May 2, 2025 • 21 mins
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Join us as we address a question from Jay on how to balance working while studying. Through personal stories and actionable advice, we explain why your medical school dreams remain within reach with strategic planning and unwavering determination.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
I decided that I would go back to school, but the
job that I had I could not keepit, so I actually decided to
quit that job because it wasfull time and because it was so
far from where I was going to begoing to school and I was
actually up for a promotion andI had to decline.
Now it would have increased mypay and promotion sounds like a
great thing, but that was notwhat I was going for.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Not as a big fork in the road, Like I can continue
this job and get more pay.
But now all of my attention isgoing to be towards this job and
you may have to let that dreamgo.
Speaker 1 (00:30):
Going to medical school was definitely my
priority.
I ended up getting, at onepoint in time, four different
jobs.
Hey man, hey man, me home.
How many times I got to tellyou not to put your uniforms on
my good sofa, don't yell at me,woman.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
I drop me uniform wherever I want.
I wear 15 job.
I don't have time for yourfoolishness when I come home.
I'm tired, dammit.
What's good everybody?
We are talking Q&A aboutsomething I think a lot of you
all who are listening are goingthrough right now.
This is something that I wentthrough, definitely something
that Dr Renee went through, andthat is basically what to do
when you are trying to get intomedical school but you are in
(01:10):
another career or you are doingsomething different.
This is something that we calla nontraditional pre-med.
All right, so you ready toanswer this question?
Speaker 1 (01:19):
Yes, who are you and who am I?
Okay.
Speaker 2 (01:22):
Oh, we got it, listen , we family with everybody now?
Speaker 1 (01:27):
Do we got to tell everybody who we are?
Yes, because you have newlisteners and they have no, then
you okay.
Speaker 2 (01:30):
So let me welcome you all.
Yeah, let me welcome you all tothe family.
All right, guys, I'm Dr Knee,host of Docs Outside the Box for
the past nine years.
I'm joined by my co-host whohas the most, dr Renee.
Now we're going gonna stopright there.
I thought you were gonna writea little bit more.
(01:51):
Well, I'm a pretty good rapper,guys.
I'm a pretty good rapper.
It's to the point where I wrotethis rap, guys, I'm gonna put
you up on game.
I wrote this rap back when I wasaround nine years old, ten
years old, in queens, new yorkyour sister might have written
it, but okay, In another episodewe're going to talk about that,
so but that's still through.
It's in copyright.
It's in court right now.
Speaker 1 (02:12):
Between you and your sister.
Yeah, we have this in court,literally five lines that you
are arguing that.
Speaker 2 (02:19):
Five bars.
Please understand music.
Speaker 1 (02:21):
Five lines.
Speaker 2 (02:24):
No, these are lines.
Five bars.
Please understand music.
Five lines, no, five bars.
Because these are no, these arebars.
Ignorant people are a waste oftime.
That's a bar, but yet theycommit the crime.
Second bar, you see, understandmusic.
Understand how rap is done okayso listen, this is the issue
that I have a lot on this show.
Is that, like there's anexpertise that I bring that you
don't have and then you try tocritique me?
Listen, anybody else who knowsabout music, who knows about
(02:47):
bars, write in, let us knowwhat's going on All right.
Speaker 1 (02:49):
Yeah, let me let Dr Nino what's going on, cause he
don't know what's going on.
Speaker 2 (02:53):
Okay, all right, we got a question from Jay.
Jay says hi, I'm currently inmy second year or second gap
year, studying for my MCAT whileworking a full-time job.
And he puts in quotes or inparentheses overnight.
So this is an overnight gig onthe ambulance as an EMT.
Okay, that's a really good.
That's busy.
I am planning to apply thisupcoming cycle.
(03:17):
It has definitely been astruggle balancing studying and
working for a department withsuch a high call volume, the
longer hours can take a toll onmy studying, but cutting back
hours is not possible due to myfinancial responsibilities.
Do you have any suggestions onhow to balance working while
studying?
Thank you in advance.
(03:38):
I really appreciate theknowledge I've gained from your
show.
Jay Yo Jay, thank you forwriting.
This is a really good question.
Like I said before, I'm justgoing to be very brief and then
I'll let you jump into thisbecause I know this is more your
bag.
But so you know when you're inmedical school or when you're in
college.
It's super.
You know the path is.
(03:58):
You are taking your classes.
Obviously, you don't have toworry about there's not many
financial worries because morethan likely someone has already
paid the bill.
Right, like you are.
You have student loans or youknow something, your scholarship
or what have you.
But you're already in school,you already have housing.
The next step is, once youfinished and you go straight
into medical school, if you'regoing to go the traditional
(04:19):
route.
But someone like me, like I,was working.
You know I had to.
I had to take two years off andfor a time I was working at
Sports Authority, I was workingat CompUSA and then I eventually
I went back to LehighUniversity and I did some grad
assistant work.
But before you answer thequestion or I don't know how you
want to answer the question doyou want to let people know kind
(04:40):
of what you did for those 10years in between and then kind
of go from there?
