CAREER AWARENESS Personal Development Year

Personal Development Year

Don't ask us what to do with your "gap year". We call it personal development time or growth year. It's not a gap, which is something empty and undefined. Embrace the opportunity to do something you enjoy, that's good for you and your career and teaches you a few valuable real-life lessons before you continue with graduate or professional school.

You’ve made it across the stage and collected your diploma. Having survived college, you’re undoubtedly now overwhelmed by family and friends asking you what you have planned next. If you’re anything like the majority of recent college graduates, you likely don’t have a solid answer. That’s normal!

Don't let anyone push you into rushing to your next goal. Taking time to think and reflect, exposure to real world situations, gaining global experience or landing a great research opportunity can all be part of the many options that are out there for you to grow and mature and especially to be more competitive for your next career move.

Pre-professional track

It doesn't have to be a rat race to get into professional school. Think about how much more competitive you will be if you have another year of experience, work as a clinical research coordinator, scribe in a hospital or join an EMT team. Many opportunities exist for you to be a stronger applicant for medical school, but even more so, to gain a competitive edge for residency opportunities.

Some of our best students have chosen to take a year before applying to medical school and none have regretted it yet.

Pre-graduate school track

If you are planning to go to a top tier graduate school or work with outstanding faculty, you may want to consider doing a postbaccalaureate year at the NIH or at other institutions to gain more experience and be a more competitive applicant. The year after your graduate can make the difference of being accepted into a prestigious graduate program. Check out Austin's story how he got into Harvard for his PhD Links to an external site.

4+1 programs to bridge your personal development year

For more information on the 4+1 BS/MS programs check out this page

Here are some internship, postbac and other growth year opportunities you can check out:

UNDERGRADUATE

Internships at UF

 

Other University Internships:

 

Consolidated Lists of Programs

 

Society and National Lab Fellowships

 

 MD or MD/PhD-related Internships

 

Government

 

Public Health Law related

 

Industry/Companies

 

International Internships

Former student who participated Matt Neu http://scienceforlifeprogram.wordpress.com/2014/06/03/featured-alumnus-matthew-neu/

 

Former student who participated Muna Oli http://www.linkedin.com/pub/muna-oli/17/341/ab2

http://globaledge.msu.edu/international-internships/#results Links to an external site.

 

Study abroad courses/opportunities

 

Minority Internships

*NIH And this isn't really an internship, but it's more of a scholarship with a built-in internship component and guaranteed employment after graduation - seems like a great opportunity. From what I can tell, only low-income students may apply https://www.training.nih.gov/programs/ugsp Links to an external site.

 

Post-Bac - continuing ed

Health field related opportunities

CDC Public Health Associate Program (PHAP) http://www.cdc.gov/phap/become_associate/application_process.html Links to an external site.

  • Lots of CDC internships and training programs (Sarah Connolly)

http://www.cdc.gov/employment/menu_student.html Links to an external site.

*CDC Fellow (Sarah Connolly) http://www.cdc.gov/employment/menu_fellows.html Links to an external site.

Science policy internships

*http://www.science-policy.net/11627.html Links to an external site.

Science Writing internships

*http://www.pearsonstudents.com/internships.shtml Links to an external site.

Bridge program - MD

  • Nova Southeastern University's Biomedical Science Masters program 2y - $$$
  • Barry University's Biomedical Science Masters program - 2y - $$$
  • Florida Atlantic University's Biomedical Science Masters program - 1 y - $
  • Georgetown University's Experimental Medical Studies program -1 y bridge program

 

NIH Postbaccalaureate Intramural Research Training Program

Former student who participated and is now an MD/PhD student at UAB Birmingham, AL

Matt Neu http://scienceforlifeprogram.wordpress.com/2014/06/03/featured-alumnus-matthew-neu/

Teaching

  • Duke University Talent Identification Program - many science, teaching, and managerial

Former student who participated in the program Madi Turcotte (premed) mturcotte20@gmail.com

Teach English Abroad:

Former UF students who did the program and is now accepted to Harvard dental school Michael De Bourg ‎mdebourg@ufl.edu

JOBS

  • Gainesville

Merieux Nutriscience Links to an external site. is currently hiring part-time laboratory technicians for our Analytical Microbiology laboratory. Microbiology and related disciplines preferred.

The ideal candidate is dependable, detail-oriented, and able to work well in a team setting. Laboratory experience is preferred, but not as important as a positive attitude and a willingness to learn. Interested applicants should submit the following to Leigh Hall (leighh@abcr.com ):

Leigh Hall Human Resources Manager

3437 SW 24th Avenue Gainesville, FL 32607 1.866.233.5883 t: 352.372.0436 fax: 352.378.6483 email: firstl@abcr.com web: abcr.com

 

  • US. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps

http://www.usphs.gov/profession/scientist/ Links to an external site.