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Med school and stripping
Hey everyone, so I'm a freshman at a university hoping to pursue a career in Pharmacy (which requires me to go to Pharmacy school). I volunteer at a local hospital and only plan to dance 1-2 nights a week and much more often in the summer when school is not in session. I live in Washington and have already received my Adult Entertainer's license.
Could my history at a club affect me getting a good job in the future? We receive W-2's at my club (not really sure what this means but I heard that I can hide the fact that I'm a dancer with this?". Also, could it affect my chances of getting into Pharm/med school? I have never been arrested and do not plan on it anytime soon. I'm pretty law-abiding. Will my Adult license come up in background checks?
Thanks guys
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Re: Med school and stripping
yikes...an adult license and a w-2 sounds like the perfect combination for getting found out. why would you wait till after you got these things to ask this question?
on the other hand, pharmacists are not doctors so even if u do get found out your potential employer will probably care less than a hospital/family practice.
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Re: Med school and stripping
it will show up if they do an in-depth background check, yes. i don't think it it will effect you going to school since its legal and you are the one paying for it, but when it comes time to enter the work force and have somebody pay you, then it could be classified as " unprofessional conduct" or whatever they call it, and you can be fined and have your application thrown in the trash. especially in this economy, they have their pick of the litter.
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Re: Med school and stripping
I'm an idiot! I only thought background checks would check for criminal records not for licenses! I need to get rid of this thing now! :(
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Re: Med school and stripping
I dont have a W-2 yet as I haven't started, just the license. Should I just not continue on with this?
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Stripping on background check
Hey guys!
Has anyone here ever had their stripping job pulled up on a background check by a potential employer? By W-2 or Entertainer's license? I heard the only things that pop up on background checks are criminal records but I'm not sure anymore.
Thanks
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Re: Stripping on background check
There have been a lot of threads about it, but generally speaking I don't think stuff comes up unless you've been caught up in a club raid and have had false charges against you. I try to play it safe, I usually prefer working in clubs I feel safe in for this reason. I was also fortunate to live in a city that did not require a license.
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Re: Med school and stripping
^Now that I saw this thread and that you're going for pharmacy, yeah they could potentially show up. Although I don't think it will hurt your chances to get into a pharm d program, you don't want your state board finding out about this if you eventually go that route and go through pharmacy school.
Is there any way you can travel to a place where you won't need a license?
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Re: Stripping on background check
Derp, saw your other thread and what you're actually going to study. Highly don't recommend.
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Re: Med school and stripping
I am so so stupid. I already have my license, how the EFF do i get rid of this thing?!?!? Yes I can but I just dont want crap showing up on my background check :( Will the license show up? I haven't filed a W-2 yet because I haven't started working yet
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Re: Med school and stripping
Quote:
Originally Posted by
stripperstudent
I dont have a W-2 yet as I haven't started, just the license. Should I just not continue on with this?
Well, are you willing to risk wasting your education on finding out? It's possible that you won't get found out - or that even if you will, it will be a non-issue - but there is certainly a chance that with both of those documents floating around, it will come up. I would recommend asking an academic advisor, or better, someone who works for the state licensing board, about what could possibly hold you back from getting licensed or hired. I'm not saying disclose that you want to dance, but certainly investigate with those who would actually know for sure.
If you decide not to dance, having just the license and no W-2 is much easier to explain away than having both; you can easily (and honestly) claim that you debated it because of financial duress but then thought better of it.
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Re: Med school and stripping
No I'm not willing to risk it. I'm going to try and get rid of this license asap. Is that even possible?
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Re: Med school and stripping
No, once you are licensed you are licensed. They won't "erase" it. My state's licenses are not discoverable on background checks though. You should have thought to ask about that before getting it.
What club is giving you a W-2? Are you not an independent contractor? That's kind of odd. I have heard of 1099s from clubs but not W-2s.
I'm going to play devils advocate and say I am also pre-med and have 3 (soon to be 4) years of stripper licenses in my state, and am not worried about it. I received clearance for a Level 1 Fingerprint Card here last year (which is required for EMTs, daycare workers, etc.) and the licenses were not a problem. It's a legal profession and they can't slap you for "unprofessional conduct" regarding things you did before you applied for the medical license. I know because a friend of mine who has a drug conviction called the state licensing board and checked. "Unprofessional conduct" applies to only things done while holding a license (so don't strip while you're licensed to practice pharmacy/medical).
Also, AAMC background checks are criminal only according to them. They don't go on a witch hunt for traffic violations and stripper licenses, nor do they ask for copies of your taxes. They are looking for felonies and misdemeanors.
You will probably receive several replies to the contrary, but that info is from the mouth of the AZ board, and AAMC. So take what you want from it.