Speaker 1 (04:50):
10 years, really.
Nii, you know, what's reallyfunny is that, like you try to
take these jabs and you thinkI'm not going to notice, but I
got you.
You know what I'm saying I gotyou.
Speaker 2 (04:58):
I would like you to center Jay into this.
Can you center Jay?
He needs help.
Speaker 1 (05:03):
Yeah, you should center Jay too, because that jab
was unnecessary, anyway.
So, yes, thank you, jay, forwriting this question.
Like you said, nhi, this is avery common issue that I run
into with pre-meds that I workwith all the time that
work-school balance is.
(05:24):
It's really hard to answerbecause not everybody's
situation is the same, and sothe only thing that I can say is
one I can tell you my story.
And two, say do the best thatyou possibly can Like.
That's literally all you can do.
Now I will tell you my storyvery briefly, during my four gap
(05:47):
years, not 10.
Okay, um, so when I graduatedis that a jab at me.
No, it's not a jab at you,that's a correction.
Oh, okay, what you said.
Speaker 2 (06:01):
I was about to say, yeah, okay, I could do the show
by myself.
Speaker 1 (06:04):
You really could too, I could, you really could.
Speaker 2 (06:09):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (06:11):
So when I was, when I graduated from college, one of
the first things that I did wasI actually ended up getting a
job at a laboratory and it waslike a food lab.
So when you do those recallsand stuff like that, that was me
.
Salad don't eat it.
Fish don't eat it.
(06:32):
Tuna has so many rat hairs init.
If you want to eat it, that'sfine.
That's what the FDA allows, butit's up to you.
That's what I was doing.
I was working at a lab and Istarted working at the lab full
time during that summer and bythe time the summer ended, I
(06:54):
realized that I wanted to goback to school and do some
post-bac courses.
So I did a DIY post-bac myselfand and once I realized, ok, I'm
going to go back to school andI don't, one, qualify for
student loans because I'm goingback part time and two, I just
(07:14):
didn't want my parents to haveto help me pay for school,
because it helped me pay forcollege already.
I wanted to pay for it out ofpocket.
Speaker 2 (07:23):
So while you're working this job, while you're
working this job, you're livingat home.
I'm living at home.
Speaker 1 (07:26):
That's important also right Because it depends on
your situation.
So, while you're working thisjob, while you're working this
job, you're living at home.
Speaker 2 (07:28):
I'm living at home.
I am living at home.
Speaker 1 (07:29):
And that's important also right, Because it depends
on your situation.
Speaker 2 (07:34):
And question did you apply to medical school while
you were in college?
Speaker 1 (07:38):
No.
Speaker 2 (07:39):
Okay.
So you finished, you graduated,and you're like, all right,
pack up and everything goesstraight to your parents' house,
and then you got to figure outa job, exactly Okay.
Speaker 1 (07:47):
So, and I'm going to give you some takeaways from my
story that you know might mighthelp some of you out there but
yes, I was living at home.
I didn't want my parents tohelp me pay for school.
They were obviously paying forall, all of my living expenses,
right In terms of like food,clothing, shelter not so much
(08:08):
clothing, but food shelter andso I decided that I would go
back to school, but the job thatI had, I could not keep it and
go back to school the way that Iwanted to, and so I actually
because it was full time.
So I actually decided to quitthat job because it was full
(08:29):
time and because it was so farfrom where I was going to be
going to school.
I was going to be going toschool in Manhattan and I was
going to be going part time, butI was working in Long Island
and that just was not going towork for me and I was actually
up for a promotion.
They were actually going topromote me to go and work like
in a pharmacy, part of the labthat they had just started
(08:51):
building, and I had to decline.
I had to decline and I was likeno, and my boss was like well,
why?
And I was like I want to goback to school.
I can't take this promotion Now.
It would have increased my payand promotion sounds like a
great thing, but that was notwhat I was going for.
I was not going to that job tostay in that job and so I had to
(09:14):
let that go because that wasnot my priority.
Speaker 2 (09:17):
It was a job.
It wasn't your career.
Speaker 1 (09:19):
It was not my career.
Speaker 2 (09:20):
Yeah.
And then once you realize that,hey, once you realize like, hey
, like now there's a big fork inthe road, Like I can continue
this job and get more pay and,you know, get some of the things
that I didn't get before.
But now all of my attention isgoing to be towards this job and
you may have to let that dreamgo of going into or studying for
the MCAT or doing post-bac work.
Speaker 1 (09:40):
So I get that part All right.
Yeah, fair enough.
So going to medical school wasdefinitely my priority, so I had
to get on the ball and start onthis journey of doing this DIY.
What I ended up doing wassomething that was extremely
piecemeal.
I ended up getting, at onepoint in time, four different
jobs.
(10:01):
Hey, man, hit it out.
Speaker 2 (10:04):
So what are the jobs?
Hey, man me home.
How many times I got to tellyou not to put your uniforms on
my good sofa?
Don't yell at me, woman.
I drop me uniform wherever Iwant.
