under wraps where I was working. In addition, I had to apply to the post-bacc program I’m starting in May without a LOR from my direct supervisor. If I hadn’t been accepted, or if the acceptance process had been drawn out, asking for the LOR would have telegraphed my intention to leave long before I actually planned to resign.
I was able to get a solid LOR from a manager in another department with whom I had worked closely and the PD for the post-bacc was very understanding.
The company I worked for is notorious for messy exits as employees leave to work for competitors. So the reaction from management and my co-workers was really positive when I informed them of my plans to attend medical school. I don’t think they would have been as enthusiastic if I they knew I had one foot out the door for six months before I actually left.
- carrieliz Said:
James--I had the same issue with a class last semester, and I actually found it easier to work it out with my instructor than with my boss. I made an appointment and went in to see him during office hours. I showed him that I was a mature, well-prepared student, and I basically told him that I had a problem. I understood that it was my problem, not his--but I told him how much I would appreciate it if he could be flexible with my arrival time. I told him that I respected his time and knew that every moment of class was important, and that I would do my very best to make sure that 1)I was responsible for the info I missed, and 2)my arrival was as NON-distracting as possible to his lecture.
He was MORE than willing to accommodate. I think he was used to immature, excuse making 'youngsters,' and he appreciated my mature approach. Worked out just fine... and I was always there within the first 15-20 mins of class. (It also helped that I aced all his exams.)
This is the best course of action I see for my case, and is exactly what I will do. Thank you for your example and advice!
He was MORE than willing to accommodate. I think he was used to immature, excuse making 'youngsters,' and he appreciated my mature approach. Worked out just fine... and I was always there within the first 15-20 mins of class. (It also helped that I aced all his exams.)
This is the best course of action I see for my case, and is exactly what I will do. Thank you for your example and advice!
I also think “it depends”. When I applied for a nursing job for my glide year, I told the director upfront that I would only be working for a year and then hoped to start medical school. I wasn’t taking classes but would occasionally need off for interviews.
It helped that she really needed nurses and I was really overqualified for the job, had gobs of experience, and thus could orient quickly. I filled a hole for her for a year, made nice money, and both the nursing and physician staff were very supportive. Got some good advice from the docs re application/interviews and what to look for in a program. They were quite supportive when I got my admissions and decided where to go. It turned out to be the nicest hospital I’ve ever worked at (it’s a magnet hospital)
So work environmen varies, bosses vary, what they are looking for varies. Got to judge the situation. When I was applying for midwifery school I could NOT get a job in L and D because noone wanted to orient me if I would be leaving in 2 years for midwifery school. But that orientation is usually 9 months long, so you can sort of see their point.
Kate