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Re: Med school and stripping
Well...not to be a downer, but it sounds like you've kind of already made your bed...best not worry too much about something that can't be undone and direct your energy towards thinking of some work arounds. Let's say hypothetically this comes up in a background check in the future, you have two options: own it, and make sure your work is awesome, and let that speak for itself. Or tell a white lie and say you came on hard times when in school, tried dancing for a couple nights, and couldn't go through with it. If you want to go this direction make sure your resume is padded with lots of vanilla work while you're in school over the next couple years to support this story. Would potentially working outside of the country interest you in the future? They don't do background checks nearly as much on employees in Canada as they do in the US, and I'm thinking that even if they did, it would be harder for them to dig up this liscense from another country or even another state? I don't think all your work options will be gone in the US, but you just might be a bit more limited, for example, applying at a Catholic hospital in your state obviously wouldn't be the best idea...just finish school and then get creative with your job search. If you are a good worker I think you'll be able to find something regardless :)
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Re: Med school and stripping
1099 or W-2 I'm not sure what the difference is..would it make a difference if I decided to be a waitress there? Or if I just claimed to be a waitress?
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Re: Med school and stripping
1099 is for independent contractors... W-2 is for paid employees. Makes a difference when filing taxes. Just thought it was very odd a club would consider you an employee.
Doubtful. If someone is close-minded enough that "stripper" will upset them, cocktailing in a club isn't going to be much better.
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Re: Med school and stripping
Bottom line here is that having worked as a 'stripper' and having held an exotic dancing license will NOT prevent you from graduating from pharmacy college and will NOT prevent you from obtaining a State Professional License to practice Pharmacy. After all, 'stripping' is 100% legal 'work'. About the only thing that would actually stop you in this regard is being caught up in a club bust ... at which point your criminal record could reflect a misdemeanor 'sex crime'.
What IS increasingly likely to happen in the future, though, is that all prospective employers are likely to become aware of your 'stripping' work history at the point when you apply for a pharmacist job. At that point, the real world impact of your 'stripping' work history will depend on lots of factors ... the general 'demand' for pharmacists versus the number of pharmacists looking for a job at that time, the vulnerability of the prospective employer to 'public scandal' related bad publicity, etc. As such, you may experience problems being hired by a national drug store chain or a religious / suburban hospital which are sensitive to potential bad publicity, but you probably will receive job offers from inner city hospitals and/or state prison hospitals that are glad to find a qualified applicant that is willing to work for them given the pay rates, working conditions, risk factors etc.
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Re: Med school and stripping
If you have to go in front of the state board to become a licensed pharmacist, there's a decent chance that this will show up. I doubt they will automatically deny you about it. Instead, they may just ask you to explain yourself. Your answer? It will have been several years ago by then, it was professional work, and it what helped you pay for school. If you do a great job in school (very good grades, standardized test scores, internships, etc) I find it unlikely that they'd deny someone for that.
I know women who used to dance and now have have great careers in the medical field. I also know several women who danced their way through law school and became attorneys. Becoming an attorney requires you to pass the bar examination after completing your law degree. Well, before you take the bar exam, the bar will determine if you are eligible to take the exam. They look not only into criminal past, but they even check things such as your credit score, history of traffic tickets, etc. It's very in-depth. I was talking to my attorney who told me that they tend to be very lenient as long as you have no major convictions and as long as you can show that any "mistakes" you have made were in the past, isolated incidents, etc. My lawyer has a felony on his record (he got it probably 15 years prior to becoming an attorney) and he was still granted permission to take the bar exam. Now he's a successful attorney. He also included to mention to me that he knew of a couple of strippers at his law school who went on to become attorneys. I know the legal field is different from the medical field, but they do just as in-depth evaluations.
If your academic career is strong then I think you have a great chance.
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Re: Stripping on background check
Quote:
Originally Posted by
stripperstudent
Hey guys!
Has anyone here ever had their stripping job pulled up on a background check by a potential employer? By W-2 or Entertainer's license? I heard the only things that pop up on background checks are criminal records but I'm not sure anymore.
Thanks
My mom danced in the late 80s as well as the 90s (back when the dancers were on a payroll) before she graduated from her university and never had a problem landing a corporate job. Of course, she did extremely well in college. Upon graduation she was headhunted by some of the top pharmaceutical companies in the state. Her first job out of college was a pharmaceutical representative. She had several other corporate jobs after that and always made a good living. Her best friend stripped with her (that's how they met) and is now an RN.
Additionally, I know of women who have become lawyers after stripping their way through school. I plan on becoming an attorney and I don't think my stripping will hinder me too much. I am going to be successful in the legal field regardless of the fact that I dance now.
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Re: Med school and stripping
Nina-thank you so much for your input! I would actually think that it would be much more difficult to get a job as an attorney vs in the medical field if stripping was as issue.
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Re: Med school and stripping
^^^ actually, it's the opposite !!! Any licensed attorney can 'hang out their own shingle' based on a rented office and a minimal investment in a basic law library, lexus-nexus etc. But a pharmacist attempting to start their own business these days would require, say, 1/2 million dollars up front to purchase / establish a drug store of your own, and then attempting to compete with WalMart !