I wear 15 job.
I don't have time for yourfoolishness.
When I come home I'm tired,damn it.
What are the jobs that you got?
Speaker 1 (10:23):
So I got a job working as a, and all of these
were part-time, obviously Ididn't know all the jobs you got
, so one was huh.
Speaker 2 (10:36):
Only fans.
Speaker 1 (10:38):
Me Shut it.
Speaker 2 (10:40):
Okay, first of all, Okay, what was the jobs you got?
What were the jobs you got?
Speaker 1 (10:43):
No, it wasn't only fans.
Okay, and if it were only fans,you would have been my biggest
customer.
Thanks.
Speaker 2 (10:51):
I didn't know you.
Speaker 1 (10:52):
Yeah, okay.
Speaker 2 (10:53):
I didn't know you O.
Come on, let's go.
Speaker 1 (10:56):
I ended up getting a job at a nonprofit organization
and I was kind of like amarketing assistant.
Speaker 2 (11:03):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (11:03):
I ended up getting a tutoring job at a high school.
Okay, I ended up getting atutoring job at a high school.
I ended up doing another job,actually in Long Island, that
was on the weekends, so it wasAHRC, which essentially was for
people with developmentaldisabilities, so I could work
that on the weekend.
And then one other job.
(11:25):
What other job did I get?
There's one other job that Igot and I can't even remember.
Weren't you a teacher?
No, that was a tutoring jobthat turned into a teaching job,
dang it.
If I remember the fourth job,I'll let you know.
Speaker 2 (11:40):
So either way, we get the point you were doing
multiple jobs.
Speaker 1 (11:43):
I know the last job.
I was also tutoring atPolytechnic.
Okay.
Speaker 2 (11:47):
So I was also tutoring at Polytechnic.
Speaker 1 (11:48):
Okay so I was.
I was tutoring in two places,tutoring for high school and
then tutoring for college.
Okay so, and those wereextremely flexible for me, right
?
And so I ended up having topiecemeal everything, but it
allowed me to do the DIY, right,post-bac, and it allowed me to
pay for school.
So for me that was way moreconvenient, if you will right,
(12:14):
because convenience to me wasn'toh, I have to go here and then
I have to go there.
I have to go.
No, the convenience for me waswhat will allow me to do the
thing that will bring me to mygoal and that is going to be the
most convenient thing.
So if I have to travel to twodifferent boroughs and go to
Long Island as well twodifferent boroughs and go to
Long Island as well then that'swhat I have to do.
(12:36):
And so I was able to do thatand really succeed in my
post-bac because I was able toset my own schedule around my
classes and determine how muchtime during the day did I need
to study.
Speaker 2 (12:51):
Because I and your post-bac was at Hunter College,
right.
Speaker 1 (12:54):
My post-bac was at back was at Hunter College.
Right, my post back was at CUNYHunter College.
Speaker 2 (12:57):
Yeah, and just to be clear, this wasn't the way you
did it.
It wasn't a formal post back.
Right, you were you, you did it, you piecemealed it all
together correct got, you got.
How did you pay for that?
Speaker 1 (13:10):
I paid for that with all those jobs.
Speaker 2 (13:12):
I paid okay, so you didn't do any.
You didn't take any loans oranything like that.
Loans, no, nothing.
I paid for a with all thosejobs.
I paid for it out of pocket.
Speaker 1 (13:15):
Okay, so you didn't take any loans or anything like
that.
No loans, no, nothing, I paidfor it out of pocket and I
worked out something with thefinancial aid office because
obviously I didn't have all themoney up front.
Luckily, you know, a citycollege is much, much less
expensive than a private school,right?
So one I didn't have as muchmoney to come up with as if I
(13:36):
was going to a private or even astate school.
So I worked something out withthe financial aid office to say,
OK, I want to pay this much nowand then this much later.
And so they, they worked withme and they allowed me to pay
for school as I went along.
Speaker 2 (13:52):
And folks, just so you know, there's thousands of
people who come out of this.
I went along and folks, just soyou know, there's thousands of
people who come out of this,like some people will, who are
not familiar with the CUNYsystem, the city university of
New York system.
If you're from a differentstate or you're not familiar
with it, you're like, oh, this,this is like a community college
.
No, it's not, guys, this is a.
Really this is a high powereduniversity that just happens to
be run in the city of New York,right, and they have different
(14:16):
campuses and some high-poweredpeople that you heard of and may
not have heard of.
Let me type in you keep goingwhile I look up to some of the
alumni of CUNY.
Speaker 1 (14:25):
That's cute.
There are lots of leaders thatcome from the CUNY system, lots
of prestigious.
My dad went there.
Speaker 2 (14:33):
Yes no-transcript.
Speaker 1 (15:05):
A suggestion of my sister.
I ended up going to HunterCollege because I was going to
go to a community college.
That's originally what my planwas to stay in Long Island, go
to a community college.
That's originally what my planwas to stay in Long Island, go
to a community college so Icould keep that job.
(15:25):
That was that was.
