Gap Year: Certified Pharmacy Technician vs Certified Laboratory Technician

[MedicalPitcher]

For someone that just graduated and is taking a gap year due to a late decision to go to med school, how would you advise them in choosing between a Pharm Tech or Lab tech job?

Personal Background to potentially influence decision:
. 500 hours as a Medical Assistant
. 630 hours as an ER Scribe
. DI baseball student athlete- conference honor roll
. 1 semester of informal Microbial Ecology research (formulated hypothesis(es), took samples, conducted experiments, collected and analyzed data, wrote individual full article reports to professor for grading)
. 1.5 years tutoring all pre-med chemistry and biology courses
. GPA Trend- 2.3 (fr yr) to 3.61 (graduated) AMCAS cGPA, 3.65 sGPA (failed college algebra first semester of college) 3.93 cGPA in last 91 credit hours, 3.95 sGPA in last 91 credit hours
. Currently preparing for the MCAT
. >700 hours shadowing (counting ER scribing because it truly is shadowing on steroids) and pain management (operations included); I have shadowing planned for various specialties after I take the MCAT in March
. >3000 hours as a competitive volunteer head baseball coach, 12-17 year olds
. Paid private baseball lessons (whatever value that has)

The Pharm Tech job is pretty commonplace- organizing and preparing meds and vaccines, administering vaccinations, etc.
- seems like decent healthcare experience, however I'd prefer someone more knowledgeable to chime in
The Lab Tech job is supervised by a microbiologist and essentially is a clean facility quality control lab- obtaining pure bacterial and fungal cultures from site and inoculating them on differential media, metabolic tests, etc. for identification. - seems research-esque which is what I'd prefer since my other research opportunity dissolved when a giant cloud of MRSA swarmed the hospital, but again I'd appreciate valuable advice

Given my background, how would you advise me to choose between the two jobs to make me more competitive for med school? I apologize for the elaborate post. Thank you for reading and potentially helping.

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[Catalystik]

For someone that just graduated and is taking a gap year due to a late decision to go to med school, how would you advise them in choosing between a Pharm Tech or Lab tech job?

Personal Background to potentially influence decision:
. 500 hours as a Medical Assistant
. 630 hours as an ER Scribe
. DI baseball student athlete- conference honor roll
. 1 semester of informal Microbial Ecology research (formulated hypothesis(es), took samples, conducted experiments, collected and analyzed data, wrote individual full article reports to professor for grading)
. 1.5 years tutoring all pre-med chemistry and biology courses
. GPA Trend- 2.3 (fr yr) to 3.61 (graduated) AMCAS cGPA, 3.65 sGPA (failed college algebra first semester of college) 3.93 cGPA in last 91 credit hours, 3.95 sGPA in last 91 credit hours
. Currently preparing for the MCAT
. >700 hours shadowing (counting ER scribing because it truly is shadowing on steroids) and pain management (operations included); I have shadowing planned for various specialties after I take the MCAT in March
. >3000 hours as a competitive volunteer head baseball coach, 12-17 year olds
. Paid private baseball lessons (whatever value that has)

The Pharm Tech job is pretty commonplace- organizing and preparing meds and vaccines, administering vaccinations, etc.
- seems like decent healthcare experience, however I'd prefer someone more knowledgeable to chime in
The Lab Tech job is supervised by a microbiologist and essentially is a clean facility quality control lab- obtaining pure bacterial and fungal cultures from site and inoculating them on differential media, metabolic tests, etc. for identification. - seems research-esque which is what I'd prefer since my other research opportunity dissolved when a giant cloud of MRSA swarmed the hospital, but again I'd appreciate valuable advice

Given my background, how would you advise me to choose between the two jobs to make me more competitive for med school? I apologize for the elaborate post. Thank you for reading and potentially helping.

IMO it's fine to pick the job that pays better or seems more appealing to you. Though a knowledge of pharmaceuticals would eventually prove useful, I don't see either having a particular advantage in making you a more desirable med school candidate.

