Every Pre-Med Major Should Consider Doing These Jobs in College

If you’re a pre-med student, chances are you’re going to school full-time, taking lots of (hard) science classes, and always looking for ways to make your medical school applications stand out. As a full-time student, it can be pretty hard to find a job that will work with your school hours, and it can be hard to keep a job when you have a heavy course load. Wouldn’t it be great if there were jobs out there that allowed us pre-meds to make some extra cash and increase our chances of getting into med school one day? I’m here to tell you that there are such jobs, and they don’t require too many qualifications. If you’re a pre-med student who could use a side hustle, and you’ve somehow managed to find some time in that busy schedule of yours, check out this list of jobs!

1. Pharmacy Technician

With a short certification program, you could be working in a pharmacy and exposing yourself to greater knowledge about medications (which will be super helpful in med school!). A normal day for a pharmacy tech will consist of helping the pharmacist by dispensing medications for customers. Part-time and full-time positions are available, and workplaces can vary from hospitals to grocery stores. With so many possible locations to work at, you’re likely to find a place that can work with your schedule.

2. Medical Scribe

As a medical scribe, you’ll have the chance to get up close and personal to how a doctor spends their day at work. You’ll basically be the doctor’s administrative assistant/secretary, writing down all of the required notes and performing clerical duties (like making phone calls). Since most scribes are full-time students, the hiring companies and hospitals offer flexible schedules, part-time and full-time. Although you won’t get the opportunity to have direct contact with patients, you’ll be able to see firsthand the daily administrative tasks physicians do.

3. Certified Nursing Assistant

So, you might be thinking, “why would I do this if I don’t want to be a nurse?”, and the answer is patient interaction. CNAs provide basic care to patients who are unable to help themselves. Some of the duties include bathing, serving meals, assisting with trips to the restroom, and lifting patients into their wheelchair, bed, etc. The job isn’t glamorous, but then again, that’s not what the medical field is about. Medical schools will appreciate your experience with real, up-close-and-personal patient contact, and you’ll get the chance to see if you truly want to work with sick people.

4. Research Assistant

If you’re interested in research, and in need of a job that works with your school schedule, why not become a research assistant? Although it doesn’t apply to all R.A. positions, some professors and grad students are willing to pay their assisting students while providing them with useful experience for med school. Job requirements will vary from project to project, but basic duties include entering data, monitoring clinical/experimental trials, and preparing tables/graphs to analyze the information. These jobs can be a little trickier to find than the others, and will require you to ask around your school for any ongoing research projects. Good places to look for these positions are with your own professors and advisors.

5. Emergency Medical Technician

If you’re looking for a high-energy job with direct patient contact, think about becoming a certified Emergency Medical Technician. It’s pretty well known how important EMTs are, and although the job can be stressful and demanding, you’ll get the chance to help people during tough times in their lives. EMT programs run at different levels, and depending on what you choose, can take a few months to a year. As an EMT, you will be in close contact with patients every day and learn how to be a team member – valuable skills that will definitely be instrumental in the future.