You know, it's not a horriblething, but it truly is not
necessarily the best thing tocome from a four-year college
and then go, do you know, postback at a community college.
(15:47):
It's not well looked upon, ifyou will, by medical schools,
but I was going to go and dothat so I could keep that job.
Medical schools but I was goingto go and do that so I could
keep that job.
Right, I was going to let thisjob derail what I wanted to do,
and so, instead of staying atthat job, I ended up quitting so
(16:07):
that I could put myself in thebest position possible, in the
best environment possible, to beable to get an education that I
knew would help me get intomedical school.
Speaker 2 (16:22):
I made a list of the things that you know when you're
trying to balance studying formed school and you are not in
college, right, so you are inanother career or you're
considering, like you're in thattransitory state, like how you
were in me, like you're in yourgap year, basically, or your gap
years, and you're trying tofigure out what to do.
But number two I have on thereis choose the right job.
(16:42):
So I have here flexible orpart-time work, low stress jobs
and remote work.
And what I would say to Jay isI agree with you like Renee's
advice is you know, what she didwas ideal.
In essence, she prioritizedgetting into medical school over
all the jobs.
Now the situation is a littlebit different, because she could
(17:04):
stay with her parents.
Parents would cook, theyprovide food, housing, like
that's a huge expense that sheain't got to worry about, right?
All she had to worry about, inessence, was getting into med
school.
You had to take care of yourclasses, you had to get
transportation there and you hadto get jobs and so forth.
That's what you had to do.
But I definitely think that oneof the biggest things right now
(17:24):
, jay, is to determine is yourjob more important, or keeping
your job more important thangetting into medical school, and
that's the fork in the road andyou may have to take several
jobs.
You may have to cut back and dosomething else.
(17:57):
Let me I'm going to tell a quickstory.
Doing the bank thing right,Like working like, not a bank
teller, but like the person whohas a small little office that
goes and you know the littledesk, and you talk to them about
your, your, your banking and soforth, and at the end they're
trying to sell you.
You know why you should investyour money with them and so
forth Something that was veryunfulfilling to him.
And he all of a sudden told me,like he's like, hey, me, like
(18:21):
Uncle Nia, I want to go to lawschool.
And I was like, okay, and hekept telling me this over like
several months and then hefinally said, hey, I have a plan
, I'm leaving my job and I'mgoing to get into law school.
And I was like well, how areyou going to do this?
And he told me so I'm going tobe very honest, guys.
So what he did was over thatyear.
(18:42):
I was very impressed with him.
Over that year.
He put his head down and hesaved money like crazy.
Number two he moved into aneighborhood that wasn't the
greatest.
Number two he moved into aneighborhood that wasn't the
(19:09):
greatest, wasn't the worst,wasn't the best, but he moved
into a neighborhood that, inessence, is where he kind of
grew up in, that was going to below cost and that, in essence,
he was going to be left aloneand he was living by himself,
right.
And then he made sure.
Three, that he developed a planthat he was going to study for
the LSATs and, no matter whatthat plan was going to take like
(19:32):
, there was nothing else thatwas going to get in his way.
Now, granted, at this time hewasn't married.
He wasn't married at this time,was he?
I don't know?
Yeah, either way, no children,you know.
And then he left the job and forseveral months, six or seven
months, this is what he wasdoing.
And then he called me one dayand said, hey, this was my score
(19:55):
in an LSAT.
And two weeks later he's like Istarted getting these you know
acceptances, or however long ittook.
I started getting, he startedgetting these acceptances and I
was really proud of him.
You know, I know sometimespeople are like, well, law
school is different than gettingto med school.
But I was pretty impressed byhis grind Right, because he made
(20:15):
a plan to be like look what I'mdoing right now, working in the
bank.
I know that that's what I wasstudying and that's what
everybody is expecting me to do,but that's not what my heart is
telling me to do Absolutely.
And I'm going to sacrifice andsave like crazy and I'm going to
move into a neighborhood that Imay not want to live in and I'm
(20:37):
going to be uber isolated andI'm going to study and I'm going
to follow through on that,because I got to get through my
ultimate goal of becoming alawyer.
And now my guy is, you know,he's graduating.
You know, in a couple of monthsand he'll be done and I'm super
proud of him.
Speaker 1 (20:47):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (20:48):
You know.
So, basically, what I'm tryingto say, Jay, is that you can do
this, but it's going to probablyhave to look different than how
it looks for you right now.
Right, I don't know if you havechildren, I don't know if you
have a spouse, I'm not sureabout your social situation, but
it's something that you mayhave to embrace and I think it's
something that a lot of peopledo.
They don't necessarily thinkthat they're doing it, but
that's what they do wherethey're just like look, I'm
going to have to changedirections.
(21:08):
What's good, everyone.
This is Dr Nii Yo.
This is the end of this segment.
I appreciate you for listening,but this ain't the end.
If you want more, go ahead andclick the next button on your
favorite podcast app.
Listen.
That's next for more banterbetween me and Dr Rene.
That's next for more topics.