 

[givemecoffee]

I'm sure there are a lot more people who are more knowledgeable than me about this, but I've been a pharm tech for a couple years and it has come up in all of my medical school interviews, all of which have led to acceptances so far. So I would like to think that being a pharm tech helped me. I've also gained a great deal of knowledge about prescription medications and the workings of the healthcare system, which has been beneficial and allowed me to be more informed when asked about the current state of healthcare during interviews etc. I think both of these jobs would be good, but this is just my personal experience!!

 

[MedicalPitcher]

I'm sure there are a lot more people who are more knowledgeable than me about this, but I've been a pharm tech for a couple years and it has come up in all of my medical school interviews, all of which have led to acceptances so far. So I would like to think that being a pharm tech helped me. I've also gained a great deal of knowledge about prescription medications and the workings of the healthcare system, which has been beneficial and allowed me to be more informed when asked about the current state of healthcare during interviews etc. I think both of these jobs would be good, but this is just my personal experience!!

Awesome, congratulations on your acceptances. It is encouraging to hear the position had such value in your path to becoming a physician. By any chance did the admissions committees have any particular comments that stood out about your experience as a pharm tech?

 

[MedicalPitcher]

IMO it's fine to pick the job that pays better or seems more appealing to you. Though a knowledge of pharmaceuticals would eventually prove useful, I don't see either having a particular advantage in making you a more desirable med school candidate.

Do you think it would be worth holding out on both until finding a more relevant-to-med school healthcare or research job at this point?

 

[ciestar]

I had thousands of pharm tech hours by the time I applied and it wasnt asked about in any of my interviews. My nonclinical volunteering greatly overshadowed that, however.

 

[MedicalPitcher]

I had thousands of pharm tech hours by the time I applied and it wasnt asked about in any of my interviews. My nonclinical volunteering greatly overshadowed that, however.

Did you have other healthcare experience and/or research?

 

[Verity]

Your combined >1000 hours of ED scribing and being a medical assistance should be ample clinical employment. Besides, neither of those jobs (pharm tech, lab tech) give you regular patient contact. At this point, I doubt it matters positive or negative which job you select, and if there's some sort of non-medicine-related job you've always wanted to try, go for it. Your gap year is definitely the time! Do be sure to maintain volunteering throughout, regardless of what you decide to do. If you liked research and wish to continue this, it could prove useful, especially if you do well on your MCAT and choose to apply to more research-specific private institutions.

I was a pharmacy technician at a retail chain and strongly disliked it. This was many years back when I transiently considered pharmacy school. The store I worked at lacked a teaching atmosphere, was usually busy and without time for conversation, and it was INCREDIBLY tedious and repetitive. It felt quite oppressive and I was bored out of my mind, as tasks consisted of working the register, grabbing pill bottles and counting pills, printing and stapling, answering phones, and occasionally entering insurance/prescriptions into the system - I felt as if I were going through motions, and not thinking. This is in stark contrast to being an ED scribe, where the teaching on the part of the physicians has been phenomenal, the feedback detailed, and the camaraderie and support amongst scribes great. I've really appreciated working alongside those with a common goal, which is something that I did not experience while working as a pharmacy technician, where this was a full-time career for all but one tech, who desired to go to pharmacy school. Granted, I fully accept that with all jobs, satisfaction is highly dependent upon where you work. I have a friend who worked at a cute family-owned pharmacy, and she loved it! She was often the only tech staffed, and had great one-on-one time with the pharmacist, who knew she also wanted to become a pharmacist, and he made an effort to teach her. She loved this job, and is now in pharmacy school. Definitely consider the culture and the pace of the pharmacy at which you are considering working.

 

[calivianya]

You have great healthcare exposure already. I would take whichever job pays more.

 

[ciestar]

Did you have other healthcare experience and/or research?

