Best job to have during premed years?

[Brando989]

Hello,

I have a question regarding whether or not it would be worth it to invest time and money in attaining a phlebotomy certification.

Would this be a useful exposure to the medical field during premed years?

Or would it be too much of an interference with regular studies?

What exactly does a phlebotomist do in the day-to-day of their work?

Thank you

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[tennisball80]

EMT or CNA?

 

[bellakk]

Hello,

I have a question regarding whether or not it would be worth it to invest time and money in attaining a phlebotomy certification.

Would this be a useful exposure to the medical field during premed years?

Or would it be too much of an interference with regular studies?

What exactly does a phlebotomist do in the day-to-day of their work?

Thank you

A phlebotomist draws blood. They usually work in a hospital or in a plasma donation place where poor college kids can get fast cash. I do think that a medical certification would be very helpful for med school.

I am a CNA (certified nurse aide) at a big medical center and it has given me a great perspective on hospital life. It is very easy to get part time work as a CNA. I work just once or twice a week and pretty much get to pick my schedule. I got certified over christmas break for two weeks of full time work (1 week in a classroom, 1 in a hospital). You can also do it over a semester like once a week in the evenings.

Before you pick phlebotomy, I would look at hospitals in your area to see if any are hiring part time phlebotomists. I believe most work full time, so it might be difficult to find a job as a part-timer. Alot of people here on SDN suggest working as an EMT, but it is also hard to find part time work and although you get to do neat, fast-paced stuff, I think working in a clinical setting is more rewarding and gives you more to write about in your applications.

You can also get certified as a medical aide and work in a doctors office. Or as a partient care tech, which is a step up from a CNA and you get to do more (but training is longer).

Bottom line: I think it is worth the effort to get some sort of certification/license to work in the medical field while in college. To me, its like knocking out two birds with one stone. You get to do more stuff than a volunteer and you get paid for it. Then you can spend your volunteer time with big brothers/big sisters or habitat for humanity or something rewarding, but not medically related. Plus it shows initiative that you wanted to get your hands dirty in the medical field.

 

[c5212]

i think a good quality paid research position would be a good premed job

 

[DrYoda]

I have a question regarding whether or not it would be worth it to invest time and money in attaining a phlebotomy certification.

I usually encourage people to take the highest paying job they can (college students need $ afterall). If the best job available is a patient care job, bonus points! If it's not, dedicate a few hours on the weekends/days of to clinical volunteering.

I've never been particularly impressed with low-level medical job salaries, but then there were more jobs around when I was in college.

Would this be a useful exposure to the medical field during premed years?

Yes.

Or would it be too much of an interference with regular studies?

Assuming it's part time, it probably won't. Many people work part-time during college.

 

[mmmcdowe]

Going along with high paying jobs, teaching and tutoring tend to be very good for some extra cash. I personally prefer teaching, but private tutoring tends to get higher pay (if you can find customers).

 

[sleepy12]

finding a paying research job as an undergrad is pretty difficult to do especially since alot of people struggle to just get any research job even if its unpaid.

I do think getting plebotomy training and finding a job with that would be a good idea. Also, did you look into being an ER tech? I am not sure how much training that requires but it seems pretty cool.

 

[MilkmanAl]

If it's in the medical field and the job title ends in "tech," chances are it's a good job to have.

 

[xnfs93hy]

ER techs do alright.

 

[J ROD]

ER techs do alright.

My suggestion since you do not need alot of others to get the job and learn alot.

Best job for money is a stripper though!

I know a hot chica that did this and paid for her undergrad and has a nice sum of money saved up for med school. I think she left that out of the application process though.

Wow, just got that visualization of her! Sweet!!!

 

[marcus8]

I was a chemistry tutor in college. I was a biology major, so teaching chemistry every week kept me sharp for the MCAT.

I also worked in a lab. I was offered a job to work there full time on graduation. It would have been a good back up plan if I hadn't gotten into medical school.

I did have "medical jobs" but they were volunteer or unpaid interships, but I still got to put them on my application.

 

[DrYoda]

Obviously this is kind of a specialized job, but if you're really good at sports: tennis, golf,and baseball swing instructors can charge alot.

 

[faith2]

easy job I use to do it you draw blood and collect specimens great way to understand abnormal results easy money and good clinical exposure

Hello,

I have a question regarding whether or not it would be worth it to invest time and money in attaining a phlebotomy certification.

Would this be a useful exposure to the medical field during premed years?

Or would it be too much of an interference with regular studies?

What exactly does a phlebotomist do in the day-to-day of their work?

Thank you