That's next for more segments.
Listen.
Did you hit next yet?
Go ahead and click next.
Hit it Next, peace.
I decided that I would go back to school, but the
job that I had I could not keepit, so I actually decided to
quit that job because it wasfull time and because it was so
far from where I was going to begoing to school and I was
actually up for a promotion andI had to decline.
Now it would have increased mypay and promotion sounds like a
great thing, but that was notwhat I was going for.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Not as a big fork in the road, Like I can continue
this job and get more pay.
But now all of my attention isgoing to be towards this job and
you may have to let that dreamgo.
Speaker 1 (00:30):
Going to medical school was definitely my
priority.
I ended up getting, at onepoint in time, four different
jobs.
Hey man, hey man, me home.
How many times I got to tellyou not to put your uniforms on
my good sofa, don't yell at me,woman.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
I drop me uniform wherever I want.
I wear 15 job.
I don't have time for yourfoolishness when I come home.
I'm tired, dammit.
What's good everybody?
We are talking Q&A aboutsomething I think a lot of you
all who are listening are goingthrough right now.
This is something that I wentthrough, definitely something
that Dr Renee went through, andthat is basically what to do
when you are trying to get intomedical school but you are in
(01:10):
another career or you are doingsomething different.
This is something that we calla nontraditional pre-med.
All right, so you ready toanswer this question?
Speaker 1 (01:19):
Yes, who are you and who am I?
Okay.
Speaker 2 (01:22):
Oh, we got it, listen , we family with everybody now?
Speaker 1 (01:27):
Do we got to tell everybody who we are?
Yes, because you have newlisteners and they have no, then
you okay.
Speaker 2 (01:30):
So let me welcome you all.
Yeah, let me welcome you all tothe family.
All right, guys, I'm Dr Knee,host of Docs Outside the Box for
the past nine years.
I'm joined by my co-host whohas the most, dr Renee.
Now we're going gonna stopright there.
I thought you were gonna writea little bit more.
(01:51):
Well, I'm a pretty good rapper,guys.
I'm a pretty good rapper.
It's to the point where I wrotethis rap, guys, I'm gonna put
you up on game.
I wrote this rap back when I wasaround nine years old, ten
years old, in queens, new yorkyour sister might have written
it, but okay, In another episodewe're going to talk about that,
so but that's still through.
It's in copyright.
It's in court right now.
Speaker 1 (02:12):
Between you and your sister.
Yeah, we have this in court,literally five lines that you
are arguing that.
Speaker 2 (02:19):
Five bars.
Please understand music.
Speaker 1 (02:21):
Five lines.
Speaker 2 (02:24):
No, these are lines.
Five bars.
Please understand music.
Five lines, no, five bars.
Because these are no, these arebars.
Ignorant people are a waste oftime.
That's a bar, but yet theycommit the crime.
Second bar, you see, understandmusic.
Understand how rap is done okayso listen, this is the issue
that I have a lot on this show.
Is that, like there's anexpertise that I bring that you
don't have and then you try tocritique me?
Listen, anybody else who knowsabout music, who knows about
(02:47):
bars, write in, let us knowwhat's going on All right.
Speaker 1 (02:49):
Yeah, let me let Dr Nino what's going on, cause he
don't know what's going on.
Speaker 2 (02:53):
Okay, all right, we got a question from Jay.
Jay says hi, I'm currently inmy second year or second gap
year, studying for my MCAT whileworking a full-time job.
And he puts in quotes or inparentheses overnight.
So this is an overnight gig onthe ambulance as an EMT.
Okay, that's a really good.
That's busy.
I am planning to apply thisupcoming cycle.
(03:17):
It has definitely been astruggle balancing studying and
working for a department withsuch a high call volume, the
longer hours can take a toll onmy studying, but cutting back
hours is not possible due to myfinancial responsibilities.
Do you have any suggestions onhow to balance working while
studying?
Thank you in advance.
(03:38):
I really appreciate theknowledge I've gained from your
show.
Jay Yo Jay, thank you forwriting.
This is a really good question.
Like I said before, I'm justgoing to be very brief and then
I'll let you jump into thisbecause I know this is more your
bag.
But so you know when you're inmedical school or when you're in
college.
It's super.
You know the path is.
(03:58):
You are taking your classes.
Obviously, you don't have toworry about there's not many
financial worries because morethan likely someone has already
paid the bill.
Right, like you are.
You have student loans or youknow something, your scholarship
or what have you.
But you're already in school,you already have housing.
The next step is, once youfinished and you go straight
into medical school, if you'regoing to go the traditional
(04:19):
route.
But someone like me, like I,was working.
You know I had to.
I had to take two years off andfor a time I was working at
Sports Authority, I was workingat CompUSA and then I eventually
I went back to LehighUniversity and I did some grad
assistant work.
But before you answer thequestion or I don't know how you
want to answer the question doyou want to let people know kind
(04:40):
of what you did for those 10years in between and then kind
of go from there?
Speaker 1 (04:50):
10 years, really.
