I’m a senior pre-med student majoring in biology and minoring in chemistry. I’ve always known that I want to be a doctor and my experiences during my years at Brandeis have only reinforced that desire. In the last 10 years or so, it has become clear that taking a year or two off between being an undergraduate student and enrolling in a medical school is a path that these institutions prefer to see their applicants take. Therefore, I have recently begun a job search for gap year opportunities in clinical research or public health service projects. However, I have found the process of searching for a job that I know I will likely only hold for a short period of time to be somewhat awkward and difficult to approach. It has been challenging to express my interest in potential jobs while being perfectly honest about my intended path in life because most employers don’t want to hire someone who they know is there temporarily. That being said, does anyone have advice for an appropriate way that pre-med students can earnestly express interest in jobs they plan on holding for only a year or two?

Name: Alex Landau ’17
Major: Biology
Hometown: Fairfield, CT