If there is one drawback in regard to your chosen profession of pharmacy, unlike doctors, lawyers, accountants etc. who are able to establish their own independent practices, as a pharmacist you'll be virtually 100% dependent on being 'hired' by a major institution or corporate hospital / drug store chain. As such, unlike doctors, lawyers, accountants etc. you really don't have an available option to 'work for yourself' if the employment opportunities presented to you are 'limited' because of your work history as a 'stripper'.
Of course, there's always the option of joining the military after you receive your pharmacist's license as well ! With the military, a work history of 'stripping' would be meaningless.
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Re: Med school and stripping
Quote:
Originally Posted by
stripperstudent
Nina-thank you so much for your input! I would actually think that it would be much more difficult to get a job as an attorney vs in the medical field if stripping was as issue.
You're very welcome. Unfortunately, stripping does/can sometimes leave a trail, which can create more of an obstacle for former strippers who want to pursue certain careers, so my advice to you is to do as well in school as you can. Devote as much time to studying, interning, whatever will make you appear to be "above the pack" in the field you are pursuing. If you graduate with honors (high honors would be even better!) and have experience in the field through interning (etc), I would find it absurd of an employer to refuse to hire you if (s)he found out about your work history. Of course it may happen, but as long as you're very dedicated you should be able to find a job in that field. Don't be discouraged, be tenacious in pursuing your goals.
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Re: Med school and stripping
^^^ agreed there's extremely little probability of NOT being able to find a job as a pharmacist after graduating from pharmacy school and obtaining a Pharmacist's License. The question arises in regard to the relative pay rates, relative working conditions, relative risk factors etc. that accompany the job offers received from potential employers who know about a 'stripping' work history, but don't care. For example, it's virtually guaranteed that you would be hired by an inner city hospital to work the night shift. However, this might also mean taking a $10k per year 'pay cut' versus a suburban hospital, travelling in the inner city at odd hours, potentially facing armed robbers trying to rip off 'controlled substance' drugs from your hospital pharmacy, etc.
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Re: Med school and stripping
^^^ and indeed that is another aspect of the trade-off. If 'stripping' is going to pay for pharmacy school, such that it's possible to graduate without student loan debt, then having to 'sacrifice' perhaps $10k per year of earnings potential as a pharmacist due to a history of 'stripping' restricting available job offers is a more-or-less breakeven situation against not having worked as a 'stripper', receiving better job offers, and using the extra $10k of income to make student loan payments !!! Well, from a different point of view, it's far from a breakeven situation ... since several years worth of 'stripping' would have essentially accomplished nothing versus borrowing the tuition money and then paying it back out of increased pharmacist earnings !!! But this scenario assumes that past paradigms will continue into the future, which is rather unlikely given the 'turmoil' in all medical fields taking place right now.
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the days of finding a job cause you are getting good grades and working hard are long gone. Obviously it helps the situation to be at the top, and I encourage you to follow your dream and do whatever it is you want to do.. but graduating with a ton of student loan debt and not being able to find a job will be seriously tragic.
Unfortunately for the OP, an exotic dancer's license is already part of the public record. As such, working as a 'stripper' all through college to avoid student loans would potentially improve her situation, while presenting little additional risk. And this will ABSOLUTELY be the case if ongoing closures of bankrupt hospitals, deferred retirements of 'baby boomer' pharmacists, closings of bankrupt 'mom & pop' pharmacies etc. limit the future availability of pharmacist jobs for ALL future graduates !!! If that were to happen, it's a lot better to be simply unemployed / underemployed versus being unemployed / underemployed with a $1000 per month student loan payment still due at the end of the month.
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Re: Med school and stripping
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Originally Posted by
dancingdiva1
if your paying for your own degree keep in mind that any professional program pharmacy, medicine, whatever - is a lot of student loan debt like 200k+.... the world isn't rainbows and puppies, and the days of finding a job cause you are getting good grades and working hard are long gone. Obviously it helps the situation to be at the top, and I encourage you to follow your dream and do whatever it is you want to do.. but graduating with a ton of student loan debt and not being able to find a job will be seriously tragic. I know many people graduating from pharmacy school / law school who can't find jobs and they have squeaky clean records... These days it's just not worth it to leave a paper trail of something that could potentially come back to haunt you.
Actually, since it is so hard (generally) to find a job on one's field these days, graduating from your university with honors/high honors/highest honors as well as work experience is exactly the kind of person who WILL get job opportunities. The days of being able to land a good job just by having a mediocre collegiate career is gone. The OP could snag a very good internship in her later collegiate days that might even offer her a job upon graduation and becoming certified. It's not that much of a stretch. The point is to be ahead of the competition, and if the OP is smart about things and goes "above and beyond" the competition, I think she will be able to find a decent job in her field.
I'm pursuing law and that field is extremely saturated. And I don't care. I've already gotten an internship offer and the man says he will most likely hire me (assuming the internship goes well) once I have my credentials.