Nii, you know, what's reallyfunny is that, like you try to
take these jabs and you thinkI'm not going to notice, but I
got you.
You know what I'm saying I gotyou.
Speaker 2 (04:58):
I would like you to center Jay into this.
Can you center Jay?
He needs help.
Speaker 1 (05:03):
Yeah, you should center Jay too, because that jab
was unnecessary, anyway.
So, yes, thank you, jay, forwriting this question.
Like you said, nhi, this is avery common issue that I run
into with pre-meds that I workwith all the time that
work-school balance is.
(05:24):
It's really hard to answerbecause not everybody's
situation is the same, and sothe only thing that I can say is
one I can tell you my story.
And two, say do the best thatyou possibly can Like.
That's literally all you can do.
Now I will tell you my storyvery briefly, during my four gap
(05:47):
years, not 10.
Okay, um, so when I graduatedis that a jab at me.
No, it's not a jab at you,that's a correction.
Oh, okay, what you said.
Speaker 2 (06:01):
I was about to say, yeah, okay, I could do the show
by myself.
Speaker 1 (06:04):
You really could too, I could, you really could.
Speaker 2 (06:09):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (06:11):
So when I was, when I graduated from college, one of
the first things that I did wasI actually ended up getting a
job at a laboratory and it waslike a food lab.
So when you do those recallsand stuff like that, that was me
.
Salad don't eat it.
Fish don't eat it.
(06:32):
Tuna has so many rat hairs init.
If you want to eat it, that'sfine.
That's what the FDA allows, butit's up to you.
That's what I was doing.
I was working at a lab and Istarted working at the lab full
time during that summer and bythe time the summer ended, I
(06:54):
realized that I wanted to goback to school and do some
post-bac courses.
So I did a DIY post-bac myselfand and once I realized, ok, I'm
going to go back to school andI don't, one, qualify for
student loans because I'm goingback part time and two, I just
(07:14):
didn't want my parents to haveto help me pay for school,
because it helped me pay forcollege already.
I wanted to pay for it out ofpocket.
Speaker 2 (07:23):
So while you're working this job, while you're
working this job, you're livingat home.
I'm living at home.
Speaker 1 (07:26):
That's important also right Because it depends on
your situation.
So, while you're working thisjob, while you're working this
job, you're living at home.
Speaker 2 (07:28):
I'm living at home.
I am living at home.
Speaker 1 (07:29):
And that's important also right, Because it depends
on your situation.
Speaker 2 (07:34):
And question did you apply to medical school while
you were in college?
Speaker 1 (07:38):
No.
Speaker 2 (07:39):
Okay.
So you finished, you graduated,and you're like, all right,
pack up and everything goesstraight to your parents' house,
and then you got to figure outa job, exactly Okay.
Speaker 1 (07:47):
So, and I'm going to give you some takeaways from my
story that you know might mighthelp some of you out there but
yes, I was living at home.
I didn't want my parents tohelp me pay for school.
They were obviously paying forall, all of my living expenses,
right In terms of like food,clothing, shelter not so much
(08:08):
clothing, but food shelter andso I decided that I would go
back to school, but the job thatI had, I could not keep it and
go back to school the way that Iwanted to, and so I actually
because it was full time.
So I actually decided to quitthat job because it was full
(08:29):
time and because it was so farfrom where I was going to be
going to school.
I was going to be going toschool in Manhattan and I was
going to be going part time, butI was working in Long Island
and that just was not going towork for me and I was actually
up for a promotion.
They were actually going topromote me to go and work like
in a pharmacy, part of the labthat they had just started
(08:51):
building, and I had to decline.
I had to decline and I was likeno, and my boss was like well,
why?
And I was like I want to goback to school.
I can't take this promotion Now.
It would have increased my payand promotion sounds like a
great thing, but that was notwhat I was going for.
I was not going to that job tostay in that job and so I had to
(09:14):
let that go because that wasnot my priority.
Speaker 2 (09:17):
It was a job.
It wasn't your career.
Speaker 1 (09:19):
It was not my career.
Speaker 2 (09:20):
Yeah.
And then once you realize that,hey, once you realize like, hey
, like now there's a big fork inthe road, Like I can continue
this job and get more pay and,you know, get some of the things
that I didn't get before.
But now all of my attention isgoing to be towards this job and
you may have to let that dreamgo of going into or studying for
the MCAT or doing post-bac work.
Speaker 1 (09:40):
So I get that part All right.
Yeah, fair enough.
So going to medical school wasdefinitely my priority, so I had
to get on the ball and start onthis journey of doing this DIY.
What I ended up doing wassomething that was extremely
piecemeal.
I ended up getting, at onepoint in time, four different
jobs.
(10:01):
Hey, man, hit it out.
Speaker 2 (10:04):
So what are the jobs?
Hey, man me home.
How many times I got to tellyou not to put your uniforms on
my good sofa?
Don't yell at me, woman.
I drop me uniform wherever Iwant.
I wear 15 job.
I don't have time for yourfoolishness.
When I come home I'm tired,damn it.
