Creative ways to extra income during residency

[Chirurgia magna]

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OK, so there is such a thread from 2007 but it spins out of control into recommending prostitution, exotic dancing and selling crack. I would like to know (and I think it would benefit other residents here as well) of actual ways people have come up to supplement their income during residency.

I am doing the IBR for my loans but would like to add something more to pay down my debt. I will start with some examples:

1. Most obvious one is to moonlight. Pays well but some programs don't allow it

2. I have seen young physicians endorse products (we have all seen the Hydroxycut guy). How common is that?

3. Help insurance companies with physical exams

4. Consulting. A resident of ours did two years of research and afterward he was making money as a consultant for a lab in a different university.

5. Can residents review court documents, do transcription, etc??

6. NIH funding. It seems there is some opportunities through NIH for loan reimbursement if you do basic science research, HIV research and research about health disparities.

Please feel free to comment and add more, but I ask you to keep it professional.

 

[TexasPhysician]

Start your own company...

 

[blanche]

Unfortunately some specialities are better than others for moonlighting. And that's something you can't really change. (many psych and some anesthesia programs I can think of off hand allow this..)

My program allowed upper level residents to cover a short stay floor on random Saturday nights, but for me the opportunities meant wasting the one golden weekend of the month, and in the end my sanity screamed 'no!!!' (we were an hours-heavy program..)

I never found any other good opportunities to make $$$ as a resident, though I certainly looked and perhaps others have.

The one method I DID find a way to squirrel away some extra cash was to: 1) auto-deduct a part of my pay into a separate account that was not so easy to access and
2)cut my monthly fixed expenses.

For #2, I stopped paying $100/mo for cable I never had time to watch anyways and signed up for netflix and hulu. Net~$80/mo. Force myself to stop buying overpriced crap from the cafeteria--Net~at least $50/mo. Car getting parked outdoors, no indoor spot--net~$30/mo. and so on. I made a mental sum of all these little costs I cut b/w intern and second year, and would deduct that approx sum to my separate account also. So my monthly balance/discretionary funds looked the same as I was used to, but suddenly I was seeing more and more in the bank. Oh yea, and the annual pay raise? Also went into savings. And finally, I tried to blow less money on going out, which I did find to be a necessary way to deal with the stress and doldrums of residency. I tried to stop ordering fancy overpriced girly drinks and opt for something good on draft. And limit cab rides when the subway or a walk would do. you catch my drift...

 

[Twomoreclasses]

Army Reserves. It's one weekend a month. They offer loan repayment. You would be doing the same thing you do everyday for 2 extra days a month. You can get deployed but you would be too valuable to be put in more dangerous positions.

OK, so there is such a thread from 2007 but it spins out of control into recommending prostitution, exotic dancing and selling crack. I would like to know (and I think it would benefit other residents here as well) of actual ways people have come up to supplement their income during residency.

I am doing the IBR for my loans but would like to add something more to pay down my debt. I will start with some examples:

1. Most obvious one is to moonlight. Pays well but some programs don't allow it

2. I have seen young physicians endorse products (we have all seen the Hydroxycut guy). How common is that?

3. Help insurance companies with physical exams

4. Consulting. A resident of ours did two years of research and afterward he was making money as a consultant for a lab in a different university.

5. Can residents review court documents, do transcription, etc??

6. NIH funding. It seems there is some opportunities through NIH for loan reimbursement if you do basic science research, HIV research and research about health disparities.

Please feel free to comment and add more, but I ask you to keep it professional.

 

[Chirurgia magna]

Army Reserves. It's one weekend a month. They offer loan repayment. You would be doing the same thing you do everyday for 2 extra days a month. You can get deployed but you would be too valuable to be put in more dangerous positions.

I was thinking more along the lines of getting extra income without getting shot but I can guess that's a viable option.

I don't know man, with three wars (Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya) and possibly a fourth on the way with Iran I don't think joining the Army sounds like a great idea. Even without considering the wars, the very real possibility of interrupting your residency it doesn't make sense in my situation.

 

[Chirurgia magna]

Start your own company...

Company of what?

 

[dpmd]

Army Reserves. It's one weekend a month. They offer loan repayment. You would be doing the same thing you do everyday for 2 extra days a month. You can get deployed but you would be too valuable to be put in more dangerous positions.

A very common attitude, but very wrong. Medical folks can get killed just like any other soldier. Yes they probably won't be doing door to door raids, but they might be tasked to be in any number of forward medical positions that are at risk for enemy fire. Not saying not to join, but having a more realistic attitude will help avoid frustration and regret later on. As far as the concern for interruption of residency-a theoretical risk, but highly unlikely to occur. I haven't perused the contract, but I believe that those who join with the specific program for extra money while in residency are afforded some level of protection from deployment. I say theoretical risk, because if they find themselves with a sudden shortage of general medical officers (would take a lot more action that we have seen so far-I'm thinking more world war three type stuff) taking folks from this pool would be easier than a draft.

 

[The White Coat Investor]

Get married to or move in with someone with a real job.

If you can moonlight, do so.

But for the most part, learn as much as you can about your specialty and how to be a good doctor. It is much easier to do that as a resident than later.

But do some reading on finances. Try to read one good finance book a year during residency and the first few years afterward. Here's the list I've got on my blog:

http://whitecoatinvestor.com/books-4/

And don't join the military for money.