>200 hours with direct patient care
Minimal research

 

[Catalystik]

Do you think it would be worth holding out on both until finding a more relevant-to-med school healthcare or research job at this point?

You have enough active and passive clinical experience already. And your research is adequate for general purposes. Unless you're aiming for a top-20 and are willing to add 1.5 more years of research before you apply, then more research won't be helpful, so long as you have already gained an understanding of scholarly scientific research methods (which it sounds like you have).

 

[MedicalPitcher]

Your combined >1000 hours of ED scribing and being a medical assistance should be ample clinical employment. Besides, neither of those jobs (pharm tech, lab tech) give you regular patient contact. At this point, I doubt it matters positive or negative which job you select, and if there's some sort of non-medicine-related job you've always wanted to try, go for it. Your gap year is definitely the time! Do be sure to maintain volunteering throughout, regardless of what you decide to do. If you liked research and wish to continue this, it could prove useful, especially if you do well on your MCAT and choose to apply to more research-specific private institutions.

I was a pharmacy technician at a retail chain and strongly disliked it. This was many years back when I transiently considered pharmacy school. The store I worked at lacked a teaching atmosphere, was usually busy and without time for conversation, and it was INCREDIBLY tedious and repetitive. It felt quite oppressive and I was bored out of my mind, as tasks consisted of working the register, grabbing pill bottles and counting pills, printing and stapling, answering phones, and occasionally entering insurance/prescriptions into the system - I felt as if I were going through motions, and not thinking. This is in stark contrast to being an ED scribe, where the teaching on the part of the physicians has been phenomenal, the feedback detailed, and the camaraderie and support amongst scribes great. I've really appreciated working alongside those with a common goal, which is something that I did not experience while working as a pharmacy technician, where this was a full-time career for all but one tech, who desired to go to pharmacy school. Granted, I fully accept that with all jobs, satisfaction is highly dependent upon where you work. I have a friend who worked at a cute family-owned pharmacy, and she loved it! She was often the only tech staffed, and had great one-on-one time with the pharmacist, who knew she also wanted to become a pharmacist, and he made an effort to teach her. She loved this job, and is now in pharmacy school. Definitely consider the culture and the pace of the pharmacy at which you are considering working.

I appreciate the affirmation and the first-hand insight on the pharm tech experience. I'm glad you had a similar ED Scribe experience, I think this experience helped more than any non-academic factor in my path to becoming a physician. Of course I had the occasional doctor unpleasant to work with, but the majority of them were happy to teach and respectful.

I was offered a medical device sales job, but couldn't accept it. Sales is not something I'm passionate about and is quite contrary to my personality. I absolutely want to do research, possibly even as a physician. However, I'm a caught in a catch-22 trying to find a research position outside my university. I suppose there will always be research opportunities in med school.

 

[MedicalPitcher]

You have enough active and passive clinical experience already. And your research is adequate for general purposes. Unless you're aiming for a top-20 and are willing to add 1.5 more years of research before you apply, then more research won't be helpful, so long as you have already gained an understanding of scholarly scientific research methods (which it sounds like you have).

This was extremely helpful, thank you.

 

[MedicalPitcher]

Addendum: I had a seemingly successful interview today. I learned that the pharmacy technician job is not as I described. The pharmacist is an entrepreneur that has developed a TPN (Total Parenteral Nutrition) solution that I would be responsible for producing the actual product itself along with another technician. The tech working was completely sterile and following strict aseptic protocol standards. Does this change the value of the position compared with a typical pharmacy technician role in regard to being more competitive for med school?

 

[Catalystik]

Addendum: I had a seemingly successful interview today. I learned that the pharmacy technician job is not as I described. The pharmacist is an entrepreneur that has developed a TPN (Total Parenteral Nutrition) solution that I would be responsible for producing the actual product itself along with another technician. The tech working was completely sterile and following strict aseptic protocol standards. Does this change the value of the position compared with a typical pharmacy technician role in regard to being more competitive for med school?

No.