What are the jobs that you got?
Speaker 1 (10:23):
So I got a job working as a, and all of these
were part-time, obviously Ididn't know all the jobs you got
, so one was huh.
Speaker 2 (10:36):
Only fans.
Speaker 1 (10:38):
Me Shut it.
Speaker 2 (10:40):
Okay, first of all, Okay, what was the jobs you got?
What were the jobs you got?
Speaker 1 (10:43):
No, it wasn't only fans.
Okay, and if it were only fans,you would have been my biggest
customer.
Thanks.
Speaker 2 (10:51):
I didn't know you.
Speaker 1 (10:52):
Yeah, okay.
Speaker 2 (10:53):
I didn't know you O.
Come on, let's go.
Speaker 1 (10:56):
I ended up getting a job at a nonprofit organization
and I was kind of like amarketing assistant.
Speaker 2 (11:03):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (11:03):
I ended up getting a tutoring job at a high school.
Okay, I ended up getting atutoring job at a high school.
I ended up doing another job,actually in Long Island, that
was on the weekends, so it wasAHRC, which essentially was for
people with developmentaldisabilities, so I could work
that on the weekend.
And then one other job.
(11:25):
What other job did I get?
There's one other job that Igot and I can't even remember.
Weren't you a teacher?
No, that was a tutoring jobthat turned into a teaching job,
dang it.
If I remember the fourth job,I'll let you know.
Speaker 2 (11:40):
So either way, we get the point you were doing
multiple jobs.
Speaker 1 (11:43):
I know the last job.
I was also tutoring atPolytechnic.
Okay.
Speaker 2 (11:47):
So I was also tutoring at Polytechnic.
Speaker 1 (11:48):
Okay so I was.
I was tutoring in two places,tutoring for high school and
then tutoring for college.
Okay so, and those wereextremely flexible for me, right
?
And so I ended up having topiecemeal everything, but it
allowed me to do the DIY, right,post-bac, and it allowed me to
pay for school.
So for me that was way moreconvenient, if you will right,
(12:14):
because convenience to me wasn'toh, I have to go here and then
I have to go there.
I have to go.
No, the convenience for me waswhat will allow me to do the
thing that will bring me to mygoal and that is going to be the
most convenient thing.
So if I have to travel to twodifferent boroughs and go to
Long Island as well twodifferent boroughs and go to
Long Island as well then that'swhat I have to do.
(12:36):
And so I was able to do thatand really succeed in my
post-bac because I was able toset my own schedule around my
classes and determine how muchtime during the day did I need
to study.
Speaker 2 (12:51):
Because I and your post-bac was at Hunter College,
right.
Speaker 1 (12:54):
My post-bac was at back was at Hunter College.
Right, my post back was at CUNYHunter College.
Speaker 2 (12:57):
Yeah, and just to be clear, this wasn't the way you
did it.
It wasn't a formal post back.
Right, you were you, you did it, you piecemealed it all
together correct got, you got.
How did you pay for that?
Speaker 1 (13:10):
I paid for that with all those jobs.
Speaker 2 (13:12):
I paid okay, so you didn't do any.
You didn't take any loans oranything like that.
Loans, no, nothing.
I paid for a with all thosejobs.
I paid for it out of pocket.
Speaker 1 (13:15):
Okay, so you didn't take any loans or anything like
that.
No loans, no, nothing, I paidfor it out of pocket and I
worked out something with thefinancial aid office because
obviously I didn't have all themoney up front.
Luckily, you know, a citycollege is much, much less
expensive than a private school,right?
So one I didn't have as muchmoney to come up with as if I
(13:36):
was going to a private or even astate school.
So I worked something out withthe financial aid office to say,
OK, I want to pay this much nowand then this much later.
And so they, they worked withme and they allowed me to pay
for school as I went along.
Speaker 2 (13:52):
And folks, just so you know, there's thousands of
people who come out of this.
I went along and folks, just soyou know, there's thousands of
people who come out of this,like some people will, who are
not familiar with the CUNYsystem, the city university of
New York system.
If you're from a differentstate or you're not familiar
with it, you're like, oh, this,this is like a community college
.
No, it's not, guys, this is a.
Really this is a high powereduniversity that just happens to
be run in the city of New York,right, and they have different
(14:16):
campuses and some high-poweredpeople that you heard of and may
not have heard of.
Let me type in you keep goingwhile I look up to some of the
alumni of CUNY.
Speaker 1 (14:25):
That's cute.
There are lots of leaders thatcome from the CUNY system, lots
of prestigious.
My dad went there.
Speaker 2 (14:33):
Yes no-transcript.
Speaker 1 (15:05):
A suggestion of my sister.
I ended up going to HunterCollege because I was going to
go to a community college.
That's originally what my planwas to stay in Long Island, go
to a community college.
That's originally what my planwas to stay in Long Island, go
to a community college so Icould keep that job.
(15:25):
That was that was.
You know, it's not a horriblething, but it truly is not
necessarily the best thing tocome from a four-year college
and then go, do you know, postback at a community college.
(15:47):
It's not well looked upon, ifyou will, by medical schools,
but I was going to go and dothat so I could keep that job.
Medical schools but I was goingto go and do that so I could
keep that job.
Right, I was going to let thisjob derail what I wanted to do,
and so, instead of staying atthat job, I ended up quitting so
(16:07):
that I could put myself in thebest position possible, in the
best environment possible, to beable to get an education that I
knew would help me get intomedical school.
Speaker 2 (16:22):
I made a list of the things that you know when you're
trying to balance studying formed school and you are not in
college, right, so you are inanother career or you're
considering, like you're in thattransitory state, like how you
were in me, like you're in yourgap year, basically, or your gap
years, and you're trying tofigure out what to do.
But number two I have on thereis choose the right job.
(16:42):
So I have here flexible orpart-time work, low stress jobs
and remote work.
And what I would say to Jay isI agree with you like Renee's
advice is you know, what she didwas ideal.
In essence, she prioritizedgetting into medical school over
all the jobs.
Now the situation is a littlebit different, because she could
(17:04):
stay with her parents.
Parents would cook, theyprovide food, housing, like
that's a huge expense that sheain't got to worry about, right?
All she had to worry about, inessence, was getting into med
school.
You had to take care of yourclasses, you had to get
transportation there and you hadto get jobs and so forth.
That's what you had to do.
But I definitely think that oneof the biggest things right now
(17:24):
, jay, is to determine is yourjob more important, or keeping
your job more important thangetting into medical school, and
that's the fork in the road andyou may have to take several
jobs.
You may have to cut back and dosomething else.
(17:57):
Let me I'm going to tell a quickstory.
Doing the bank thing right,Like working like, not a bank
teller, but like the person whohas a small little office that
goes and you know the littledesk, and you talk to them about
your, your, your banking and soforth, and at the end they're
trying to sell you.
You know why you should investyour money with them and so
forth Something that was veryunfulfilling to him.
And he all of a sudden told me,like he's like, hey, me, like
(18:21):
Uncle Nia, I want to go to lawschool.
And I was like, okay, and hekept telling me this over like
several months and then hefinally said, hey, I have a plan
, I'm leaving my job and I'mgoing to get into law school.
And I was like well, how areyou going to do this?
And he told me so I'm going tobe very honest, guys.
So what he did was over thatyear.
(18:42):
I was very impressed with him.
Over that year.
He put his head down and hesaved money like crazy.
Number two he moved into aneighborhood that wasn't the
greatest.
Number two he moved into aneighborhood that wasn't the
(19:09):
greatest, wasn't the worst,wasn't the best, but he moved
into a neighborhood that, inessence, is where he kind of
grew up in, that was going to below cost and that, in essence,
he was going to be left aloneand he was living by himself,
right.
And then he made sure.
Three, that he developed a planthat he was going to study for
the LSATs and, no matter whatthat plan was going to take like
(19:32):
, there was nothing else thatwas going to get in his way.
Now, granted, at this time hewasn't married.
He wasn't married at this time,was he?
I don't know?
Yeah, either way, no children,you know.
And then he left the job and forseveral months, six or seven
months, this is what he wasdoing.
And then he called me one dayand said, hey, this was my score
(19:55):
in an LSAT.
And two weeks later he's like Istarted getting these you know
acceptances, or however long ittook.
I started getting, he startedgetting these acceptances and I
was really proud of him.
You know, I know sometimespeople are like, well, law
school is different than gettingto med school.
But I was pretty impressed byhis grind Right, because he made
(20:15):
a plan to be like look what I'mdoing right now, working in the
bank.
I know that that's what I wasstudying and that's what
everybody is expecting me to do,but that's not what my heart is
telling me to do Absolutely.
And I'm going to sacrifice andsave like crazy and I'm going to
move into a neighborhood that Imay not want to live in and I'm
(20:37):
going to be uber isolated andI'm going to study and I'm going
to follow through on that,because I got to get through my
ultimate goal of becoming alawyer.
And now my guy is, you know,he's graduating.
You know, in a couple of monthsand he'll be done and I'm super
proud of him.
Speaker 1 (20:47):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (20:48):
You know.
So, basically, what I'm tryingto say, Jay, is that you can do
this, but it's going to probablyhave to look different than how
it looks for you right now.
Right, I don't know if you havechildren, I don't know if you
have a spouse, I'm not sureabout your social situation, but
it's something that you mayhave to embrace and I think it's
something that a lot of peopledo.
They don't necessarily thinkthat they're doing it, but
that's what they do wherethey're just like look, I'm
going to have to changedirections.
(21:08):
What's good, everyone.
This is Dr Nii Yo.
This is the end of this segment.
I appreciate you for listening,but this ain't the end.
If you want more, go ahead andclick the next button on your
favorite podcast app.
Listen.
That's next for more banterbetween me and Dr Rene.
That's next for more topics.
That's next for more segments.
Listen.
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Go ahead and click next.
Hit it Next, peace.
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